Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Make Home Debut Saturday in Northwestern Duals
11/10/2009 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Nov. 10, 2009
Northwestern Duals Central (featuring team and bout-by-bout results for all nine matches)
EVANSTON, Ill. — NU officially delves into the dual season Saturday when it hosts six other squads in the 2009 Northwestern Duals at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Wildcats kick off the day at 10 a.m. against St. Cloud State before facing Stanford at noon and Big Ten foe Purdue at 2 p.m. In recognition of High School Day, any student with a valid school ID can purchase a ticket at the door for just $2.
Doors to Welsh-Ryan Arena open at 9 a.m.
Also competing at the NU Duals on Saturday are Eastern Michigan, Northern Iowa and North Central. For a complete list of dual match schedules, mat assignments and match results, visit the NU Duals Central Web site at the top of the page.
LIVE COVERAGE
Northwestern fans can once again follow live scoring for NU matches courtesy of the NWCA Live Scorebook. Follow the links below to track each of the Wildcats' three matches on Saturday:
10 a.m. • NU vs. St. Cloud State • Live Stats
Noon • NU vs. Stanford • Live Stats
2 p.m. • NU vs. Purdue • Live Stats
Each of Northwestern's matches will also be available to watch live online via the streaming service on NUsports.com's All-Access page.
LAST TIME OUT
Northwestern captured a pair of weight class titles at the season-opening Eastern Michigan Open Saturday in Ypsilanti, Mich., both of which came from NU's 125-pounders. Two-time All-American Brandon Precin (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) coasted through the Open division while wrestling unattached—surrendering only two points in four matches—while Levi Mele (Vernal, Utah/Uintah) , a former high school state champion in Utah, won the title in the freshman/sophomore division in his debut with the 'Cats.
At the other end of the weight spectrum, NU redshirt sophomore heavyweight Ben Kuhar (Concord, Ohio/St. Edward's) took third place in the Open division by winning four matches in the wrestleback bracket. Junior Andrew Nadhir (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central) was NU's next-highest finisher, placing fourth at 149 pounds.
SCOUTING THE BOILERMAKERS
Purdue arrives in Evanston with three wrestlers ranked in the top 20 of their respective weight classes by InterMat—Colton Salazar (No. 11, 157 lbs.), Luke Manuel (No. 11, 174 lbs.) and Logan Brown (No. 14, 197 lbs.). Salazar, a redshirt junior, was named the Big Ten's Wrestler of the Week on Tuesday following his championship at the Eastern Michigan Open in which he defeated two ranked opponents.
Northwestern last faced Purdue in a dual match in the 2007-08 season when the 'Cats defeated the Boilermakers 21-17 in West Lafayette.
SCOUTING THE CARDINAL
Stanford will be looking for revenge against Northwestern after NU downed the Cardinal 25-15 a year ago on Stanford's home mats on Nov. 23. In that match, NU's Robert Kellogg posted a major decision and Dominic Marella notched a big victory at 165 over Nick Amuchastegui to spur Northwestern to the road win.
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
Saturday marks St. Cloud State's first dual official competition of the season. The Huskies are led by returning NCAA qualifier Jacob Roberts at 149, who finished 28-11 as a junior last season and who was named to the NSIC all-conference team. The coach of St. Cloud State is Steve Costanzo, who has a career coaching record of 86-44-2 and was named the 2006 NWCA/NAIA Coach of the Year.
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