Dec. 24, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State Nittany Lion senior Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) has been named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week for the week ending December 22, 2013. The honor is the fourth of Ruth's career and the fourth this year for Penn State.
Ruth, ranked No. 1 at 184 by Intermat, gave notice that the two-time defending NCAA Champion is still the man to beat at 184-pounds with a dominating 12-4 major over No. 2 Ethan Lofthouse of Iowa. Ruth controlled the match from start to finish, notching five takedowns, including three in the first period, en route to piling up 2:21 in riding time. His major helped Penn State to a 24-12 win in Carver-Hawkeye Arena in a non-conference dual win (Penn State's first in CHA since 2006).
The victory keeps the Lion senior undefeated on the year at 12-0 with three pins, five techs and four majors. He has now won 80 straight matches dating back to an injury forfeit in the NCAA quarterfinals his freshman year (2011 in Philadelphia). Ruth is 114-2 over his career, including a perfect 46-0 mark in dual meets. He has 38 pins, 21 tech falls and 27 majors.
Ruth's honor is the fourth for Penn State. Fellow National Champion David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) has won the honor twice and true freshman Zain Retherford (Benton, Pa.) won last week.
Penn State heads to Chattanooga, Tenn., on Jan. 1-2 in search of its fourth-straight Southern Scuffle title. The event, hosted by UT-Chattanooga, begins on New Year's Day at 9 a.m. Penn State's next home date is a Sunday, Jan. 12, dual with Purdue in Rec Hall at 2 p.m.
With the full season of Rec Hall duals sold out prior to the start of the campaign, a very limited number of standing room only tickets are available to a few of remaining Rec Hall duals. People may purchase tickets by calling 1-800-NITTANY or by visiting the Penn State Athletics ticket office located in the BJC. Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at www.twitter.com/pennstateWREST and on Penn State Wrestling's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling. The 2013-14 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline.