Northwestern University Athletics
'Cats Welcome Three Teams This Weekend
1/20/2004 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Jan. 20, 2004
EVANSTON, Ill.--After two months since their last home dual match, Northwestern's wrestling team (8-2, 0-1 Big Ten) returns to Welsh-Ryan Arena, where it will face Purdue at 7 p.m. Friday, Indiana at 2 p.m. Saturday and Missouri Baptist at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Last week, NU fell to Iowa, where freshman Nick Hayes (Council Bluffs, Iowa/Lewis Central) was the lone Wildcat to win a bout. He may get the bid again to start at 165 lbs.
"Nick showed a lot of point in front of a hostile crowd," said head coach Tim Cysewski. "But the team was disappointed overall because we could easily have won some of the other bouts (against Iowa). I think with some slight adjustments, we can turn those matches around."
Another probable in the lineup is Mike Kimberlin (Bradley, Ill./Bishop McNamara). The junior carries a 16-7 record at 157 lbs. and was the only NU wrestler to win bouts against both Purdue and Indiana last year.
The Boilermakers (14-2, 0-0), ranked 17th by InterMat, started the season with 10-straight wins and has won four of their last five. They are led by senior Ryan Lange (23-1), considered fourth-best in the nation at 174 lbs. Last year he won the Big Ten title in his weight class in addition to garnering All-America honors.
"Purdue is a very balanced team," said Cysewski. "It will be a matter of us going out there with a lot of focus and intensity in order to beat them."
Although unranked, the Hoosiers (15-3, 0-0) are no slouch, either. They feature senior Coyte Cooper (26-1), a 141-pound wrestler ranked No. 7, and junior Pat DeGain (20-3), ninth-best at 197 lbs.
Indiana will take on Wisconsin Friday night before competing against NU and Missouri Baptist on Saturday.
The Spartans (12-6) hail from the American Midwest Conference and took 14th at the 2003 NAIA national tournament, due in large part to junior Will Riffe, who last year became the school's first All-America in wrestling.
"It will be interesting to see how we fare in back-to-back dual matches," said Cysewski. "Both Indiana and Missouri Baptist have good individuals."
Cysewski, whose career record is 99-134-5, is seeking his 100th career victory this weekend.
