The Northwestern wrestling program’s history against Michigan has been a dreary one.
Over the course of the series, which began in the 1925-26 season, the Wildcats have made the NU football squad’s struggles against the Maize and Blue look mild in comparison. With their current streak of eight consecutive matches without a victory, the Cats have dropped to 6-66-2 in the series.
No. 16 NU (6-3, 1-1 Big Ten) will attempt to buck the trend Saturday when it travels to Ann Arbor, Mich., to take on the fourth-ranked Wolverines (9-2, 1-0).
“It’s going to be all about matchups,” NU coach Tim Cysewski said. “Michigan is one of the top teams in the country. If we get our best guys out there it’ll be interesting. It will just come down to who is the sharpest.”
In recent years, the Wolverines have throttled the Cats. The last time the teams met, during the 2003-04 season, Michigan won 37-7.
Things figure to be much closer this year since the Cats feature seven ranked wrestlers, only one fewer than the Wolverines. In four of the 10 weight classes, NU has the higher-ranked wrestler. This means the Cats will likely need at least one individual upset to snare the victory.
One intriguing battle with the potential to swing the match in the Cats’ favor is at 141 pounds between NU’s sixth-ranked sophomore Ryan Lang and Michigan’s fifth-ranked sophomore Josh Churella. The two, who have never faced each other at the collegiate level, each have only one loss this season.
The match will be only Lang’s second since coming back from an injury. Last Sunday, he returned in style with an 8-1 victory over Wisconsin senior Ed Gutnik.
“I’m confident that he’ll do well against Churella,” Cysewski said. “He rehabbed real hard and came back from his injury. He hasn’t missed a beat and he’s looked real sharp. The fact that he came back against the kid from Wisconsin who beat him last year and dominated him shows how much he’s improved.”
The heavyweight division also promises to be an exciting one to watch. NU’s ninth-ranked sophomore Dustin Fox will try to pull the upset against third-ranked senior Greg Wagner. After Wagner dominated Fox at last season’s Big Ten championships, Fox rebounded at the NCAA Championships by taking the match into overtime before falling, 3-1.
The Cats will also be counting on sophomore Jake Herbert, the co-Big Ten Wrestler of the Week last week, to contribute his usual strong performance. Herbert, ranked second in the nation at 174 pounds, will attempt to extend his winning streak to 29 against sixth-ranked junior Nick Roy. Herbert pinned Roy when the two met at last year’s NCAA Championships.
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