The Northwestern wrestling team is looking to build on the recent performances of John Giacche and Ryan Kane as it prepares for a tough match at No. 18 Michigan State today.
With the Spartans (4-8, 1-3 Big Ten) coming off blowout losses to No. 4 Oklahoma State and No. 9 Missouri, the Wildcats (7-10, 0-5) are hoping to snag their first conference win of the season.
Although Giacche and Kane have been NU’s only consistent winners this year, head coach Tim Cysewski said success this weekend will depend upon a strong team performance at Jenison Field House.
“We haven’t put it together as a team yet,” Cysewski said. “We just need everyone to put it together and wrestle a complete match this week.”
The junior Giacche, ranked No. 16 in the country in the 141-pound weight class, will be looking to add to his 5-0 Big Ten record and 10-match winning streak. And Kane, a sophomore, heads into the meet with a 4-1 conference mark, having won 12 of his last 14 matches.
Freshman Mike Kimberlin said the younger Cats try to follow the example set by the upperclassmen.
“When you’re constantly losing, you’ve got to get out of that slump and out of that track,” Kimberlin said. “But when you wrestle well, you get out of that slump and start doing well, and everything just falls into place.”
After a tough 38-6 loss to No. 1 Minnesota on Feb. 8, NU has virtually nowhere to go but up.
The Cats lost 24-17 to the Spartans in Evanston two years ago, the last time the two teams met. Michigan State leads NU 23-14-1 in the all-time series.
But this year, Cysewski said his team has no major injuries.
“Right now, I feel really good about where our team is physically,” Cysewski said.
The Spartans aren’t as lucky. Michigan State has three injuries that could affect its performance this weekend. All-American Gray Maynard sustained a broken hand in last week’s practice, Karl Nadolsky has a broken nose and Ryan L’Amoreaux is suffering from a broken rib. Because of the injuries, the Spartans’ lineup for the meet is uncertain.
Judging by records alone, Michigan State appears to share the Cats’ ill fortune in the Big Ten this season. But the Spartans’ record is deceiving – 10 of their 12 duals have come against ranked opponents.
Regardless, junior Brendan Curran said NU had a strong week of practice and is prepared for a battle – maybe even prepared to pick up its first conference win in two seasons.
“There are no real favorites in any of the weights,” Curran said. “That’s one of the reasons why I think this is going to be a tough dual meet.”
