Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
Rutgers
Preview: Indiana Hosts Rutgers on Senior Night
2/11/2016 4:51:00 PM | Wrestling
The Hoosiers close their Big Ten dual season on Friday
Dual Meet 12
No. 22 Indiana (6-5, 3-5 Big Ten) vs. No. 15 Rutgers (13-5, 3-4 Big Ten)
Friday, February 12, 2016 • 7:00 p.m. ET
University Gymnasium • Bloomington, Ind.
Livetracker/Dual Central: IUHoosiers.com
Watch: BTN Plus (subscription required)
Series History: Tied, 1-1 | First Meeting: November 30, 2002
Last Meeting: IU 29, RU 9 (November 29, 2008)
| Probable Starters: Indiana vs. Rutgers | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight | Indiana Hoosiers | Record | Result | Rutgers Scarlet Knights | Record |
| Score | -- | (6-5, 3-5) | -- | (13-5, 3-4) | |
| 125** | #19 Elijah Oliver, Fr. | 25-6 (5-3) | vs | Sean McCabe, r-Jr. -or- Josh Patrick, r-So. | 13-9 (3-4) 10-3 (0-0) |
| 133 | Alonzo Shepherd, Sr. | 11-15 (1-6) | vs | #19 Anthony Giraldo, r-Fr. | 14-10 (2-5) |
| 141 | Tommy Cash, Fr. | 1-6 (0-2) | vs | #5 Anthony Ashnault, r-So. | 22-2 (6-1) |
| 149 | Luke Blanton, r-So. | 17-10 (4-4) | vs | Tyson Dippery, r-So. | 13-10 (2-5) |
| 157 | Jake Danishek, r-Fr. | 14-7 (3-5) | vs | #12 Richie Lewis, Jr. -or- John Van Brill, r-Fr. | 19-3 (5-1) 8-7 (0-1) |
| 165 | Bryce Martin, r-Fr. -or- Eric Roach, r-Sr. | 16-14 (1-5) 2-4 (0-2) | vs | #8 Anthony Perrotti, r-Sr. | 17-3 (6-1) |
| 174 | #11 Nate Jackson, r-Jr. | 25-5 (6-3) | vs | Phil Bakuckas, r-Jr. -or- Anthony Pafumi, r-Jr. | 13-10 (3-4) 7-6 (1-1) |
| 184 | Matt Irick, r-Jr. | 12-12 (1-4) | vs | #20 Nicholas Gravina, r-So. | 16-6 (4-1) |
| 197 | Jake Masengale, r-So. | 9-15 (3-5) | vs | Hayden Hrymack, Sr. | 13-9 (3-3) |
| 285 | Garret Goldman, r-Sr. | 14-11 (4-2) | vs | #13 Billy Smith, r-Sr. | 20-6 (5-2) |
Hoosier Notes:
Weekend Snapshot
The Hoosiers host Senior Night at their final Big Ten dual meet of the season on Friday against No. 15 Rutgers. Indiana seeks a positive finish to their Big Ten schedule after starting 3-1 in conference dual action.
Sweet '16
Friday's dual will begin with a celebration of the Indiana Wrestling Senior Class of 2016. Indiana will honor seven seniors prior to the dual: Jonathan Edwards, Garret Goldman, Alex Gregory, Matt Irick, Trevor Moody, Eric Roach, and Alonzo Shepherd.
IU-Rutgers Series
The Hoosiers and Scarlet Knights take the mat on Friday for just the third time in the series history, which dates back to their first meeting in 2002. Indiana and Rutgers split the first two meets, with the Hoosiers taking the most recent dual by a 29-9 margin. Friday's meet will be their first clash since Rutgers joined the Big Ten in 2014.
Last Time: IU Edged by Purdue
In their most recent action, the Hoosiers hosted a home dual against their in-state rival, the Purdue Boilermakers. Indiana prevented Purdue from securing any bonus point wins, but the Boilermakers took six-of-10 bouts for an 18-14 win.
Ranked Hoosiers Elijah Oliver (125) and Nate Jackson (174) got back on the winning track with a pair of major decision wins in the day's first and seventh bouts, respectively. Other Indiana grapplers with bout wins included sophomore Jake Masengale (197), who won in sudden victory, and senior Garret Goldman (HWT), who came through in a tight 3-2 decision.
Top of the Class
Indiana redshirt junior Nate Jackson maintained his No. 11 national ranking (InterMat) in the 174 lbs weight class after his major decision over Jacob Morrissey (Purdue). He'll look to end his Big Ten regular season schedule on a high note against Rutgers' Phil Bakuckas or Anthony Pafumi on Friday.
True freshman Elijah Oliver maintained his No. 19 ranking following a major decision win over fellow freshman Ben Thornton (Purdue). He'll close the Big Ten regular season with a bout against Rutgers' Sean McCabe, who just slipped out of the InterMat top-20 rankings.
Underclassmen Impact
Six of Indiana's 10 starters in their dual lineup are underclassmen, and they've had strong showings throughout the season. The IU freshmen have achieved 17 podium finishes and four championships in tournament play. True freshmen Elijah Oliver (125) and Jake Danishek (157) are turning heads in their debut season. Oliver boasts a 25-6 record with 16 bonus point wins. Danishek is 14-7 with bonus points in four wins since his debut at SIU-Edwardsville (12/5).
IU Hosts NWCA Dual Series
The Indiana Hoosiers join seven other Big Ten schools as hosts for the 2016 Division I National Championships Dual Series on Sunday, February 21. The event pits the Big Ten's best wrestling teams against the highest ranked dual meet champions from the seven other conferences in Division I. The Hoosiers' opponent for the dual will be announced on Sunday, February 14.
The other Big Ten host schools include No. 1 Penn State, No. 2 Iowa, No. 8 Michigan, No. 9 Ohio State, No. 11 Nebraska, No. 12 Rutgers, and No. 23 Minnesota.
Hoosiers in the Coaches' Panel
The season's second coaches' panel rankings were released. The rankings are a poll that goes a long way in determining the 33 grapplers in each weight class who will make the trip to Madison Square Garden for the 2016 NCAA Championships. Three Hoosiers received recognition in the second of four panel rankings. Nate Jackson (174) topped the list at #12, followed by Elijah Oliver (125) at #19 and Luke Blanton (149) at #27.
BTN Plus
The Hoosier wrestlers will appear 10 times on BTN Plus (formerly Big Ten Digital Network) for the 2015-16 season, which will also include Friday's dual against Rutgers. You can subscribe for a school pass for $9.95/month ($79.95/year) or for all of BTN Plus content for $14.95/month ($119.95/year) (Note: All options automatically renew).
Players Mentioned
