Spartans Set to Open Big Ten Dual Action with Michigan, Rutgers

East Lansing, Mich. - Michigan State wrestling opens Big Ten action on Friday, Jan. 10 (7 p.m.) with a rivalry matchup against No. 25 Michigan on the road inside Cliff Keen Arena in Ann Arbor, before hosting No. 24 Rutgers on Sunday, Jan. 12 (1 p.m.) inside Jenison Field House. Both matches will air live on BTN Plus.

"The dual against Michigan should be a very competitive one," said MSU wrestling head coach Roger Chandler. "It is going to be one of those matches that fans will want to see. Our guys just need to wrestle within themselves and need to compete the entire seven minutes. If we do that, and look to attack and score points in all 10 weight classes, good things will happen."

Michigan State (4-2, 0-0 B1G) and Michigan will meet for the 112th time on Friday. The Wolverines hold a 71-35-5 advantage over the Spartans in the all-time series and have won 15 of the last 18 meetings. The Spartans fell to the Wolverines, 30-10, last season in East Lansing. Sophomore Rayvon Foley and redshirt sophomore Cameron Caffey picked up MSU's lone wins at 125 and 184 pounds, respectively.

MSU will host Rutgers in its first home dual of the season on Sunday, Jan. 12 at 1 p.m.

"It's exciting for our guys to be competing at home in a single dual meet for the first time this year!" said Chandler. "Rutgers is always a good battle ad every one of their guys will show up and compete. We need to match their intensity and take advantage of scoring opportunities."

The Spartans and Scarlet Knights will hit the mat for the sixth time on Sunday, with the Scarlet Knights holding a 5-0-1 advantage in the all-time series. Michigan State fell to then-No. 18 Rutgers, 22-20, in its last meeting on Jan. 25, 2019 in Piscataway. Foley and Caffey, along with redshirt freshman Brad Wilton and redshirt sophomore Drew Hughes, collected wins for the Spartans.

About the Spartans
Michigan State is off to a 4-2 start in dual action, with wins over No. 20 Oklahoma, Kent State, Duke and Wyoming. The Spartans are led by redshirt junior Jake Tucker at 157 pounds, who leads the team with 17 wins. A native of Lowell, Ind., Tucker leads the Spartans with five wins in the dual slate. Tucker claimed a first-place finish at the Navy Classic, tallying a 5-0 record and capping the title with an 8-3 win over Ohio's Zac Carson in the final. Caffey, who has three top-5 finishes in tournament action, including a second-place finish at the Cougar Clash, holds a 15-5 record and leads the team with seven falls at 184 pounds. Caffey is 5-1 in duals with his lone loss coming to No. 16 Zach Carlson of South Dakota State. Redshirt junior Christian Rebottaro is 5-1 in duals and holds a 13-6 record overall at 285 pounds for the Spartans.

Michigan State's Probable Lineup
125 – Logan Griffin (13-6) -OR- Julian Saldana (5-6)
133 – No. 25 Garrett Pepple (11-7)
141 – Matt Santos (10-8) -OR- Jaden Enriquez (3-2)
149 – Alex Hrisopoulos (9-5)
157 – No. 21 Jake Tucker (17-3)
165 – Drew Hughes (9-5) -OR- Austin Hiles (7-7)
174 – Layne Malczewski (14-7)
184 – No. 18 Cam Caffey (15-5)
197 – Nick May (9-9) -OR- Brad Wilton (0-2)
285 – Christian Rebottaro (13-6)

Spartans in the Rankings
Rankings by: The Open Mat / TrackWrestling / FloWrestling / InterMat

133 - Garrett Pepple NR / NR / 25 / NR
157 - Jake Tucker 16 / 13 / 21 / 18
165 - Drew Hughes NR / 32 / NR / NR
174 - Layne Malczewski NR / 28 / NR / NR
184 - Cameron Caffey 15 / 20 / 18 / NR
285 - Christian Rebottaro NR / 33 / NR / NR

Scouting Michigan
No. 25 Michigan enters Friday's match with a 1-2 record overall following a 21-15 loss to Oregon State at home on Sunday, Jan. 5. The Wolverines are led by sophomoreMason Parris at 285 pounds, who comes into the match with a perfect 16-0 record and eight wins over ranked opponents. Parris ranks No. 3 and joins five other Wolverines in rankings systems. Will Lewan ranks No. 14 at 157 pounds and holds a 10-3 record on the season. The Wolverines maintain a 71-35-5 edge over the Spartans in the all-time series.

Scouting Rutgers
The Scarlet Knights jumped into this week's NWCA Coaches Poll at No. 24 after a 6-0 start to the season. Rutgers holds wins over Maryland, CSU Bakersfield, Fresno State, Centenary (N.J.), Pitt-Johnstown and LIU. Rutgers opens Big Ten action this Friday, Jan. 10 with a trip to Columbus to take on Ohio State. Four wrestlers enter the weekend in national rankings, with true freshman Sammy Alvarez leading the way at 133 pounds. Alvarez ranks No. 11 and holds a 15-4 overall record is 1-0 in the Big Ten. Redshirt freshman Nicolas Aguilar is 14-4 on the season and 2-0 in duals to go along with a No. 14 ranking at 125 pounds. Rutgers defeated Michigan State, 22-20, in its last meeting on Jan. 25, 2019 in Piscataway. Rutgers leads the all-time series, 4-0-1.

Michigan State returns home for a pair of Big Ten duals on Friday, Jan. 17 and Sunday, Jan. 19. The Spartans take on Minnesota on at 6 p.m. on Friday before hosting Maryland on Sunday at 3 p.m. Friday's dual will air on BTN Plus, with Sunday's match scheduled to air live on BTN.

Spartans Set to Open Big Ten Dual Action with Michigan, Rutgers

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Players Mentioned

Cameron Caffey

Jaden Enriquez

Rayvon Foley

Logan Griffin

Austin Hiles

Alex Hrisopoulos

Drew Hughes

Layne Malczewski

Nick May

Garrett Pepple

Christian Rebottaro

Julian Saldana

Matt Santos

Jake Tucker

Brad Wilton