Northwestern University Athletics
Big Ten's Best Convene at Conference Championships at Michigan
3/4/2010 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 4, 2010
Official Brackets -- 2010 Big Ten Championships 
2010 Big Ten Championships Notes
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern closed the 2009-10 regular season in thrilling fashion when it defeated Michigan, 20-16, on Feb. 21 in Evanston. Switching scenes to the Wolverines' home mats, NU will attempt to carry the momentum from that win into this weekend's Big Ten Wrestling Championships at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich. Three NU wrestlers are in position to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships if they finish at or above their tournament seeding.
Visit Michigan's official Big Ten Championships home page throughout the weekend for up-to-date tournament brackets and team standings. For live updates on NU's match-by-match results, follow the username @NU_SportsLIVE on Twitter. The finals of the Big Ten Championships will air live at 1 p.m. CT on the Big Ten Network.
What to Watch For
A total of six Wildcats are making their first-ever appearances at the prestigious Big Ten Championships, including a total of four true or redshirt freshmen. Only two current NU starters have finished among the place-winners at the conference meet: junior Andrew Nadhir (149) and sophomore John Schoen (197), who placed sixth and eighth, respectively, at the 2009 meet. Nadhir, who last season upset Ohio State's Lance Palmer and lost in tiebreakers to Penn State's Bubba Jenkins at the Big Ten Championships, earned his first national ranking this season and enters this weekend as the tournament's No. 6 seed in a loaded 149-pound weight class. Nadhir finished 4-4 in the Big Ten this year, improving to 10-6 in conference duals over the past two seasons.
Seeded NU Wrestlers
In addition to Nadhir at 149, NU senior Eric Metzler (133) and redshirt freshman Brian Roddy, Jr. (174) each earned No. 6 seeds at their respective weight classes. All three seeded Wildcats are looking to earn one of the automatic bids allotted to the Big Ten Conference to secure their first trips to the NCAA Championships.
Recent Big Ten Conquests
Northwestern has come away with at least one Big Ten champion every year since 2005, the longest such streak in program history. NU won three Big Ten titles in 2007 courtesy of Jake Herbert, Ryan Lang and Mike Tamillow and last season placed three competitors in the Big Ten finals: Herbert, Brandon Precin (125) and Jason Welch (157). In all, Tim Cysewski has coached 12 Big Ten champions during his 20 years as Northwestern head coach.
All the Way Back
On Jan. 16 at the Lone Star Duals, NU's Robert Joyce suffered a broken hand that caused him to miss Northwestern's next seven dual matches. Joyce, who had been wrestling up at 141 pounds to fill a void in the 'Cats' lineup, made his return to his old 125-pound spot on Feb. 21 against Michigan, and he did so in memorable fashion. Joyce trailed 4-1 to Michigan's Sean Boyle before ripping off six straight points to win a 7-4 decision. Joyce's first Big Ten dual victory of his career gave NU momentum that it used to claim the ensuing three bouts en route to the 20-16 dual win. The native of Arlington Heights, Ill., will be in Northwestern's lineup at 125 pounds this weekend in Ann Arbor.
The schedule for this year's event in Crisler Arena is as follows:
Saturday, March 6
Session I: 11 a.m. CT
Session II: 6 p.m. CT
Sunday, March 7
Session III: 11 a.m. CT
Championship Session: 1 p.m. CT
