#18 UW (9-4, 3-1) @ #14 Northwestern (6-4, 1-4) 1-26-2014

[TomM]

No. 14 `Cats Host No. 18 Badgers Sunday
NU matches up in fifth straight dual against ranked opponent
The No. 14 ranked Wildcats (6-4, 1-4 B1G) return home Sunday to face No. 18 Wisconsin (9-4, 3-1 B1G) at 12 noon CT.
www.NUSPORTS.COM  
Jan. 24, 2014
No. 18 Wisconsin (9-4, B1G 3-1) at No. 14 Northwestern (6-4, B1G 1-4)
Date Sunday, Jan. 26 | 12 noon CT
Location  Welsh-Ryan Arena  | Evanston, Ill.
Live Stats   NWCA Track Wrestling http://www.trackwrestling.com/tw/dualmeets/DualMeetDetail.jsp?dualMeetId=214081009
Social Media  
Twitter @NU_Wrestle |  https://twitter.com/NU_Wrestle
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/NorthwesternUniversityWrestling
Season Stats NW http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/nw/sports/m-wrestl/auto_pdf/2013-14/stats/season_stats.pdf
EVANSTON, Ill. – The No. 14 ranked Wildcats (6-4, 1-4 B1G) return home Sunday to face No. 18 Wisconsin (9-4, 3-1 B1G) at 12 noon CT.
Sunday marks Northwestern's fifth consecutive dual against an opponent ranked in the Top 25, all Big Ten Conference rivals.
Following the 'Cats dual against the Badgers, NU faces Iowa and Illinois, also ranked in the Top 25 at No. 2 and No. 11 respectively, which will mark a stretch of seven straight Big Ten Conference duals against ranked opponents.
Matchup Probable Starters
125: Garrison White (7-9) vs. No. 10 Ryan Taylor (11-2) or Matt Cavallaris (5-4)
133: Dominick Malone (10-7) vs. No. 6 Tyler Graff (22-3)
141: Pat Greco (11-9) vs. Jesse Thielke (12-11)
149: No. 4 Jason Tsirtsis (18-3) vs. TJ Ruschell (14-9) or Rylan Lubeck (4-5)
157: Ben Sullivan (7-5) vs. No. 7 Isaac Jordan (19-4)
165: No. 9 Pierce Harger (16-4) vs. Frank Cousins (11-8) or Ben Cox (4-5)
174: No. 15 Lee Munster (6-3) vs. Scott Liegel (13-8)
184: Jacob Berkowitz (8-9) vs. Jackson Hein (10-5) or Dylan Iczkowski (4-5)
197: No. 17 Alex Pollizzi (15-6) vs. Timmy McCall (11-9)
285: No. 4 Mike McMullan (6-1) or Robert Coukos (0-4) vs. No. 10 Connor Medbery (18-4) or Brock Horwath –

Sunday's Promotion: Team Day: The NU wrestling team is excited to invite all local wrestling teams to Welsh-Ryan Arena for Team Day. All groups of 15 or more that buy tickets will be admitted for just $3 per person, and will receive a free NU souvenir hat. In addition, the Northwestern wrestling team will be hosting a free clinic for youth wrestlers in grades 8 and under after the match. The clinic will be held in the Northwestern wrestling room and is open to all wrestlers in grades 8 and under. It will be run by the Northwestern staff and student-athletes, including NCAA Champion Jay Borschel. It is free with a ticket to the match, but registration is required.

NCAA Releases First Division I Wrestling Coaches' Panel Rankings
The NCAA released its first Division I Wrestling Coaches' Panel Rankings of the season and seven Wildcats made the rankings at their individual weights:

133:  Dominick Malone – No. 31
141:  Pat Greco – No. 27
149: Jason Tsirtsis – No. 5
165: Pierce Harger – No. 9
174: Lee Munster – No. 11
197: Alex Polizzi – No. 17
HWY: Mike McMullan – tied No. 3

Where They Rank
NU currently has five wrestlers ranked by Intermat.

149: No. 4 Jason Tsirtsis (18-3)
165: No. 9 Pierce Harger (16-4)
174: No. 15 Lee Munster (6-3)
197: No. 17 Alex Polizzi (15-6)
HWY: No. 4 Mike McMullan (6-1)

Last Time Out: NU Falls to No. 1 PSU, No. 12 OSU on Road Trip
No. 14 Northwestern won three straight matches at 149, 157 and 165 pounds against No. 12 Ohio State on Jan. 17, but it was not enough to get past the Buckeyes, who won a 21-12 outcome over NU (6-3, 1-3) at Moeller High School in Cincinnati.

The Buckeyes (7-2, 2-2) won the first three matches over the 'Cats, as all three of their wrestlers at weights 125, 133 and 141 lbs. were ranked in the Intermat Top 20 at their respective weight classes.

No. 4 Jason Tsirtsis (17-3) got the 'Cats on the board and rebounded from his loss last week against Minnesota with a 6-4 decision over No. 18 Ian Paddock, setting the dual score at 11-3.

At 157, Ben Sullivan defeated Randall Languis 6-2 and No. 9 Pierce Harger, wrestling at his high school alma mater, closed the gap to 11-9 with a 10-3 decision over Joe Grandominico.

However, OSU swept NU at 174, 184 and 197 lbs. to put away the dual win with a 21-9 advantage.

No. 4 Mike McMullan (5-1) ended the dual with a 6-2 decision over Nick Tavanello.

Two days later, the three-time defending NCAA champions Penn State Nittany Lions proved too much to handle for Northwestern.

No. 1 Penn State won eight of the ten individual bouts Sunday at the Bryce Jordan Center to upend No. 12 NU 39-8 Sunday.

The Lions (9-0, 3-0), who featured eight of their ten starters ranked in the Top 20 including three in the top three by Intermat, won seven matches with bonus points.

Northwestern (6-4, 1-4) got individual wins by No. 4 Jason Tsirtsis at 149 lbs. and heavyweight No. 4 Mike McMullan.

Getting to Know the Badgers
The Badgers upset ninth-ranked Ohio State at the UW Field House on Jan. 10. Timmy

McCall gave UW the momentum it needed with a 3-1 sudden victory decision over No.4 Nick Heflin at 197 lbs. pushing the Badgers to a 22-15 team victory. UW then traveled to No. 2 Minnesota where it claimed the first two matches before falling 28-8 tothe Border Battle rivals.

Following its upset win over Ohio State, Wisconsin checked in a No. 19 in the USA Today/NWCA/AWN Division I Coaches Poll this week. Big Ten teams occupy the top two spots in the poll and 10 of the top 25.

Freshman Ryan Taylor moved up to No. 10 at 125 lbs. this week. Taylor posted a pair of Big Ten victories, pinning OSU's No. 17 Nick Roberts before claiming a 3-0 decision over Minnesota's Jordan Kingsley.

Senior Tyler Graff checks in a No. 6 this week. Graff improved his Big Ten record to 4-0 with wins over OSU's Kyle Visconti and Minnesota's No. 10 David Thorn.

Redshirt freshman Isaac Jordan continues to be ranked at No. 7 at 157 lbs. Jordan earned a 5-2 decision over OSU's Randy Languis. Jordan was idle during the Minnesota dual.

The 2013 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Connor Medbery remained at No. 10 this week, following a split in dual meet action. Medbery won by decision over OSU's NickTavanello before suffering a 4-1 decision to Minnesota's No. 1 Tony Nelson.

[hammen]

I'll be at this one. If anybody wants me to provide updates let me know. Can't wait!

[Ghetto]

Yes please

[ankle pick]

That would be great Drew!

[leg turk]

Noon starting time,  kick some tail Badgers!

[TomM]

Northwestern fails to overcome slow start in loss to No. 19 Wisconsin
http://dailynorthwestern.com/2014/01/27/sports/wrestling-northwestern-fails-to-overcome-slow-start-in-loss-to-no-19-wisconsin/

[leg turk]

Northwestern fails to overcome slow start in loss to No. 19 Wisconsin
http://dailynorthwestern.com/2014/01/27/sports/wrestling-northwestern-fails-to-overcome-slow-start-in-loss-to-no-19-wisconsin/

They had a slow start because our wrestlers are better than theirs!   

[bigG]

  Nice win.

[dad 2 5]

+1