Northwestern University Athletics
Season Recap: 'Cats Put Together Banner Year
4/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
April 5, 2005
EVANSTON, Ill. - With a stable of key returning veterans, one of the nation's top freshman classes and the redshirts coming off two of his top wrestlers, Head Coach Tim Cysewski was brimming with excitement coming into the 2004-05 season.
His team did not disappoint one bit.
The Wildcats put together a watershed year that included a Beast of the East Invitational team title, an epic comeback win over Iowa, a Midlands and Big Ten Champion, one All-American and a 14th-place finish at the NCAA Championships.
And with all but one starter returning next season, Northwestern wrestling has its best days on the horizon.
The Wildcats started the season November 20-21 at the Michigan State Open and wasted little time announcing their presence by placing in six weight classes. Freshman Dustin Fox (Galion, Ohio/Galion High School) began his collegiate career with a second-place finish in the heavyweight division, posting a 3-1 record. Sophomore Ryan Lang (North Royalton, Ohio/Lakewood St. Edward) and senior Mike Kimberlin (Bradley, Ill./Bishop Martin McNamara) each placed third. Freshman Mike Tamillow (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick) notched a fourth-place finish, while Matt Delguyd (Mayfield Heights, Ohio/Mayfield) and Daniel Quintela (St. Paul, Minn./Highland Park) both came in fifth.
The `Cats then returned home to begin dual competition and promptly hung a 21-13 upset win on then-No. 23 Northern Illinois. After two more wins over Augustana (37-9) and UW-LaCrosse (33-9) at Augustana's Pre-Christmas Duals, Northwestern was running on all cylinders heading into its next competition: the Beast of the East Invitational.
There, repeat champion John Velez (Kings Mills, Ohio/Kings) led Northwestern to an overall team title, as six Wildcats earned individual championships. The 125-lb. Velez, 149-lb. freshman Greg Hagel (Linwood, N.J./Blair Academy), 157-lb. Kimberlin, 174-lb. freshman Jake Herbert (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny), 184-lb. Tamillow and the 197-lb. Delguyd all claimed first place. NU finished with 162.5 points, 61.5 points ahead of their closest competitor in the 14-team field.
Two weeks later at the 42nd Midlands Championships, Herbert became the Wildcats' first undergraduate champion since 1974 when Andre Allen won the 142 lb. title. Seeded seventh, Herbert upset the sixth, fifth and second seeds on his championship run. Tamillow notched a sixth-place finish in his first-career Midlands, while Delguyd finished seventh -- the highest in his three years with NU. As a team, the Wildcats' seventh-place finish was their best since the 1992-93 season when they took sixth.
Northwestern continued to roll along a week later at the Buckeye Duals with nonconference wins over UNC Greensboro, Drexel and Buffalo by an average of 15 points, improving to 6-0 in dual competition.
After the Hoosiers edged the `Cats in Bloomington in both teams' Big Ten opener, Northwestern captured its first conference victory in five years by beating Purdue, 27-10.
The Wildcats' first conference win in five years was big, but what happened the following week in the NU's first dual match at Welsh-Ryan Arena was downright monumental.
Eighth-ranked Iowa came to Evanston, and, early on, did the `Cats much like they had done them the past 37 years. The Hawkeyes won four of the first five weight classes to jump out to a 19-3 lead. But that was before 2004 Midlands Champions Jake Herbert stepped in to spark his squad by pinning Luke Lofthouse in a little over a minute (1:05), slicing the Hawkeye lead to 19-9.
Tamillow followed with a thrilling, last-second victory over fifth-ranked Paul Bradley, in which he slammed the All-America Hawkeye to the mat as time expired for a 5-3 win. After Delguyd came through with a crushing, 10-2 major decision at 197 lbs., the `Cats were only down 19-16.
Then, like Tamillow, Fox kept the Wildcats' momentum rolling with a one-point win over a top-10 opponent -- seventh-ranked Matt Fields. Fox's 7-6 decision set the stage for Velez at 125 lbs., who snapped Northwestern's 37-year drought against the Hawkeyes by gutting out a 10-8 decision over Charlie Falck.
Head Coach Tim Cysewski described the 22-19 win over his alma mater, where he was an all-America in 1976, as a "Dream come true."
Although Northwestern would not win again in conference play, the Wildcats rebounded by placing five at the Big Ten Championships and finishing in ninth place overall with 68.5 points. Delguyd highlighted the Championships, which took place at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, by claiming the conference title at 197 lbs. Delguyd scored a takedown in overtime of his title bout against Ohio State's top-ranked JD Bergman to become Northwestern's first Big Ten Champion since Mark Bybee in 2000.
Herbert, meanwhile, took second place at 174 lbs., while classmates Fox and Lang finished fourth in their weight classes. Junior John Velez joined the quartet in qualifying for the NCAA Championships by placing sixth.
On the national stage in St. Louis, Mo., Northwestern put together its second-highest finish in Cysewski's 15-year tenure. Going a combined 19-9, the `Cats tallied 39.0 points for 14th place -- the best since Cysewski's first year at the helm in 1990 when NU finished fourth. Herbert punctuated the top-20 finish by defeating Illinois' Pete Friedl in a rematch of the Big Ten Title bout to claim third place, earning All-America honors.
With all five national qualifiers returning next year, Wildcat wrestling is on the rise.
