Precin opened things on the right note for Northwestern, pinning Chicago's Zach Matayoshi at the 3:38 mark. Precin entered the duals coming off an impressive performance at last week's Eastern Michigan.
NU extended its lead to 10-0 when freshman Eric Metzler (Luxemburg, Wis./Luenmburg-Casco) earned a major decision over Ben Hart of the Maroons. Metzler had a strong second period, earning an escape and takedown for three points. Chicago left 141 lbs. open and reigning Big Ten Wrestler of the Week and top-ranked Ryan Lang (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Edward) did not wrestle in the 'Cats first dual, but did pick up a victory by forfeit.
Chicago inched closer at 16-6 when L.T. Switzer pinned Wildcat Marty Gould (Lincolnwood, Ill./Niles West), but the 'Cats took three more points on a 3-1 win by sophomore Brandon Lozdoski (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem) over Troy Carlson. The sophomore earned his points on a takedown in the first period and an escape in the second to take the narrow win. Freshman Dominic Marella (Roselle, Ill/Conant) won a spiritied bout by a 4-3 decision over Phil Kruzel. Marella had his entire Wildcat squad on its feet as he earned a crucial escape in the third period to take the bout at 165 lbs.
Nick Hayes (Council Bluffs, Iowa/Lewis Central) saw his first action of the year at 174 and earned a 3-1 decision over Mike Bishoff to extend the Wildcats' lead to 25-6. Top-ranked Jake Herbert (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) followed and did not disappoint. He pinned his opponent, Justin Lucas, 1:15 into the match, but in those 75 seconds, Herbert recorded three takedowns. The fall extended the 'Cats' lead to 31-6.
Highlighted by a near fall, Carl Howe (Three Rivers, Mich./Three Rivers) took down Drew Marriott 10-3. NU left 285 lbs. open and won their first dual of 2006, 34-12.
The 'Cats' match against Navy turned out to be the most exciting of the four sessions, with both teams possessing nationally-ranked grapplers. NU trailed 16-9, but roared back to win, 20-16. Precin again started the dual off at 125 lbs. and scored an 11-6 decision. It was an impressive showing for the freshman against Alex Usztics as he scored three takedowns, an escape and a near-fall.
Metzler was edged by Brandon Beasley 6-4, but top-ranked Lang scored his first pin of the day in his match at 141 lbs. Lang recorded the fall against Brad Canterbury at the 2:22 mark. He had already notched two takedowns and a near-fall before getting the pin.
Navy took the lead in the dual by taking matches at 149, 157, 165 and 174 lbs, but even though the 'Cats trailed 16-9, Herbert was next at 184 lbs. The top-ranked junior scored a 13-5 major decision over Antonio Miranda to move the Wildcats within three points using five takedowns and 3:22 of riding time. Junior Mike Tamillow (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick) put the 'Cats in front with a convincing 9-0 major decision over Matt Parons.
With the 'Cats in front 17-16, the dual came down to the heavyweight match between junior Dustin Fox (Galion, Ohio) and Navy's Ed Prendergast. Fox trailed 1-0 heading into the decisive third round, but scored six points to get the 6-3 decision and Northwestern took the match 20-16.
Looking to cap off a perfect start to the dual season the Wildcats next took on the Indianapolis Greyhounds. Precin, wrestling his third match of the day at 125 lbs. recorded his second pin of the day at 1:51 over Indy's John Fleming. Sophomore James Kohlberg (Rolling Meadows, Ill./Rolling Meadows) extended the lead to 9-0 in his first action of the day at 133 lbs.
Lang scored his second pin of the afternoon at the 1:31 mark of his 141-pound match against Matt Irwin. The Greyhounds took matches at 149 and 157, but Marella, wrestling at 165, scored a 10-0 major decision to push the lead to 19-6.
At 184 lbs., Jake Herbert scored his second pin at the 1:32 mark of his match against Rob LaGrange. Herbert scored two takedowns and a near-fall before finishing the match. Howe wrestled at 197 lbs. and took a 9-2 decision.
Tamillow competed at heavyweight against Indy's Jose Navarro and won the match in an 8-2 decision. Northwestern moved to 3-0 in its first dual meet action of the season with the 31-11 win over Indianapolis.
The 'Cats return to action Nov. 18 at the ACC/Big Ten Clash held in Chapel Hill, N.C. They return to Evanston Dec. 8 to host Northern Illinois.
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