On Friday the Northwestern wrestling team welcomed Eastern Illinois to Evanston, hung on for a 26-21 victory and started a one-game winning streak.
On Sunday, defending NCAA champion No. 3 Iowa stormed through Evanston and crushed the Wildcats by a score of 45-3.
The winning streak, just 48 hours old, was terminated.
If anything, the loss to the Hawkeyes (9-1, 1-0 Big Ten) allows the Cats (3-6, 0-1) to see where they currently stand among the best in the Big Ten. NU coach Tim Cysewski conceded that Iowa was the more talented and more experienced team, but he said his young squad’s brutal indoctrination into the conference will be beneficial in the long run.
“I don’t care when during the season we play them, but you do measure yourself against those guys,” Cysewski said. “We have the rest of the season to close that gap.”
The Cats faced an uphill battle Sunday against the Hawkeyes, who had a clear advantage in talent and experience. But Iowa left themselves vulnerable by resting three star seniors ranked in the top five of their respective weight classes. NU still competed against a lineup that featured five wrestlers ranked in the top 10 nationally. The Cats have one ranked wrestler — Saul, at No. 17.
Still, Cysewski said a lot of matches were too close to call.
The Cats performed admirably in the beginning with Marcantel battling hard in a 3-0 loss and Saul winning a 10-5 decision over Iowa’s Josh Liddle. The match score was tied at 3-3.
Then the Hawkeyes exploded in the remaining eight matches to outscore NU 42-0.
The highest moment of that tough stretch came in the 157-pound matchup of former high school teammates: Erwinski and No. 1 T.J. Williams. Erwinski immediately gained the upper hand, but Williams excelled in the end and produced a 24-10 major decision.
“Jason got off to a great start,” Saul said. “He let the Iowa attitude get the best of him, and I know that won’t happen again. That match should have been close.”
The Hawkeyes, winners of the last six NCAA championships, proved to NU why they’re still the favorite to win the Big Ten despite strong teams at No. 2 Minnesota and No. 5 Illinois.
“You have to give them their due,” Cysewski said. “Until someone beats them they are the best.”
The Cats began the two-game homestand with the expectation of dispatching Eastern Illinois (1-3) and thereby avenging a disappointing 20-18 loss a year ago. Eager to win for the first time in more than a month, NU jumped out to a 20-point lead with three matches remaining.
In prior meets, NU’s bottom five in the lineup had contributed little after a string of injuries rushed them into competition. But NU finally received some production against Eastern Illinois.
Senior Will Marcantel and junior Josh Saul each opened the contest with victories and injected some confidence into the entire team. Marcantel (197 pounds) wrestled intelligently in a 3-2 decision, while Saul (285 pounds) looked brilliant in his first match back from a knee injury, overwhelming his opponent in an 18-4 major decision.
“We were looking at Eastern Illinois as a team we were going to beat pretty easily, and Will went out with a little more confidence and won,” Saul said. “(My match) felt good all the way around, as it was a blowout.”
The teams exchanged forfeits at the 125- and 133-pound weight classes. Then the match approached the strength of the NU lineup — the middle weight classes — which succeeded in extending the lead and clinching the victory.
Freshman Josh Ballard (141 pounds) dominated Eastern Illinois’ Shawn Slenczka 11-2, and sophomore Jason Erwinski continued his success this season by overpowering and pinning Frank DeFilippis. Eastern Illinois controlled the remaining three matches, which, in retrospect, made freshman Ryan Cumbee’s comeback victory at 149 pounds even more crucial.
Against Eastern Illinois’ Joe Gassen, Cumbee was down by four points in the final round, but he rebounded and pulled out a narrow 6-5 victory.
“At that point you still have hope,” Saul said of the four-point deficit. “That guy was more holding onto the lead then increasing the lead. And Cumbee just started turning it on.”
Cysewski was glad NU defeated its intrastate opponent, and he remained upbeat despite the Cats’ Big Ten opening loss.
The coaching staff emphasized the need for experience and confidence in the tough Big Ten — five conference teams sit among the nation’s top 10.
“You can’t go out there hoping to score points,” Cysewski said. “It is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you believe you are going to win, then you will.”
