Northwestern wrestling coach Tim Cysewski entered his 12th season at NU with many uncertainties about his squad, more than half of which is made up of newcomers with little or no collegiate experience.
Now, two serious injuries to accomplished upperclassmen have made Cysewski’s team — which he described as the youngest in his tenure at NU — even younger.
But the season goes on. The Wildcats (2-2) travel to Texas Saturday for the Lone Star Duals in one of their final tune-ups before the difficult Big Ten schedule.
They do so, however, without the services of senior Tom Ciezki and junior Matt Huebner, who are out for the year after they sustained neck and knee injuries, respectively. Freshman Andrew Curran replaced Ciezki in the starting lineup in December after senior Will Marcantel had filled Huebner’s spot earlier in the season.
“(Ciezki and Huebner) are two guys that were going to carry some responsibility on the team, and it forces the younger guys to step up,” Cysewski said.
Ciezki and Huebner both qualified for the NCAA tournament last year — a feat no current NU player can lay claim to.
Minus two of his top wrestlers, Cysewski said his inexperienced team has made strides going into this weekend’s tournament.
But while they’re down South, the Cats will face seasoned competition in No. 24 Northern Iowa (1-2), Navy (1-1) and Stanford (2-3).
Although the coaching staff logs hours scouting opponents and wrestlers generally know their competitors, NU has little information on Navy and Stanford. The Cats will start the meet against nationally ranked Northern Iowa and will finish the day against Navy and Stanford.
“We have three meets in one day and that’s like playing three football matches in one day, ” Cysewski said. “Northern Iowa is a challenge, although we feel we match up well against them. I’d like to think we can compete with Navy and Stanford.”
The Cats had one week off for Winter Break, and coaches are using the Texas meet to prepare them for the dual-meet season.
NU started slow in tournament play this season. The Cats’ most promising performances came from junior Josh Saul, ranked No. 17 in the heavyweight division, and freshman Josh Ballard, who wrestles at the 141-pound class.
Saul defeated two seeded wrestlers at the Midlands tournament in December, while Ballard went 8-2 at the Michigan State Open and the Dual Deserts in Arizona.
Cysewski said he was pleased with his young team’s progress and excited to see it overcome obvious growing pains.
“We are a young team and there is a learning curve that goes through the roof as they are getting better every day, ” Cysewski said. “You prefer to win rather than lose, but you just keep learning and get better throughout the season.”
Cysewski highlighted the team’s work ethic, while Saul noted the increased intensity in practices. The Cats must develop the confidence and attitude necessary in the Big Ten, Saul said.
The coaching staff admits NU is outgunned against experienced competition on some nights, but it sees potential success in the team’s development.
Cysewski said the team’s injuries may be a blessing in disguise for his freshmen and sophomores.
“We want them to become seasoned veterans and that’s why they came to NU: for the challenge,” Cysewski said.
