The past week in Rutgers athletics featured highs and lows across the winter sports slate, as teams battled through Big Ten competition, hosted key home events, and prepared for important matchups ahead.
Men’s Basketball
Rutgers began the week facing #7 Michigan State, which they had a double-digit lead on for most of the contest before the Spartans used a furious rally and a last-second three-pointer to force overtime. The Knights eventually fell in a heartbreaker, 88-79, even with five different Rutgers players
in double figures, led by Tariq Francis’ 23 points. Jeremy Fears had 29 points while Carson Cooper had 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Spartans.
The Scarlet Knights then began their West Coast road trip, facing stiff competition in Los Angeles against the Trojans. Rutgers fell 78-75 at USC in a tight contest after falling behind by 19, despite a late rally and strong scoring from Tariq Francis. The loss dropped Rutgers to 9-13 overall and 2-9 in Big Ten play.
Up next, Rutgers is scheduled to take on UCLA at Pauley Pavilion tomorrow at 9:30 PM EST on Big Ten Network, followed by a return to Jersey Mike’s Arena to host Nebraska on Feb. 7 at noon.
Women’s Basketball
It was a brutal week for the women’s team, which started the week against #24 Washington on Monday afternoon after the snowstorm moved the game back a day. Rutgers fell 76-48, with a 23-8 second quarter difference giving the Huskies an insurmountable 43-20 lead.
Two days later, the Knights hosted the Ducks, and once again, a difficult 25-9 second quarter saw Oregon pull ahead 44-25 as Rutgers went quiet for a large stretch of the period. Despite the other three quarters being relatively even, the Ducks cruised to a 74-53 win, and Rutgers dropped its third straight of the homestand.
Rutgers women’s basketball then endured a brutal outing on the West Coast, suffering a 71-39 setback vs. USC in Los Angeles as the offense went quiet for three quarters, scoring eight points apiece from Quarter 2 to Quarter 4. The Knights were without Nene Ndiaye, but went completely cold following a 15-12 lead after the first quarter.
Wrestling
Rutgers wrestling remained solid on the mat this week. After a big 30-9 victory over Maryland, Rutgers followed up with another win, 21-12 over Rider in a classic in-state rivalry at Alumni Gymnasium.
The Scarlet Knights used a 7-3 match split to defeat the Terrapins, including winning their final six bouts. Five wrestlers secured bonus points on the evening, including a ranked major decision from No. 17 Remy Cotton (197) over No. 13 Branson John. No. 21 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184) pinned Sepanta Ahanj-Elias, while No. 20 Andrew Barbosa (165) and No. 29 Anthony White (157) added tech falls. Ryan Ford (174) produced a 17-9 major decision over Seth Diby while wrestling up a weight class.
The following day, Rutgers took six bouts, including five of the final six, in an in-state dual against the Rider Broncs. No. 20 Andrew Barbosa (165) and No. 21 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (184) each won with bonus points, while No. 27 Dylan Shawver (133), No. 29 Anthony White (157), Ryan Ford (174), and No. 19 Hunter Catka (HWT) all won by decision as Rutgers took down Rider for the 11th straight meeting and retained the B1G-MAAC trophy in Lawrencville.
Rutgers will host No. 9 Minnesota on Friday, Feb. 6, at Jersey Mike’s Arena for its final Big Ten home dual of the season. The match is set for a 7 p.m. start and will stream on Big Ten Plus.
Women’s Gymnastics
Rutgers gymnastics posted a 194.575 performance against Penn State this past weekend, featuring standout vault, bar, and beam efforts from several Scarlet Knights, including Lisa Chevaire, Reagan Schnerkel, and Delaney Adrian, who scored a 9.9 on bars and a 9.875 on beam. She became the third Scarlet Knight to post a 9.9 or higher after Emily Leese (vault, floor) and Gabrielle Dildy (floor) did so earlier this season. It was not enough to defeat the Nittany Lions, who posted a 196.375 to win the meet.
Up next for the gymnastics squad will be a road meet at Maryland on Feb. 7, followed by home and away Big Ten duals through mid-February, including matches versus Iowa (Feb. 14) and Michigan (Feb. 21).
Women’s Swimming & Diving
The swimming and diving team closed out a two-day meet at Nebraska, earning multiple top-3 finishes and event victories on both the swimming and diving sides.
On Friday, Sofia Bartoloni in the 200-meter breaststroke and Ana Hazlehurst in the 200-meter IM had first-place swims, along with event winner Katerina Hoffman on 1M diving. Overall, Nebraska claimed the dual meet victory with a 230-123 margin.
On Saturday, Bartoloni was Rutgers’ lone event-winner in the 100 breaststroke, touching the wall in 1:02:87, while the Knights had five second-place finishes and four third-place finishes for ten total podium spots.
Rutgers will now host the Rutgers Platform Invitational on Feb. 7 before heading to the Big Ten Championships Feb. 18–21.
Women’s Tennis
While there is no detailed match coverage on the Rutgers Athletics website, the Scarlet Knights claimed their first victory of the spring season, taking down NJIT 5-2 in Newark. They will host Delaware on Friday at 12 PM.
Men’s & Women’s Track & Field
The Scarlet Knights are scheduled to host the Track & Field Scarlet Knights Open on Feb. 6, at The Armory in New York City. This will be a multi-event meet that will showcase both sprinters and field event athletes as spring competition accelerates.
Women’s Golf
Rutgers women’s golf finished round one of the Paradise Invitational on Monday at the Osprey Point Golf Course in Boca Raton, Florida. Sophomore Joline Truong and freshman Elizabeth Ryu are tied for 18th in the 90-player field with one-over-par 73s after the opening round.
The competition will be ongoing with full days on Tuesday and Wednesday. Currently, the Scarlet Knights are tied for 11th with a 16-over-par 304, with No. 30 Kentucky leading the team scoring after it shot an even 288, followed by No. 24 Tennessee (+1) and Georgia (+5).
Men’s Lacrosse Opens With OT Victory
Rutgers men’s lacrosse, ranked 18th in the country, took down Jacksonville 11-10 in overtime to open the 2026 season in sunny Florida. Colin Kurdyla led the Knights with four goals, while Colin Kelly and Colin Zeller each had two goals. Hayden Sommer, Shane Murphy, and Brenden Kelly each scored for Rutgers, as Colin Kelly was the overtime hero with the game-winning goal.
Cardin Stoller made 13 saves in the game with a save percentage of 56.5%, with Rutgers leading in shots 49-45 and forcing Jacksonville into 21 turnovers. The Scarlet Knights will host #12 Army on Saturday at 1 PM for their home opener at SHI Stadium in a ranked-vs-ranked matchup.
Meanwhile, Rutgers women’s lacrosse will host #21 Army on Friday evening at SHI Stadium at 6 PM to open their 2026 season.
2026 Football Schedule Released
The 2026 Rutgers football schedule has been finalized by the Big Ten! For more on that, check out my articles on the schedule itself and how each opponent measures up against the Scarlet Knights in 2026!
Upcoming Schedule
Feb. 3
- Men’s Basketball @ UCLA (9:30 PM)
Feb. 4
- Women’s Basketball @ UCLA (10 PM)
Feb. 6
- Women’s Tennis vs. Delaware
- Track & Field Scarlet Knights Open
- Rutgers WLAX vs. Army (6 PM)
Feb. 7
- Men’s Basketball vs. Nebraska (12 PM)
- Rutgers Platform Invitational (Diving)
- MLAX vs. Army (12 PM)
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