Northwestern got off to a hot start in conference play last year before free falling after its bout with Illinois. The Wildcats will try to avoid that same fate when they face the No. 24 Fighting Illini on Sunday.
NU (5-7-1, 0-1 Big Ten) started 2-0-1 in Big Ten play last year before losing five straight duals against top-25 teams to close the season. That streak began with Illinois, after NU lost 22-13 at Huff Hall.’
‘We got off to a rough start (losing to Indiana last weekend), but we have to put it behind us and go get the win,’ junior Andrew Nadhir said. ‘We don’t want a losing streak, especially in the Big Ten season. There’s no such thing as an easy match anymore.’
Only four wrestlers from last year’s starting lineup will face the Illini again this weekend. Among those four only Nadhir, who wrestles in the 149-pound weight class, won his previous match. Nadhir will attempt to defeat the Illini’s Eric Terrezas for a second straight year. Both have improved since they last met as unranked foes: Nadhir is now 14th and Terrazas 20th in the nation.
‘I expect to major him flat out,’ Nadhir said. ‘I wrestled badly against him last year, and I’m wrestling much better this year. Hopefully I can carry last Sunday’s performance into this weekend.’
The Cats look to shake off their 31-9 defeat to Indiana last weekend. Senior Eric Metzler (133), freshman Brian Roddy Jr. (174) and Nadhir won their matches, though coach Tim Cysewski will need some of his other wrestlers to take points against Illinois if NU wants to get back on track in Big Ten play.
‘We have to, need to, wrestle well,’ Cysewski said. ‘We’d like to get something out of the 125, 133 divisions, to get some early momentum. Those are two matchups we need to win. In addition the (165-pound division) is going to be a toss-up, so that’s a big match.’
As has been the case throughout the season, the Cats head into Sunday’s bout knowing they will be forfeiting one weight class, which means giving away six points. NU’s 141-pound slot has been empty since the team lost redshirt junior Keith Sulzer for the year, while sophomore Bobby Joyce broke his hand two weeks ago against Oklahoma.
‘It’s almost like going to a football or basketball game without two or three guys in the lineup,’ Cysewski said.
Illinois has nationally ranked wrestlers in weight classes of 141, 149, 174, 184 and 194 pounds. Cysewski said he hopes Roddy, who has been had an excellent season with a 5-1 record on the year, junior Aaron Jones (184) and sophomore John Schoen (197) can pull off at least one upset among the three of them.’
‘Illinois probably has the advantage with the (forfeit),’ Cysewski said. ‘But the home court gives us something going for us.’
After inconsistent performances in their non-conference slate, NU will have to step up its play against what is arguably the country’s most difficult wrestling conference.’
‘Every match is important,’ Nadhir said. ‘For a lot of guys, it’s a chance to get national recognition and a good seed at the Big Ten tournament. Each match now is like a national finals match.’ [email protected]
