UNI won nine of the 10 dual matches to improve to 7-5 on the season. Northern Illinois fell to 4-6 on the year.
The night began with the Panthers' Cruse Aarhus scoring a 4-1 victory over NIU's Izzy Montemayor. Aarhus trailed 1-0 entering the third period, but came away with an escape, takedown and riding time point in the final stanza.
The Panthers' only real misstep of the evening occurred at 133 pounds where NIU's Tristen DeShazer pinned UNI's Steven Fitzgerald at the 1:29 mark of their match. DeShazer used a headlock to get the first-period fall. It proved to be the final win of the night for the Huskies.
UNI bounced back at 141 pounds as Trent Washington avenged an earlier season loss to NIU's Pat McLemore, 4-2. Washington tallied 2:05 of riding time in the match and used a pivotal first-period reversal to earn the victory. McLemore had scored a 10-9 win over Washington at the Midlands Championships in December.
The Panthers' Brett Robbins provided some thrills for the home crowd as he won his 149-pound match on a reversal with only seven seconds left in the match against Will McDermott. The match was scoreless entering the third period, until Robbins netted an escape. McDermott took a 2-1 lead with 15 seconds left in the match, but Robbins managed to score a reversal and add a riding time point for the 4-2 victory.
UNI 157-pounder Tyson Reiner used an all-out third-period assault on NIU's Bryan Deutsch to tally a 14-6 major decision. Reiner entered the third period leading 4-3, but the Panther netted four takedowns in the final 1:09 of the match to earn a bonus point for the home squad.
Returning All-American Moza Fay put the crowd on their feet with a second-period fall over NIU's Bran O'Connor. Fay led 4-0 after one period and then after a wild scramble caught O'Connor on his back midway through the second period for the pin. It was Fay's 20th win of the season and 34th career fall.
At 174 pounds, the Panthers' Scott Hazen battled the Huskies' Derrick Yant. Hazen held command of the first two periods and led 4-1 after five minutes of action. But Yant refused to give in and took a 6-5 lead with only 44 seconds left in the match. Hazen was able to escape to tie the match at 6-6 and then won the match with a riding time point after accruing 1:24 of advantage time.
UNI's Alex Dolly scored a pair of first period takedowns en route to a 6-4 victory over NIU's Brad Dieckhaus at 184 pounds. Dolly led 4-2 after one period and made it 6-3 with 1:15 left in the second. Dieckhaus rode out Dolly in the third period, but the sixth-year senior from Mishawaka, Ind., was able to hang on for the 6-4 triumph and improve to 5-3 on the year.
Senior Andrew Anderson jumped all over NIU's Scott Penny in the first period and led 6-1 at the conclusion of three minutes. Anderson added to his lead in the second with a reversal with only 24 ticks left in the period. Penny netted a third-period escape, but Anderson was able to register the 8-2 victory. It was Anderson' 20th win of the season to against only six setbacks.
Redshirt freshman Christian Brantley added to his team-high win total with a third-period fall over NIU's Zak Saevre at the 6:10 mark of the final match of the evening. Brantley led 10-2 at the time of his fall and was able to catch Saevre in a cradle on the far-side of the mat for the victory. The win moved Brantley's season mark to 23-6 overall.
The Panthers will return to the mat on Fri., Feb. 6, in Ames, Iowa, when they take on the Iowa State Cyclones. The dual will begin at 7 p.m. in Hilton Coliseum.
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