Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
St. Cloud State
Nadhir Wins Three Matches for 'Cats at NU Duals
11/14/2009 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Nov. 14, 2009
NU Duals Tournament Central (results of all nine dual matches)
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern junior Andrew Nadhir won all three of his matches Saturday at the NU Duals in Welsh-Ryan Arena as the Wildcats posted a 1-2 record on the day. The Wildcats knocked off St. Cloud State 17-12 in the opener before falling in its ensuing matches to Stanford (27-6) and Big Ten foe Purdue (33-7).
Nadhir improved to 6-2 on the young season by downing St. Cloud State's Alex Kontz by major decision (11-3) and defeating Stanford's Mike Kent and Purdue's Nick Bertucci by decision.
Below is a match-by-match recap of Northwestern's trio of dual matches. The 'Cats return to dual action on Sunday, Nov. 22, when they travel to Ypsilanti, Mich., to face Eastern Michigan at 1 p.m.
NORTHWESTERN 17, ST. CLOUD STATE 12
In Saturday's opening dual, St. Cloud State got on the board first at heavyweight when Jacob Kahnke edged NU's Ben Kuhar, 5-4. Northwestern quickly tied the match at three with a win at 125 by Robert Joyce, who defeated SCSU's Trent Herold 4-3. Herold scored a two-point takedown with just 20 seconds remaining in the match to tie the score at three, but Joyce scored on an escape in the waning seconds to earn the decision.
Senior Eric Metzler followed that up with a 4-0 decision at 133 over Shane McQuade, racking up 1:22 worth of riding time during the match.
Following a double-forfeit at the 141-pound weight class, Northwestern posted back-to-back major decisions, beginning with Andrew Nadhir at 149. Nadhir began expanding his lead over SCSU's Alex Kontz with a quick escape and takedown in the second period. The NU junior went on to amass 3:22 of riding time in posting the 11-3 victory.
At 157, Marella worked hard in the final minutes of the match to ensure the bonus point victory, wisely allowing John Sundgren a one-point escape late to give himself an opportunity for a two-point takedown and an 11-3 major decision.
St. Cloud State recovered over the next two matches as Tad Merritt and Shamus O'Grady won 10-3 and 10-4 decisions at 165 and 174, respectively, to bring the team score to 14-9. Freshman Marcus Shrewsbury (184) battled at 184 in his first collegiate dual match start, narrowly losing 3-2.
The outcome of the dual rested on the 197-pound match where John Schoen faced Luke Munkelwitz with the 'Cats leading 14-12. Schoen came out aggressively, notching a takedown in the first 15 seconds to take the lead. An escape by Schoen to start the second gave him a 3-1 lead but Munkelwitz pulled back within one on an escape in the third. Schoen fought off Munkelwitz' every attempt to score late in the match, maintaining his one-point advantage to give NU the dual match victory.
• Northwestern 17, St. Cloud State 12
285: Jacob Kahnke (SCSU) dec. Ben Kuhar (NU), 5-4 (SCSU 3, NU 0)
125: Robert Joyce (NU) dec. Trent Herold (SCSU), 4-3 (SCSU 3, NU 3)
133: Eric Metzler (NU) dec. Shane McQuade (SCSU), 4-0 (NU 6, SCSU 3)
141: Double forfeit
149: Andrew Nadhir (NU) MD Alex Kontz (SCSU), 11-3 (NU 10, SCSU 3)
157: Dominic Marella (NU) MD John Sundgren (SCSU), 11-3 (NU 14, SCSU 3)
165: Tad Merritt (SCSU) dec. Kyle Bertin (NU), 10-4 (NU 14, SCSU 6)
174: Shamus O'Grady (SCSU) dec. Frank Battaglia (NU), 10-3 (NU 14, SCSU 9)
184: Derek Skala (SCSU) dec. Marcus Shrewsbury (NU), 3-2 (NU 14, SCSU 12)
197: John Schoen (NU) dec. Luke Munkelwitz (SCSU), 3-2 (NU 17, SCSU 12)
STANFORD 27, NORTHWESTERN 6
Heavyweight Ben Kuhar lost another close decision to open NU's dual with Stanford, falling 3-1 to Dylan Rush with the deciding takedown coming late in the second period.
The 125-pound match was a high-scoring affair from the start, with Stanford's Ryan Mango jumping to an 8-6 lead over Northwestern freshman Levi Mele--making his first dual match appearance--after just one period. Mele rebounded to score three points (one escape, one takedown) in the second period and take a 9-8 advantage, a lead he held for over two minutes into the third frame. After starting the third in a neutral position, the two remained scoreless until the final 10 seconds when Mango managed to gain control and eke out a late one-point win.
Andrew Nadhir (149) was the first Wildcat to post a win against the Cardinal, defeating Michael Kent 13-6 at 149. Nadhir reeled off three takedowns in the first period and tacked on two more in the second. Kent was never able to take down Nadhir, who racked up 1:36 worth of riding time in securing the victory.
Stanford answered with a 10-3 win at 157, where Lucas Espericueta topped Dominic Marella 10-3. At 165, Robert Kellogg surrendered a pair of takedowns in the first period to Nick Amuchastegui before posting a reversal and an escape to pull within 4-3. Amuchastegui escaped to start the third period and scored one final takedown to wrap up an 8-4 win.
After back-to-back decisions for Stanford at 174 and 184, John Schoen picked up a victory at 197 by defeating Richard Kessler, 8-4. As was the case in his previous match, Schoen was the aggressor early and held a 2-1 lead after one period. He opted for the bottom position in the second and used it to up his lead to 3-1 on an escape before scoring once again with a takedown. It was more of the same in the third period, with Schoen securing one more takedown and a riding time point to win 8-3, bringing the final score of the dual to 27-6.
• Stanford 27, Northwestern 6
285: Dylan Rush (STAN) dec. Ben Kuhar (NU), 3-1 (STAN 3, NU 0)
125: Ryan Mango (STAN) dec. Levi Mele (NU), 10-9 (STAN 6, NU 0)
133: Justin Paulsen (STAN) dec. Eric Metzler (NU), 7-4 (STAN 9, NU 0)
141: Bret Baumbach (STAN) Win by Forfeit (STAN 15, NU 0)
149: Andrew Nadhir (NU) dec. Michael Kent (STAN), 13-6 (STAN 15, NU 3)
157: Lucas Espericueta (STAN) dec. Dominic Marella (NU), 10-3 (STAN 18, NU 3)
165: Nick Amuchastegui (STAN) dec. Robert Kellogg (NU), 8-4 (STAN 21, NU 3)
174: Jake Johnson (STAN) dec. Frank Battaglia (NU), 7-0 (STAN 24, NU 3)
184: Zack Giesen (STAN) dec. Aaron Jones (NU), 7-3 (STAN 27, NU 3)
197: John Schoen (NU) dec. Richard Kessler (STAN), 8-3 (STAN 27, NU 6)
PURDUE 33, NORTHWESTERN 7
In what constituted one of the earliest Big Ten dual matches in recent memory, Northwestern closed its afternoon looking for a league win against Purdue in the schools' first matchup since 2007. A Boilermaker fall at heavyweight gave the visitors an early 6-0 advantage, a lead that grew to nine when Matt Fields defeated NU's Robert Joyce (125) on a reversal in the third period that accounted for the only scoring of the bout.
The decision at 133 was equally as close as Eric Metzler went into the final 20 seconds of the match with a 4-3 lead over Purdue's Akif Eren. But Metzler was whistled for his third caution of the match on a restart following an out-of-bounds, giving Eren the tying point on a penalty. On the ensuing restart, Eren broke free from Metzler's grasp to escape with a 5-4 come-from-behind victory and put the Boilermakers in control, 12-0.
Nadhir again picked up the flag for the 'Cats with a hard-fought 8-4 win over Nick Bertucci at 149. Leading 3-1 in the second, Nadhir got a huge turn on Bertucci for two back points and a 7-1 advantage. Again Nadhir completed his match without being taken down and hung on for the victory.
Purdue's 11th-ranked Colton Salazar gave the visitors six more points with a pin of Northwestern freshman Kevin Bialka 4:40 into their match at 157, but Robert Kellogg responded for NU at 165 by defeating Jason Martin 10-1 by major decision. Martin scored only on a first-period escape while Kellogg was on top for a net total of 1:51 to earn a riding time point on his way to the major decision.
Purdue was able to claim the final three matches, however, including at 184 where Shrewsbury again looked strong but fell just short, losing 5-3 to Nicholas Corpe on a late takedown. When it was over, the Boilermakers had won their Big Ten opener by a 33-7 margin.
• Purdue 33, Northwestern 7
HWT: Wells (PUR) FALL Ben Kuhar (NU), 4:57 (PUR 6, NU 0)
125: Matt Fields (PUR) dec. Robert Joyce (NU), 2-0 (PUR 9, NU 0)
133: Akif Eren (PUR) dec. Eric Metzler (NU), 5-4 (PUR 12, NU 0)
141: Juan Archuleta (PUR) win by forfeit (PUR 18, NU 0)
149: Andrew Nadhir (NU) dec. Nick Bertucci (PUR), 8-4 (PUR 18, NU 3)
157: Colton Salazar (PUR) FALL Kevin Bialka (NU), 4:40 (PUR 24, NU 3)
165: Robert Kellogg (NU) MD Jason Martin (PUR), 10-1 (PUR 24, NU 7)
174: Luke Manuel (PUR) dec. Frank Battaglia (NU), 10-3 (PUR 27, NU 7)
184: Nicholas Corpe (PUR) dec. Marcus Shrewsbury (NU), 5-3 (PUR 30, NU 7)
197: Logan Brown (PUR) dec. John Schoen (NU), 6-0 (PUR 33, NU 7)
