Northwestern University Athletics
Pariano Announces Wildcat Captains for 2010-11 Season
7/14/2010 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
July 14, 2010
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- On the cusp of his first season as Northwestern head coach, Drew Pariano has announced a trio of experienced fifth-year seniors as his squad's captains for the 2010-11 campaign. Two-time All-American Brandon Precin (125), NCAA qualifier Andrew Nadhir (149) and veteran starter Robert Joyce (133) have been chosen to lead the Wildcats when they reconvene in September.
"From a standpoint of leadership, work ethic and commitment to the wrestling lifestyle, it is evident that these three athletes are ready to assume the title of team captain for our program," Pariano said. "All three of them set an incredible example for our younger wrestlers and have earned the respect of all their teammates. I look forward to Brandon, Andrew and Bobby achieving great success individually while leading us to great heights as a team in 2010-11."
Coming off a redshirt season in 2009-10, Precin returns for his final season at NU motivated to improve on his third-place national finish at the 2009 NCAA Championships. The Orland Park native currently sits in fourth on Northwestern's all-time wins list with 124 and has an opportunity to break Jack Griffin's career mark of 156. Precin's redshirt season culminated earlier this summer with an impressive third-place showing at the United States World Team Trials in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
Nadhir, meanwhile, is coming off a breakout junior season in which he reached as high as No. 13 in the national rankings at 149 pounds, qualifying for his first NCAA Championships and coming within one match of reaching All-American status. Nadhir finished 24-12 overall with a 14-5 mark in duals and 12 bonus-point victories.
Joyce, a native of nearby Arlington Heights, figures to be Northwestern's starter at 133 pounds this year after selflessly spending much of the 2009-10 season at 141 to fill a void in NU's lineup. After breaking his wrist on Jan. 16, Joyce managed to return for Northwestern's season finale against Michigan where he won in come-from-behind fashion at 125 pounds to help secure the Wildcats' 20-16 defeat of the Wolverines.
Precin, Nadhir and Joyce are charged with leading a promising young NU team that welcomes the nation's No. 2-ranked recruiting class to campus this fall in addition to returning starters Jason Welch (157), Brian Roddy, Jr. (174), John Schoen (197), Ben Kuhar (hwt.), Robert Kellogg (165) and Aaron Jones (184).
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