‘ ‘ ‘ Northwestern stayed with No. 20 Illinois for the early part of Sunday’s meet, but ultimately the Illini proved too much, besting the Wildcats by a score of 30-6.
Coach Tim Cysewski’s squad only managed two wins on the day. Freshman Levi Mele, wrestling in the 125-pound division, took down John Deneen for the first conference victory of his career. Although Deneen had beaten Mele earlier in the season at the Midlands Championships, Mele went ahead at the start and never looked back. The freshman won by a margin of 3-0. Three bouts later Junior Andrew Nadhir, ranked 14th in the country in the 149-pound division, won a come-from-behind overtime contest against No. 20 Eric Terrazas. After erasing a 5-1 deficit in the third period, Nadhir recorded the winning takedown five seconds into overtime.
Nadhir’s match pulled the Cats within nine, but all four of NU’s final grapplers lost, and Illinois left Evanston with its seventh victory of the season.
‘We let 2-3 matches get away from us, we had opportunities to win match, and those guys have to do what it takes to get it done,’ Cysewski said. ‘(Marcus) Shrewsbury, Brian Roddy, John Schoen, all three of those guys we expect to be in a position to win. (We) could have gotten wins there.’
Shrewsbury, who normally wrestles in the 184-pound weight class, competed in the heavyweight division for the fifth time this season. One week after falling 12-0 to Indiana’s Nate Everhart, Shrewsbury came close against Marty Smith. The freshman was only down 4-2 at the end of the second period, but Smith recorded a takedown with 28 seconds left and came away with a 6-4 win.
Overall, NU (5-8-1, 0-2 Big Ten) lost three decisions by four points or less.
On the heels of a 31-9 defeat to No. 14 Indiana, NU’s schedule doesn’t get any easier. Now the Cats must focus on their next three opponents: No. 13 Penn State, No. 4 Ohio State and No.1 Iowa.
‘We’ve got to get back to basics; good solid basics are going to win tough matches,’ Cysewski said. ‘We have to be a little more physical-from the first second to the very end. I think some guys have to learn it a little quicker.’ [email protected]
