On Dec. 30 then-No. 2 Brandon Precin was matched up against Iowa’s Matt McDonough, the nation’s top-ranked wrestler in the 125-pound weight division, in the finals of the Midlands Championships. After seven minutes of intense wrestling, Precin scored a 3-1 win to notch his second Midlands championship.
Precin now sits atop the rankings of the weight division according to the latest coach’s poll. When the Hawkeyes enter Welsh-Ryan Arena on Friday, Precin and McDonough will battle once again to determine who is the best wrestler in the 125-pound division.
“I got to treat it just like before,” Precin said. “I don’t care about the rankings per se, but I know he is a tough guy and I need to wrestle my match and not his.”
The redshirt senior has been a major factor for NU since he started wrestling for the Wildcats. He is a two-time All-American and a three-time NCAA qualifier with a third-place finish in 2009. Coach Drew Pariano said he hasn’t been around any wrestler like Precin.
“He’s just very confident in everything in he does,” Pariano said. “I don’t know if I have ever coached a guy who works harder than he does. He is so motivated to win a national title this year.”
The dual against No. 8 Iowa (9-0-1, 2-0 Big Ten) is projected to start with this marquee matchup and Precin said he understands that the outcome could really set the tone for the rest of the dual.
“It sets a bar for the rest of my teammates,” Precin said. “And if I wrestle poorly it is going to have an effect on the team.”
The two had never faced each other prior to this season because when NU and Iowa met last year, Precin was unable to wrestle because he was serving a redshirt season.
McDonough said that after the Midlands match he is excited to get another shot at beating Precin.
“It never feels good to lose,” McDonough said. “It’s a big deal to get another opportunity before NCAAs (to face Precin). It’s just another chance to wrestle the best in the country. That’s the reason I train the way I do and prepare, because if you want to be the best you got to beat guys that are going to come out and want to take your head off.”
Because NU hosted the Midlands Championships in December and will host the Big Ten Wrestling Championships in March, it is likely that Precin will have home court advantage in the first three meetings with McDonough.
“It doesn’t make any difference to me,” said McDonough, who is the defending national champion 125-pound weight division. “When you are on a big enough stage the people don’t really matter, as far as I’m concerned it’s just me and the other guy.”
Pariano said that McDonough’s mindset is a great attitude for a wrestler to have but that there is an advantage to wrestling at home.
“It does matter because you’re sleeping in your own bed,” he said. “You’re losing weight while you travel and eating different food if at all. You look at Michigan last weekend, we were on the road for four days and it takes a toll on you.”
The last meeting between the two schools was not pretty as the No. 18 Wildcats (15-1, 3-1) were shut out and pinned five times in the 49-0 loss last season. Pariano said that NU can’t just forget the loss, but that the team is excited to test itself against a top-level program like Iowa.
“They remember it,” Pariano said. “It motivates them completely and it just leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. It was last year and this is this year. Iowa has a 71-match (unbeaten) streak, but we match up with them. If they are going to overlook us because they wrestle Penn State on Sunday, then they will be sorry they overlooked us.”
