Nittany Lions Grapplers Host Rutgers Sunday
Photo courtesy Penn State University Athletics / Mark Selders
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa -The Penn State Nittany Lions (5-1, 2-0 B1G), ranked No. 2 nationally on InterMat’s Tournament Power Index, host Rutgers (7-2, 2-1 B1G) on Sunday, Jan. 19. The Nittany Lions and Scarlet Knights face off at 5 p.m. in Rec Hall in an ESPN2 national telecast.
Penn State is coming off a solid Big Ten opening weekend, downing both Illinois and Northwestern in Rec Hall. Despite the recent loss of defending champion Anthony Cassar and All-American transfer Kyle Conel for the season, and with a number of Lion starters out, Penn State was able to battle to a 22-16 victory over Illinois and run away with a 30-9 win over Northwestern. True freshman Seth Nevills made his Penn State debut over the weekend, picking up two wins at 285 while senior Shakur Rasheed returned to the mat for the first time in nearly a year and got one win under his belt at 197.
The Nittany Lions head into the heart of the Big Ten dual season with a line-up featuring an exciting mix of vaunted veterans and talented new faces. Redshirt freshman Brandon Meredith is 11-6 at 125 and has emerged as the Lion starter at this weight.
Sophomore Roman Bravo-Young is 10- on the year and ranked No. 3 at 133. Junior Nick Lee is 10-0 at 141 and is ranked No. 2 nationally. Sophomore Jarod Verkleeren is 11-2 at 149 while junior Luke Gardner sports a 6-1 mark.
Sophomore Brady Berge is ranked No. 4 at 157 and is 1-0 on the year while junior Bo Pipher, who competed last weekend, is 8-7. Senior Vincenzo Joseph is 5-0 at 165 and ranked No. 1. Senior Mark Hall is 13-0 at 174 and ranked No. 1 as well. True freshman Aaron Brooks is 6-0 overall and ranked No. 8 at 184. Rasheed is 1-1 and ranked No. 20 at 197. Nevills is 8-0 on the year at 285.
The Scarlet Knights are 7-2 overall and 2-1 in Big Ten action after losing 19-18 to Cornell on Friday night. The Knights feature three ranked grapplers. Freshman Nicolas Aguilar is 16-4 and ranked No. 16 at 125. Freshman Sammy Alvarez is 17-4 and ranked No. 9 at 133. Graduate student Jordan Pagano is 15-5 and ranked No. 18 at 197.
Penn State hits the road next weekend, taking on No. 7 Nebraska in Lincoln on Friday, Jan. 24. The dual meet is a BTN national telecast and begins at 7 p.m. Eastern / 6 p.m. Central.
#2 PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (5-1, 2-0 B1G)
WT NAME EL HT/HS REC
125 Brandon Meredith Fr. Limerick, Pa./Spring-Ford 11-6
133 #3 Roman Bravo-Young So. Tucson, Ariz./Sunny Side 10-0
