4 Reasons To Watch Cornell vs Rutgers
4 Reasons To Watch Cornell vs Rutgers
Cornell and Rutgers meet on Friday night in an exciting dual that features #5 Chas Tucker against #11 Sammy Alvarez
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Senior Chas Tucker and freshman Sammy Alvarez will be the main event when Cornell travels to Rutgers for an exciting Friday-night dual. Here are the top four reasons to watch Cornell vs Rutgers.
Watch Cornell vs Rutgers LIVE on FloWrestling
Friday, Jan 17 | 7:00 PM ET
1) #5 Chas Tucker vs #11 Sammy Alvarez
Sammy Alvarez dropped a few matches early in this season, but the Rutgers freshman is undefeated in 2020 with wins over Jordan Decatur, Garrett Pepple, Cam Sykora, and Micky Phillippi. He won the 2020 Southern Scuffle and is a serious All-American contender at 133.
Chas Tucker won the 2019 CKLV, another one of the toughest in-season tournaments of the year, and has two wins this year over Wyoming All-American Montorie Bridges. The Cornell senior is a two-time national qualifier but is still looking for his first All-American finish. He's ranked fifth in the country but will have to keep hungry youngsters like Alvarez at bay.
Tucker is known for keeping solid position and for capitalizing on his opponent's mistakes. Alvarez has shown that he can score from his own attacks and from re-attacks. Tucker is the favorite here, but this is an intriguing matchup.
2) 8 Ranked Wrestlers & 3 Ranked Matchups
In addition to the headline match at 133, we'll see ranked foes #23 Jonathan Loew and #25 Billy Janzer hit at 184 as well as #10 Ben Darmstadt and #18 Jordan Pagano at 197. Check out all the ranked wrestlers in this contest:
125: #15 Nic Aguilar, Rutgers
133: #5 Chas Tucker, Cornell
133: #11 Sammy Alvarez, Cornell
174: #15 Brandon Womack, Cornell
184: #23 Jonathan Loew, Cornell
184: #25 Billy Janzer, Rutgers
197: #10 Ben Darmstadt, Cornell
197: #18 Jordan Pagano, Rutgers
3) The RAC is Electric
The Rutgers Athletic Center (RAC) is the home of Rutgers wrestling, and the New Jersey wrestling fans know how to support their team. You can be sure that the atmosphere will be fantastic for this Friday-night dual.
Before this weekend's showdown between Rutgers and Cornell, get a taste of the RAC environment by checking out this video of when we had Coach Goodale mic'd up for a match between NCAA champion Anthony Ashnault and Oklahoma State's Kaden Gfeller.
4) The Team Score Should Be Tight
On paper, Rutgers could be considered the favorite at 125, 141, 149, 157, and 165 while Cornell is favored at 133, 174, 184, 197, and 285. This has the makings of a dual that could come down to bonus points. Combine this parity with the RAC atmosphere, and this feels like a fun Friday-night wrestling spectacle.