Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Ohio St.
Wildcats Succumb to No. 9 Buckeyes, 25-14
2/21/2003 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Feb. 21, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. - Sparked by Josh Ballard's (Carlsbad, N.M./Carlsbad) pin at 149 pounds, Northwestern jumped out to a 14-4 lead Friday against No. 9 Ohio State. But the Buckeyes rallied, winning the final six matches to hold on for a 25-14 win at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
NU won the first two matches, both by major decision, to take an early 8-0 lead. John Velez (Kings Mills, Ohio/Kings) did not allow Nathan Costello a single takedown en route to a 12-4 win. Jon Ott (Chesterfield, Mo./DeSmet Jesuit) followed Velez with a 14-5 win against Rob Rosenfeld.
Senior John Giacche (Flemington, N.J./Blair Academy) fell to Jeff Ratliff, 14-6, cutting NU's lead in half. Ballard responded, wasting little time taking care of business at 149 pounds with a pin of OSU's Ryan Derr at the 2:01 mark.
The momentum began to shift at 157 pounds, where top-ranked Keaton Anderson, who had a 28-1 record, coming into the match, outlasted Mike Kimberlin (Bradley, Ill./Bishop McNamara), 5-2. Sixth-ranked John Clark followed with a narrow 10-8 win against Jason Erwinski (Tinley Park, Ill./Mt. Carmel). Erwinski got control of Clark's left leg, but the buzzer sounded before he could get the match-tying takedown.
Ohio State tied the contest at 14-14 with a major decision at 174 pounds and never looked back.
Northwestern returns to the mat Sunday, Senior Day, against No. 2 Iowa. The dual is slated to begin at 2 p.m. at Welsh-Ryan.
Ohio State 25, Northwestern 14125-John Velez (NU) major dec. Nathan Costello (OSU), 12-4, NU 4-0 133-Jon Ott (NU) major dec. Rob Rosenfeld (OSU), 14-5, NU 8-0 141-#14 Jeff Ratliff (OSU) major dec. John Giacche (NU), 14-6, NU 8-4 149-Josh Ballard (NU) pinned Ryan Derr (OSU), 2:01, NU 14-4 157-#1 Keaton Anderson (OSU) dec. Mike Kimberlin (NU), 5-2, NU 14-7 165-#6 John Clark (OSU) dec. Jason Erwinski (NU), 10-8, NU 14-10 174-#6 Blake Kaplan (OSU) major dec. Andrew Curran (NU), 13-0, Tied 14-14 184-Casey Kapustka (OSU) dec. Brendan Curran (NU), 8-3, OSU 17-14 197-#11 Anton Talamantes (OSU) dec. Matt Delguyd (NU), 4-2, OSU 20-14 Hwt-#2 Tommy Rowlands (OSU) tech. fall Matt Repchak (NU), 2:06, OSU 25-14
