Northwestern University Athletics
11th-Ranked Wildcats Host Vikings at Welsh-Ryan Arena
12/2/2010 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 2, 2010
Northwestern (5-0, 0-0 Big Ten) vs. Cleveland State (1-0, 0-0 EWL)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 4
Site: Welsh-Ryan Arena • Evanston, Ill. • 3 p.m.
Live Streaming Video: Wildcat All-Access
Live Online Scoring: NWCA Live Scorebook
Northwestern Wrestling Notes and Statistics -- Dec. 2 
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Off to a 5-0 start and up to No. 11 nationally in this week's InterMat team rankings, Northwestern wrestles in Welsh-Ryan Arena for the first time this season Saturday when it hosts Cleveland State. Start time is set for 3 p.m.
The Wildcats hosted the NU Duals on Nov. 14 but did so in SPAC away from their usual home den of Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Cost of admission to Saturday's dual is $7 for adults and $5 for youth, students and senior citizens. Northwestern students are admitted free with presentation of a valid Wildcard.
The match marks NU's inaugural Cancer Awareness event, where the 'Cats will be wearing pink-trimmed uniforms and the first 50 fans in attendance will receive commemorative pink and purple pom-poms.
Northwestern Wrestling Viewbook Now Available Online
The official 2010-11 Northwestern wrestling team digital viewbook is now available on NUsports.com. The viewbook consists of team information, individual player pages and welcome videos from NU head coach Drew Pariano and associate head coach Tim Cysewski. Fans can also find a link in the viewbook to the Northwestern Wrestling online almanac, which provides all the historical information on the 'Cats one could need.
'Cats Climb National Rankings
Northwestern's strong start to the 2010-11 season has resulted in several Wildcats moving up in this week's InterMat individual rankings and the debut in the polls for a fourth. Sophomore 133-pounder Levi Mele debuted at No. 20 in the rankings thanks to his 6-1 start and his upset victory over BU's Freddie Santaite at the Keystone Classic. Mele advanced all the way to the finals of the event before falling to Penn's 10th-ranked Rollie Peterkin.
Returning two-time NCAA All-American Brandon Precin is ranked No. 2 in the nation at 125 pounds and is off to a 10-0 start. Only 2010 NCAA champion Matt McDonough of Iowa is currently ranked ahead of him.
At 149 pounds, senior Andrew Nadhir has picked up where he left off last spring, winning his first nine matches this season to move up from No. 10 to No. 7 in the national rankings.
Sophomore Jason Welch is ranked No. 7 at 157 pounds coming off his redshirt season a year ago. Welch is 7-1 and is coming off a runner-up performance at the Keystone Classic.
Pinning For the Win
Including open tournaments, Northwestern wrestlers have totaled 23 pins over the opening month of competition. By comparison, NU has suffered only four losses by pin, none of which came in dual matches. True freshman Kaleb Friedley collected his team-leading third, fourth and fifth falls of the year in consecutive matches on his way to a third-place finish at the Keystone Classic.
Last Time Out vs. Cleveland State
In 2009, Northwestern resumed its dual rivalry with Cleveland State after a long spell without facing the Vikings. NU got the best of Cleveland State by using four pins to post a 42-6 victory in Ohio on Dec. 17 last season. John Schoen wrestled up a weight class at heavyweight and led off the dual with a fall, and Marcus Shrewsbury and Aaron Jones capped off the win emphatically with back-to-back pins at 184 and 197, respectively.
NU Wins Two Titles at Keystone Classic
At of the 2011 NCAA Championships, No. 17 Northwestern collected two weight class titles, a pair of second-place finishes and two more third-place showings at the Keystone Classic hosted by Penn on Nov. 21. Brandon Precin (125) and Andrew Nadhir (149) each won their respective weights while Levi Mele (133) and Jason Welch (157) each reached their finals with four straight wins. Three Wildcats took third, including true freshman Kaleb Friedley (141) who finished with three straight pins to end the day. NU finished in second place as a team, just 5.5 points behind host Penn despite fielding only nine scoring competitors.
Jake Herbert Impresses at International Level
It was a busy month of November for Northwestern volunteer assistant coach Jake Herbert, who in addition to coaching NU also competed in several open tournaments. The U.S. World Team member won the 84 kg weight class at the New York AC Freestyle International, beating Keith Gavin 2-0, 2-0 in the finals. Herbert also claimed a silver medal at the Henri Deglane Challenge in Nice, France, defeating two French wrestlers and one American to reach the finals before falling to Russia's Soslan Ktsoev, 0-3, 0-1.
Midlands Tickets Available Now!
Northwestern Wrestling has announced that tickets for the 48th annual Midlands Championships to be held Dec. 29-30 in Welsh-Ryan Arena are now available for purchase. The tournament's ability to attract the top teams and individuals in college wrestling to the field continues in 2010 with the addition of future Big Ten Conference member Nebraska and Big 12 power Oklahoma.
Fans can download and complete the ticket reservation form linked here or call the Northwestern ticket office at 888-GO-PURPLE to secure their seats.
#11 Northwestern vs. Cleveland State: Probable Lineups
125: #2 Brandon Precin (NU) vs. Ben Willeford (CSU)
133: #20 Levi Mele (NU) vs. Nick Flannery (CSU)
141: Kaleb Friedley (NU) vs. Josh Paviloda (CSU)
149: #6 Andrew Nadhir (NU) vs. Lawrence Cavello (CSU)
157: #7 Jason Welch (NU) vs. Koort Leyrer (CSU)
165: Kevin Bialka (NU) OR Robert Kellogg (NU) vs. Robbie Michaels (CSU)
174: Brian Roddy, Jr. (NU) vs. Aric Thurn (CSU)
184: Aaron Jones (NU) vs. Nick Anthony (CSU)
197: John Schoen (NU) vs. Ryan Crabtree (CSU)
285: Ben Kuhar (NU) vs. Chris Weber (CSU)
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