After taking an early lead in both of its weekend meets, the Northwestern wrestling team was unable to come away with a single win.
No. 21 Purdue defeated the Wildcats 24-9, despite NU’s early advantage in West Lafayette, Ind., on Friday night. Two days later, NU crept out to another promising lead but fell 24-15 to Northern Illinois in De Kalb.
The Cats (7-6, 0-1 Big Ten) jumped out to a six-point lead against Purdue, after 133-pounder Tommy Vargas and All-America candidate John Giacche secured victories in the first two matches. Two consecutive NU losses tied the score at 6, but Ryan Kane’s win in the 165-pound class regained the lead for the Cats.
Kane’s points were the last for NU, as Purdue dominated the rest of the match.
“It’s definitely a dual meet we thought we could have and should have won,” said Robert Potashnick, a 125-pounder. “They’re a team that’s toward the bottom of the Big Ten, and we thought we could knock them down a little lower.”
Giacche said practice results need to translate into match play.
“I think if the guys start responding to what the coach has been asking us in practice, there will be different outcomes individually in the future,” Giacche said. “Everyone needs to bring what we do downstairs in the practice room upstairs when we compete.”
While some of his teammates performed well, Giacche said he was frustrated with NU’s overall effort.
“I don’t think it’s as much to do with the way Purdue wrestled, but with the way we wrestled,” the junior said. “Some guys just didn’t compete as well as they could have.”
The Cats had hoped to start the conference season with a win after going 0-8 last year. Big Ten victories have been scarce for NU, which competes in the toughest conference in the country. The Cats are one of only two unranked Big Ten teams in InterMat’s latest poll.
So Friday’s blown lead was all the more disappointing for Giacche and his teammates.
Giacche said he felt the Cats were in a position to win both meets, pointing to several late losses that could have made the difference in the final score against Purdue.
Sunday’s meet against Northern Illinois was the last opportunity for NU to snag a win against a nonconference opponent. But the Cats were again unable to capitalize on an early advantage.
Wins by heavyweight Mike Little and 197-pounder Brendan Curran brought the Cats to another 6-0 lead. Two Huskies wins tied the score.
And again the Cats went up, riding a Giacche victory over Oliver Vasquez, who was disqualified near the end of the match, to a 12-6 lead.
NU’s Ryan Cumbee, a 149-pounder, was forced to forfeit after an injury occurred during his match, leaving the teams tied at 12.
“The thing that hurt us the most was Cumbee going down with an injury when we were winning the match,” Giacche said.
NU was unable to regain the lead through the remainder of the meet.
Set on avoiding the cellar, the Cats head into the heart of the Big Ten season Friday, facing off against Illinois at home.
“Everybody in the Big Ten is pretty much ridiculous,” Potashnick said, “but there’s no reason we can’t be there too.”
