Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Unveil Challenging 2008-09 Schedule
8/13/2008 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Aug. 13, 2008
EVANSTON, Ill. - - Head wrestling coach Tim Cysewski has announced his team's schedule of matches for the 2008-09 school year, a slate that includes five home dual meets at Welsh-Ryan Arena in addition to the annual Midlands Tournament held in Evanston. Northwestern opens its season Nov. 9 in the Michigan State Open in East Lansing, Mich. and hosts its first dual contest Dec. 4 against Northern Illinois.
"This is perhaps the strongest and most balanced schedule Northwestern has ever been a part of," said assistant coach Drew Pariano. "The MSU Open is a great start to the year because it is loaded with Big Ten talent. You will never know if your first, second or third match of this tournament could eventually determine your NCAA seed in March."
Come Nov. 23, the Wildcats will head west for its first two dual matches of the season. Northwestern takes on Stanford at 2 p.m. CT followed by UC-Davis at 9 p.m. CT.
"This is a big road trip for us and the first time we are in California for duals since the 1996 season," Pariano said. "Stanford will be under the direction of first-year coach Jason Borrelli and UC-Davis is coached by former Iowa wrestler Lennie Zalesky. The trip will be a stern test for the team prior to the NWCA All-Star Classic."
For the third consecutive year, Northwestern will send representatives to the NWCA All-Star Classic, being held at St. John Arena in Columbus, Ohio on Nov. 24.
Following the Midlands Tournament on Dec. 29-30, the new year will usher in NU's trip to the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa on Jan. 10-11. Two weeks later, the Wildcats begin a string of eight consecutive duals against Big Ten teams with a home match against Michigan State on Jan. 23.
"We thrive on the intensity that the Big Ten season brings," Pariano said. "It prepares us for the Big Ten conference tournament (March 7-8, State College, Penn.), which is simply the best competition in collegiate wrestling."
The purple-and-white will conclude its season March 19-21 at the NCAA Championships in St. Louis, Mo.
2007-08 was a landmark year for Northwestern wrestling. The `Cats finished 13th as a team in the NCAA Championships and senior Dustin Fox gave the purple-and-white an individual champion for the second straight year. This year, Coach Cysewski has put together a stellar recruiting class that includes state champions Jason Welch (Walnut Creek, Calif./Las Lomas), Brian Roddy (Highland Heights, Ohio/St. Edward), and Eric Galka (Hobart, Ind./Hobart). Welch is the 2008 winner of the Junior Dan Hodge Trophy, awarded annually to the nation's top high school wrestler.
