Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Back in Action at NU Duals Sunday
12/8/2011 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 8, 2011
#19 Northwestern (1-0-0)
vs. SIU-Edwardsville (0-3-0)
Sun., Dec. 11 • 3 p.m.
Welsh-Ryan Arena
Evanston, Ill.
Live Scoring: TrackWrestling.com
#19 Northwestern (1-0-0)
vs. Indianapolis (2-3-0)
Sun., Dec. 11 • 5 p.m.
Welsh-Ryan Arena
Evanston, Ill.
Live Scoring: TrackWrestling.com
Twitter Updates: NU_SportsLive
EVANSTON, Ill. -- After a nearly three-week break from competition, Northwestern returns to the mat Sunday, Dec. 11, hosting its first true home duals at Welsh-Ryan Arena with the NU Duals. The Wildcats meet SIU-Edwardsville at 3 p.m. and then square off with Indianapolis at 5 p.m. SIUE and Indianapolis will wrestle each other at 1 p.m. Fans can purchase tickets to the NU Duals beginning at noon at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Last Time Out
Northwestern has not wrestled since the Keystone Classic in Philadelphia, Pa., on Nov. 20. The 'Cats won the 11-team tournament, scoring 140 points, 43 ahead of second place Appalachian State. Levi Mele went 4-0 at the Keystone Classic, including two wins by fall, to capture the 125 lbs. title.
Lee Munster (second, 174), Mike McMullan (second, heavyweight), Jameson Oster (third, 133), Kaleb Friedley (third, 149), Pierce Harger (fourth, 165), Alex Polizzi (fourth 197), Dylan Marriott (fifth, 157), Pat Greco (fifth, 141), Colin Shober (sixth, 141), Kevin Bialka (sixth, 165) and John Schoen (sixth, 197) also placed at the Keystone Classic.
Jason Welch (157) did not compete at the Keystone Classic but did represent Northwestern at the 46th annual NWCA All-Star Classic in Tempe, Ariz. Third-ranked Welch took on American's No. 4 Granbayar Sanjaa and used an 8-1 run to come back (Welch trailed 2-0 in the first period) for the 8-5 victory.
Scouting SIUE
SIUE's early season schedule included the Central Missouri Open and duals against three teams Northwestern will face in February; Indiana, Northern Illinois and Campbell. The Cougars are 0-3 in dual action, falling 27-15 against IU, 25-7 to NIU and 20-10 to Campbell. SIUE returns nine starters and 20 letterwinners from last year's squad and adds seven newcomers.
Scouting Indianapolis
Division II Indianapolis is 2-3 in dual action so far this year, defeating Tiffin (34-12) and Cumberlands (33-11), but fell to Purdue (37-6), Shorter (24-14) and Campbellsville (21-19). Last weekend, the Greyhounds wrestled at the Little State Invitational and Jake Holler won the 174 lbs. title.
Probable Starters
| Weight | Northwestern | SIUE | Indianapolis |
| 125 | #8 Levi Mele | Open | Josh Kieffer or Paul Beck |
| 133 | Jameson Oster | Brendan Murphy | Ethan Harris or Kalob Heald |
| 141 | Colin Shober or Pat Greco | Logun Taylor | Justin Kieffer or Wade Thiel |
| 149 | Kaleb Friedley | Dillon Pousson | David Lopez or Steven Sandefer |
| 157 | #3 Jason Welch | Kyle Lowman | Bryce Givens or Clayton Monebrake |
| 165 | Pierce Harger | Gabe Hocum | Jeff Weiss or Matt Clark |
| 174 | #12 Lee Munster | Deshoun White | Jake Holler |
| 184 | Marcus Shrewsbury | Cole Brandt | Aaron Stevenson or Marcus Watson |
| 197 | John Schoen | Josh Wood | Taylor Scott or Kevin Gaughan |
| Hwt. | Mike McMullan | David Devine | Evan Wooding or Randy Kaufman |
Still Perfect
Junior Levi Mele is out to a 10-0 start, winning most of those matches with bonus points. Mele registered three pins en route to his title at the Michigan State Open and added two more at the Keystone Classic and he also has two major decisions. Mele currently ranks in the top 10 at 125 lbs., coming in at eighth in the latest D1collegewrestling.net and InterMat polls.
Home Sweet Home
Northwestern wrestling fans have plenty of opportunities to see the Wildcats in action during the month of December and early January. After Sunday's NU Duals, Northwestern hosts North Central College at Welsh-Ryan Arena at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16 and then the 49th annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships Dec. 29-30. Following Midlands, Northwestern opens the always-competitive Big Ten schedule Jan. 6 vs. #8 Michigan and hosts #3 Penn State the following weekend (Jan. 13) and Michigan State (Jan. 20) the weekend after that.
Tough Competition Awaits at Midlands
The 49th edition of the Midlands Championships brings tough competition once again as more than 40 Division I, II and III teams will send wrestlers to Evanston. This year's tournament includes 17 teams that are ranked or receiving votes. Additionally, seven teams that placed in the top 10 at the 2010 Midlands Championships return this year. Fans planning to attend Midlands should call 1-888-GO-PURPLE to secure their tickets.
••••••
Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook! and subscribe to the NU Sports Express e-newsletter to receive the latest news, schedule updates and video and to interact with NU. For more information on following specific Northwestern teams online, visit our Social Media page!
