Northwestern won the dual's final three bouts, including two in overtime and No. 1 heavyweight Mike McMullan sealed the match in the final dual to complete the turnaround victory for NU (7-7, 1-7).
Going into the last three matches of the dual, Stanford led the Wildcats 19-11 after an injury forfeit at 174 lbs. Jacob Berkowitz, No. 17 Alex Polizzi, and No. 1 Mike McMullan had three hard fought matches and pulled together three wins to steal the dual and defeat the Cardinal 20-19.
Jacob Berkowitz had a sudden victory win at 184 lbs., defeating Tommy Kimbrell in overtime. The two were tied at one going into the third period when Berkowitz got a quick take down to go ahead 3-1. After an escape and stalling call, the match went into overtime. Berkowitz came alive in overtime and sealed with match with a quick take down.
In the second overtime match of the dual, No. 17 Alex Polizzi defeated No. 10 Dan Scherer in four exciting periods. Polizzi was down 2-1 going into the second period. He was able to get a quick escape in the third but then lost a point for a potentially dangerous play in a controversial call. After a stalling call against Scherer, the two were tied going into the third period. The match went into over time after a scoreless third period where Polizzi was able to get a take down in the first 10 seconds to win the match.
The `Cats trailed 19-17 going into the heavyweight match. No. 1 Mike McMullan smoothly sealed the last match, defeating Josh Marchok 6-3.
The team also honored their seniors (Kevin Bialka, Pat Greco and David Helmer) for their last dual at Welsh-Ryan Arena this season.
Northwestern got off to a rocky start, losing their first two matches to ranked Cardinals. Pat Greco got the `Cats back on their feet with a major decision win over Matt Garelli at 141 lbs. Greco is one of three seniors honored for Senior Day and went out with a win in his last match at Welsh-Ryan Area.
No. 4 Jason Tsirtsis picked up some more extra points for the `Cats, defeating Donovan Halpin by a major decision. Tsirtsis improved to a 22-3 record going into the final meet of the regular season.
After the intermission, No. 7 Pierce Harger picked up a key win for Northwestern defeating No. 18 Jim Wilson 11-7. The first period was neck and neck and the two ranked wrestlers were tied at 5 going into the second period. Harger took control of the match in the second period, picking up substantial riding time. Wilson fought back strong in the third period but Harger was able to get a quick escape and take down to seal the match. This match marks Harger's third win against ranked opponents this season.
Northwestern will travel to Durham, N.C. next Saturday to take on Duke and N.C State in their last meet of the regular season before beginning competition in the 2014 Big Ten Championships in Madison, Wis. March 8 and 9.
Results:
125: No. 12 Evan Silver (Stanford) won by pin over Garrison White (NU), 1:54 (Stanford 6-0)
133: No. 10 Ryan Mango (Stanford) won by major decision over Dominick Malone (NU), 10-2 (Stanford 10-0)
141: Pat Greco (NU) won by major decision over Matt Garelli (Stanford), 14-4 (Stanford 10-4)
149: No. 4 Jason Tsirtsis (NU) won by major decision over Donovan Halpin (Stanford), 12-3 (Stanford 10-8)
157: Peter Galli (Stanford) won by decision over Ben Sullivan (NU), 7-3 (Stanford 13-8)
165: No. 7 Pierce Harger (NU) won by decision over No. 18 Jim Wilson (Stanford), 11-7 (Stanford 13-11)
174: Kyle Meyer (Stanford) won by injury default over No. 15 Lee Munster (NU), 5:08 (Stanford 19-11)
184: Jacob Berkowitz (NU) won by decision over Tommy Kimbrell (Stanford), 5-3 OT (Stanford 19-14)
197: No. 17 Alex Polizzi (NU) won by decision over No. 19 Dan Scherer (Stanford), 5-3 OT (Stanford 19-17)
HWT: No. 1 Mike McMullan (NU) won by decision over Josh Marchok (Stanford), 6-3 (NU 20-19)
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now