Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Preps for Big Ten Championships
3/7/2003 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
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March 7, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. -
It all comes down to this. Nine Northwestern wrestlers are headed to Madison, Wis. for this weekend's Big Ten Championships looking for a shot at the NCAA Championships. The top-seven finishers of each weight class, as well as two at-large berths will make the NCAAs. In a conference that features six teams in the InterMat top-10 and eight in the top-15, making the NCAAs is quite the accomplishment.
Session one begins Saturday at 11 a.m., followed by session two at 6 p.m. The third session is set for noon Sunday, followed by the finals at approximately 2 p.m.
"Kids come to Northwestern to face the toughest guys in the country," said NU head coach Tim Cysewski. "When you qualify for NCAAs out of the Big Ten Championships, you have a better chance of becoming an All-American."
Seniors Jason Erwinski (Tinley Park, Ill./Mt. Carmel) and John Giacche (Flemington, N.J./Blair Academy) come into the weekend as NU's only seeded competitors. Erwinski is the No. 6 seed at 165 pounds with a 20-11 overall record. He leads the 'Cats with a 12-5 dual record (the exact opposite of the team's dual mark), including 5-3 in conference play. Giacche, along with Cal Ferry of Illinois, is the No. 8 seed at 141 pounds. Giacche checks in with a 19-15 record and a seventh-place showing at last year's conference championships.
A pair of freshmen get the nod at 125 and 197 pounds. John Velez (Kings Mills, Ohio/Kings) will represent NU at 125, and Matt Delguyd (Mayfield, Ohio/Mayfield) will go at 197. Velez and Delguyd each have 19 wins in their first season.
Sophomore Mike Kimberlin (Bradley, Ill./Bishop McNamara) leads the team with a 24-15 record at 157 pounds. His 24 wins are the fourth-most in the country for sophomores at his weight class. Kimberlin (9-8) joins Erwinski as the only NU wrestlers with winning dual match records.
Andrew Curran (Chicago, Ill./Mt. Carmel) and Brendan Curran (Chicago, Ill./Mt. Carmel) provide a one-two brother punch at 174 and 184 pounds. Tommy Vargas (Highland, Calif./Pacific) at 133 pounds, and Josh Ballard (Carlsbad, N.M./Carlsbad) at 149 pounds, round out the NU lineup.
"I think everybody should go into this weekend with the attitude that they're going to do well," Cysewski said. "There will be upsets, there will be disappointments. The key is to stay focused on the first match to set the tone for the rest of the tournament."
