Beavers lose a pair of dual meets to No. 15 Rutgers and Utah Valley

No. 17 Oregon State had a disappointing regular season home debut, which saw them lose to No. 15 Rutgers 24-12 and unranked Utah Valley 20-19.

Head Coach Jim Zalesky was not pleased with his team’s performance.

“Up and down the lineup, we have to get tougher,” Zalesky said. “We aren’t tough enough yet and it was disappointing.”

The Beavers started out the day against Rutgers (7-1) and after wins by redshirt sophomore Ronnie Bresser and redshirt junior Joey Delgado, Rutgers rattled off five straight wins to seal the victory for the Scarlet Knights. 

The bright spot for the Beavers was No. 5 heavyweight redshirt sophomore Amarveer Dhesi beating No. 7 redshirt senior Billy Smith by disqualification. Dhesi was winning 17-6 in the third period when the match was stopped after Smith was called for a fourth stalling call. For Dhesi, this was just another match.

“I really don’t look at the guys and who they are, “ Dhesi said. “ I felt good today and I know if I wrestle my best, no one is going to beat me.”

Oregon State ended their day by getting upset by the Utah Valley Wolverines (2-3). Both teams won five matches but the difference in the match was bonus points. The wins for the Beavers came from 133-pounder redshirt junior Joey Palmer, 149-pounder redshirt junior Joey Delgado, 165-pounder senior Seth Thomas, 184-pounder redshirt freshman Corey Greigo and Dhesi. 

The Beavers victories came in the form of one decision and four major decisions, whereas the Wolverines had two decisions, two major decisions and one pin.

The highlight for the Beavers in this dual came from Palmer who bounced back after losing his first match to beat No.18 senior Jade Rauser 6-2. Palmer made sure he made the necessary judgments before his second match. 

“In my first match, I didn’t represent myself the way I should’ve, “ Palmer said. “In my second match, I was feeling good. I made sure I went out there and had fun and enjoyed being out there.”

Zalesky said his team needs to make major improvements before their next competition.

“We have to get tougher, “ Zalesky said. “Because if we don’t, we are going to have a lot of meets like this.”

On Twitter @DRice1730