Bonus Points Doom #11 Wrestling at #9 Rutgers

The No. 11 American University wrestling team won five matches Wednesday at No. 9 Rutgers but two bonus point victories allowed the Scarlet Knights to walk away with a 19-15 win over the Eagles.

American has now dropped two straight duals after winning its previous seven. The Eagles record stands at 13-6 overall and 2-2 in the EIWA. Rutgers, meanwhile, earned its 16^th straight win and improves to 20-1 overall and 8-0 in the EIWA.

Rutgers picked up two big wins to begin the night as Joe Langel defeated Nick Arujau 7-4 at 125 lbs. and Mike DeMarco earned a 7-5 win over Kevin Tao at 133 lbs.

The Eagles bounced back and picked up three straight victories of their own. No. 14 Matt Mariacher began the stretch with a 3-1 decision over Trevor Melde at 141 lbs. The two went scoreless into the second period where Mariacher picked up an escape point and takedown for a 3-0 lead. Melde brought the score to 3-1 with an escape in the third but could not even the score as Mariacher earned the win.

No. 10 Ganbayar Sanjaa recorded a key victory for American with a 2-0 decision against No. 4 Mario Mason at 149 lbs. Like the bout before, Sanjaa and Mason went into the second period scoreless where Sanjaa took the lead with an escape. Mason chose bottom to begin the third period but could not escape the hold of Sanjaa, as the junior earned the 2-0 win with riding time.

No. 1 Steve Fittery gave the Eagles their first lead of the night with a 6-3 decision over No. 15 Daryl Cocozzo at 157 lbs. Cocozzo scored a quick takedown to begin the match but an escape, takedown and nearfall gave Fittery a 5-2 lead after one. Fittery rode Cocozzo out for the entire second period and then added one more escape point in the third for the final 6-3 margin.

Rutgers evened the team score at nine as No. 6 Scott Winston battled back to earn a 4-1 decision over 165-pounder Patrick Graham. Graham took a 1-0 lead into the third period but an escape by Winston tied the bout at one. Winston then scored a takedown and with riding time advantage earned the 4-1 win.

The Scarlet Knights regained the lead with wins at 174 lbs. and 184 lbs., earning bonus points which proved to be the difference in the dual. No. 20 Alex Caruso defeated Tanner Shaffer by major decision 14-5 at 174 lbs. and Dan Rinaldi earned a first-period fall over Thomas Barreiro at 184 lbs. Heading into the final two weights, Rutgers held a 19-9 advantage over American.

No. 18 Daniel Mitchell did his best to earn the crucial bonus points for the Eagles but could not as he defeated Mike Wagner 6-1 at 197 lbs. Mitchell led 4-1 after the first period and rode Wagner out for the entire two minutes in the second. The sophomore then added a point for an escape in the third but was unable to get in for another takedown, and with riding time advantage took the victory 6-1.

Despite the fate of the dual having already been decided, the evening's final bout was one worth the anticipation as No. 5 Ryan Flores defeated No. 3 D.J. Russo, 9-2. Flores came out quickly and scored a takedown and two backpoints in the first period and then scored a second takedown in the second for a 6-2 lead. In the third period Flores reversed Russo, and with riding time advantage the junior took the match 9-2.

Fittery remains unbeaten on the year with his win and improves to 22-0. He has defeated three ranked opponents on the season while picking up 18 bonus-point victories. Flores, meanwhile, improves to 16-5 with seven victories over opponents ranked in the top 12.

Sanjaa has won nine straight matches with two of his last three victories coming against top 10 opponents. He defeated then-No. 7 Donald Vinson from Binghamton 8-3 Friday. Sanjaa is now 19-3 overall this season.

Mariacher remains the team leader in wins at 25-7 and has won six of his last seven matches. Mitchell is now 23-6 overall and has also won six of his last seven.

American will return to the mat Sunday, February 13 when it hosts Maryland in the team's annual 'Bender Takedown' event at 1:00 p.m. Fans unable to attend the dual can catch all of the action live online at AUeagles.com via a subscription to Eagles Vision TV.

#9 Rutgers 19, #11 American 15
125: Joe Langel (RU) dec. Nick Arujau (AU), 7-4
133: Mike DeMarco (RU) dec. Kevin Tao (AU), 7-5
141: No. 14 Matt Mariacher (AU) dec. Trevor Melde (RU), 3-1
149: No. 10 Ganbayar Sanjaa (AU) dec. No. 4 Mario Mason (RU), 2-0
157: No. 1 Steve Fittery (AU) dec. No. 15 Daryl Cocozzo (RU), 6-3
165: No. 6 Scott Winston (RU) dec. Partick Graham (AU), 4-1
174: No. 20 Alex Caruso (RU) major dec. Tanner Shaffer (AU), 14-5
184: Dan Rinaldi (RU) fall Thomas Barreiro (AU), 2:53
197: No. 18 Daniel Mitchell (AU) dec. Mike Wagner (RU), 6-1
285: No. 5 Ryan Flores (AU) dec. No. 3 DJ Russo (RU), 9-2