After three-straight Friday's at Welsh-Ryan Arena, NU's dual vs. Illinois is the only Friday road dual on the 2011-12 schedule.
Last Time Out
After back-to-back weekends of home and away duals, Northwestern had just one match last weekend and downed Michigan State, 30-12. The 'Cats had four falls in the bout, including three in the first five matches. True freshman Jameson Oster (133), sophomore Kaleb Friedley (149), redshirt freshman Pierce Harger (165) and junior Levi Mele (125) all recorded pins for NU.
Then-No. 17 Mike McMullan took on his third top-10 opponent in as many matches and defeated No. 10 Mike McClure, 3-1. After a scoreless first, McClure took the 1-0 lead with an escape early in the period. McMullan then scored the lone takedown of the match on the edge of the mat to lead, 2-1. He then added a third-period escape to hang on for the 3-1 win. McMullan now has defeated top-10 wrestlers in back-to-back matches as he also edged then-No. 8 Bobby Telford of Iowa, 7-5 on Jan. 15.
Welch to Appear on Takedown Radio
Junior Jason Welch is scheduled to be a guest on the Takedown Wrestling Radio show Saturday, Jan. 28 at approximately 10 a.m. CT. Fans can listen online at Takedownradio.com or KXNO.com or via the I Heart Radio App for smart phones and tablets. If you're in the Des Moines, Iowa area, tune in to AM 1460 KXNO.
Scouting the Illini
Illinois is 11-2 on the year, 3-2 in conference action and finished sixth at Midlands. The two Illini dual losses on the year came at Iowa (20-13) and vs. Minnesota (26-9). Seven Illini wrestlers are ranked by InterMat, including three in the top-10. The Illinois ranked wrestlers are as follows: No. 5 Jesse Delgado (125), No. 5 B.J. Futrell (133), No. 16 Eric Terrazas (149), No. 10 Conrad Polz (165), No. 12 Jordan Blanton (174), No. 18 Brad Dieckhaus (184) and No. 16 Mario Gonzalez (197).
Northwestern and Illinois wrestled an exciting dual last year in Evanston with the 'Cats winning 27-13. NU won six bouts, including a decisive pin by John Schoen at 197 lbs. to seal the dual victory for Northwestern. Schoen trailed most of the match but in the third period, finished a shot and drove Gonzalez to his back. Gonzalez was injured on the takedown, but the officials granted Schoen the pin and six points for Northwestern to give the Wildcats a 24-13 lead heading into the final bout at heavyweight.
Scouting the Boilermakers
Purdue is 7-8 overall and 2-4 in Big Ten duals so far this year. The Boilermakers also wrestled at Midlands, placing 10th. Purdue has three ranked wrestlers on its roster, including No. 9 Cashe Quiroga at 133, No. 13 Ivan Lopouchanski at 149 and No. 19 Braden Atwood at 184. Matt Fields is listed as Sunday's probable starter at 133 lbs. as it is Senior Day for the Boilermakers. Last year, Northwestern won eight bouts against the Boilers in a 32-6 victory at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Probable Starters
No. 18 Northwestern No. 8 Illinois Purdue
125 No. 9 Levi Mele (20-4) No. 5 Jesse Delgado (22-3) Camden Eppert (7-9)
133 Jameson Oster (9-9) No. 5 B.J. Futrell (19-3) Matt Fields (20-7)
141 Colin Shober (11-9)
OR Pat Greco (9-9) Daryl Thomas (10-8) Brandon Nelsen (17-8)
149 Kaleb Friedley (15-7) No. 16 Eric Terrazas (17-5) No. 13 Ivan Lopouchanski (10-3)
157 No. 2 Jason Welch (15-0) Jackson Morse (8-7) Tommy Churchard (14-13)
165 Pierce Harger (14-8) No. 10 Conrad Polz (13-1) Kyle Moiser (11-9)
174 No. 13 Lee Munster (15-7) No. 12 Jordan Blanton (16-3) Drake Stein (10-10)
184 Robert Kellogg (2-10)
OR Marcus Shrewsbury (2-8) Tony Dallago (14-7) No. 19 Braden Atwood (17-8)
197 John Schoen (12-11) No. 16 Mario Gonzalez (15-4) A.J. Kissel (2-2)
Hwt No. 15 Mike McMullan (16-7) Pat Walker (11-11) Roger Vukobratovich (16-10)
Have We Met?
Just like the Iowa dual, Friday's match with the Illini could have a few potential rematches from Midlands. Jason Welch and John Schoen both recorded hard-fought victories over their Illini foes at Midlands. Welch wrestled Jackson Morse in his second bout at Midlands and faced a sizeable deficit before coming back to pin Morse in the second period (4:39). Schoen and Gonzalez had another exciting match in the wrestlebacks of Midlands where Schoen emerged the 7-5 winner. Schoen was wrestling in his third-straight overtime bout and had two leads on Gonzalez, including a lead late in the third, but Gonzalez scored a takedown with 19 seconds remaining to tie everything up. In overtime it was Schoen scoring the winning takedown with 19 seconds left to secure a spot in the top eight at 197 lbs. At 125 lbs., No. 4 seed Levi Mele met top-seeded Jesse Delgado in the third place match. Delgado handed Mele one of his four losses on the year as he pinned Mele in 3:44. Jameson Oster faced fourth-seeded B.J. Futrell in the second round and Futrell won with a 15-5 major decision.
Falling Fast
NU has 41 pins so far this season and has been making quick work of its opponents as 21 of those, or 51.2 percent, are first-period falls. Northwestern is on pace to pass last year's pin total rather quickly as the 'Cats had just 45 falls during the entire 2010-11 season. Kaleb Friedley is second on the team with seven pins as six of those came in the first period, including two in less than a minute. Four of Pierce Harger's five falls also came in the first period. Levi Mele leads NU this year with nine pins, but just one came in the first three minutes of the match.
Up Next
Northwestern takes a break from Big Ten action next weekend hosting Northern Illinois at 7 p.m., Friday, Feb. 3 at Welsh-Ryan Arena. That is the lone match scheduled for next week. NU wrestles three-straight nonconference opponents before closing out the Big Ten season at home Friday, Feb. 17 vs. Indiana.
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