Every athlete wakes up in the middle of the night, drenched in a nervous sweat just thinking about it. It can appear without notice, and leave just as mysteriously and quickly. It is a slump, and it can happen to even the best athletes.
And John Giacche might be caught in its clutches.
“I’m in a little bit of a funk, but I am ready to get out of that,” he said.
The senior will have a chance to pin his slump this weekend as NU travels to Ashland, Ohio, for the Wendy’s Duals on Sunday.
One of two members of the Northwestern wrestling team (4-1, 0-0 Big Ten) to compete in the 2002 NCAA championships, Giacche faltered Jan. 4 when he went 1-2 in his matches at the Lone Star Duels in Arlington, Texas. He lost to Cal Poly’s Matt Owen and Navy’s Nate Gulosh before rallying back to overtake Harvard’s Mike Baria.
“I just wasn’t letting everything hang loose so I got away from my style a little bit — and I was thinking too much,” Giacche said.
Giacche has gone 15-7 in meets this season and has triumphed in three duals. The only blemish on his dual-meet record came from the Lone Star meet.
Despite Giacche’s self-critical eye, Wildcats head coach Tim Cysewski has been pleased with his senior’s — and team’s — performance this season, but feels there is room for improvement before the Big Ten season opens Jan. 24.
“We need to get a few more guys wrestling better,” he said. “As we get closer and closer to the Big Ten duals, we need to get everybody wrestling at the same level — at high pace — and I think the next two weeks will help us get that way.”
NU will meet Big Ten rivals No. 13 Purdue (6-1, 0-0) and No. 23 Indiana (5-2, 0-0) along with other teams in Ohio on Sunday, with Indiana coming off a huge upset win over then-No. 15 Missouri on Dec. 21. The then-unranked Hoosiers were led in the 20-18 win by No. 8-ranked Coyte Cooper. The junior may prove to be the stepping stone that Giacche needs to overcome his “funk” should the two meet in the 141-pound weight class match.
Cysewski is confident the Cats will wrestle more consistently as the season progresses and already has noticed vast improvements. Senior Jason Erwinski and sophomore Mike Kimberlin both swept all three of their matches in Texas, and redshirt freshman Scott Johnson has been “very helpful” in the heavyweight class with his two pins at Lone Star.
“It’s just a matter of getting out there and being consistent,” Cysewski said. “Hopefully the rest of the guys will start getting comfortable out there. The guys just need to learn a sense of urgency — as soon as you step onto a mat, you need a sense of urgency to win. And as soon as they get that mindset, they’ll be better off.”
NU (4-1) at Wendy’s Duals
Sunday
Kates Gymnasium, Ashland, Ohio
