Wrestling: Northwestern opens Big Ten schedule with Wisconsin, Minnesota losses

Kelsey Carroll/The Daily Northwestern

Graduate student Ryan Deakin wrestles Wisconsin’s Garrett Model. Deakin’s 8-3 decision against Model was not enough to give Northwestern a team victory.

Nathan Ansell, Assistant Sports Editor
January 10, 2022

Coach Matt Storniolo and No. 23 Northwestern (2-2, 0-2 Big Ten) faltered against two conference rivals Friday and Sunday.

The Wildcats traveled to Madison, Wis. to share the mat with No. 16 Wisconsin (6-0, 2-0 Big Ten). It was the Cats who struck first, jumping out to a 9-0 lead with three early decisions. Senior No. 17 Michael DeAugustino rode the momentum of a reversal in the second frame to turn a 4-0 deficit into a 9-5 decision against No. 4 Eric Barnett at 125.

However, the early results didn’t faze the Badgers. Wisconsin stormed back, taking five of the next six individual showdowns. Senior Brendan Devine’s tech fall defeat against No. 24 Braxton Amos at 197 gave the hosts an insurmountable lead.

No. 14 junior Lucas Davison capped the afternoon with NU’s second top-five upset of the day at heavyweight, edging out No. 5 Trent Hillger in a 4-3 decision. Nonetheless, the Badgers dealt the Cats an overall 19-15 defeat, their first loss of the season.

NU traveled Sunday to No. 14 Minnesota (2-2, 1-1 Big Ten), facing a team the Cats haven’t defeated since 2018. The Golden Gophers immediately rolled to six straight victories, including two pins, a major decision and a forfeit.

DeAugustino got NU on the board at 125, notching his second top-five upset of the week against No. 5 Patrick McKee. The match was tied at 6-6 until a near fall was awarded with 15 seconds remaining, putting DeAugustino ahead for good.

Sophomore No. 9 Chris Cannon found himself on the right side of a 6-3 decision against No. 24 Jake Gliva at 133, and graduate student No. 4 Yahya Thomas’ 6-1 decision over No. 26 Michael Blockhus was the Cats’ largest individual margin of the dual.

At the end of the day, however, Minnesota handed NU its most one-sided road loss since 2018 with a 31-9 final result.

The Cats will look for their first Big Ten victory of 2022 when they host No. 1 Iowa (8-0, 2-0 Big Ten) Friday.

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Twitter: @NathanJAnsell

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