Northwestern University Athletics
NU Embarks on Final Regular Season Road Trip
2/8/2012 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Feb. 8, 2012
No. 17 Northwestern (8-4, 3-4 Big Ten)
vs. North Carolina (3-13, 2-3 ACC)
Sat., Feb. 11, 2012 • 3:30 p.m. CT
Site: John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center (Buies Creek, N.C.)
Live Scoring: TrackWrestling.com
No. 17 Northwestern (8-4, 3-4 Big Ten)
vs. Campbell (11-14, 3-2 SoCon)
Sat., Feb. 11, 2012 • 5:15 p.m. CT
Site: John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center (Buies Creek, N.C.)
Webstream: BigSouthSports.com
Live Scoring: TrackWrestling.com
EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern embarks on its last regular season road trip, facing two final nonconference opponents Saturday, Feb. 11. The 'Cats begin the day taking on the ACC's North Carolina at 3:30 p.m. and then meet Campbell out of the SoCon (Southern Conference) at 5:15 p.m. Both matches will take place inside the John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center on Campbell's campus in Buies Creek. N.C.
Last Time Out
Northwestern improved to 5-0 in nonconference action last Friday, defeating the Northern Illinois Huskies, 24-18. The Wildcats had solid performances across the board, winning six of 10 matches. Levi Mele got the 'Cats off to a good start with a 3-0 victory against No. 20 Nick Smith at 125. Mele scored a reversal in the third period and racked up enough riding time to seal the win. Jameson Oster, Kaleb Friedley, and Jason Welch kept the ball rolling for the Wildcats, who won four out of the five matches before the break. Oster and Friedley each scored bonus points with their major decisions as did Welch who improved to a perfect 18-0 record with his fifth pin of the season. Pierce Harger and Lee Munster rounded out the wins for Northwestern.
Scouting the Tar Heels
North Carolina is 3-13 on the season and 2-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. UNC pulled off a 20-18 win in a tight match against in-state rivals North Carolina State last Friday. The Tar Heels won six out of the ten matches with key bonus points from Thomas Ferguson and Zac Bennett to counter the two falls by NC State. No. 17 Corey Mock also had win for UNC at 157 lbs. The last time the Wildcats and Tar Heels squared off, NU won 30-9 in the 2006-2007 season.
Scouting the Camels
Campbell University is 11-14 on the season and 3-2 in the Southern Conference. The Camels won both of their matches last Saturday, defeating Gardner-Webb 17-16 and Millersville 39-9. Jordan Tolbert's major decision win at 133 helped seal the deal for CU who went 5-5 in their matches against Gardner-Webb, winning the tiebreaker with a 70-67 advantage in total points. The Camels had four pins against Millersville by Mark Hartenstine, James Cook, Matt Cox and John Weakley. This will be the first dual between the Wildcats and Camels.
Probable Starters
| Weight | No. 17 Northwestern | North Carolina | Campbell |
| 125 | No. 10 Levi Mele (23-4) | Brian Bokoski (16-14) OR Craig Smith (1-4) |
Chance Credeur (1-4) OR Tanner Bidelspach (4-13) OR Grabiel Soto (1-7) |
| 133 | Jameson Oster (10-11) | Brock LiVorio (7-15) | Joey Rizzolino (9-11) |
| 141 | Colin Shober (11-10) OR Pat Greco (10-10) |
No. 20 Evan Henderson (23-9) | Jordan Tolbert (4-16) |
| 149 | Kaleb Friedley (16-9) | Jon Burns (9-16) | Mark Hartenstine (16-10) |
| 157 | No. 2 Jason Welch | TBA | Nick Rex (16-11) |
| 165 | Pierce Harger | Kyle Kiss (14-11) | Ryan Krecker (11-9) OR Paul Duggan (3-7) |
| 174 | No. 12 Lee Munster (17-8) | Alex Utley (11-15) | James Cook (18-6) |
| 184 | Robert Kellogg (2-11) OR Marcus Shrewsbury (2-10) |
Thomas Ferguson (16-11) | TeShaun Johnson (0-14) OR John Merickel (1-7) OR Matt Cox (1-4) |
| 197 | John Schoen (12-14) | Zac Bennett (8-5) | John Weakley (23-8) |
| Hwt | No. 13 Mike McMullan (17-8) | Frank Abbondanza (3-16) OR Nick Tenpenny (6-13) |
Joe Nolan (11-12) |
Second NCAA Coaches' Panel Rankings Released Thursday
NCAA released the second of three coaches' panel rankings and the first Rating Percentage Index (RPI) for the 2011-12 wrestling season. The final rankings and RPI will be two of the tools used as part of the selection process to determine the qualifiers for the 2012 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.
The current rankings are below with numbers from the first poll in parentheses:
• 125: Levi Mele – No. 8 (No. 9)
• 149: Kaleb Friedley – No. 25 (No. 27)
• 157: Jason Welch – No. 2 (No. 2)
• 165: Pierce Harger – No. 31 (No. 28)
• 174: Lee Munster – No. 12 (No. 11)
• 197: John Schoen – No. 28 (No. 27)
• Hwt: Mike McMullan – No. 14 (No. 16)
Wrestlers in each weight class will be measured by Division I winning percentage, RPI and coaches' rankings to earn spots for the 2012 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. The coaches' rankings are compiled by a vote of coaches across the nation. Each qualifying tournament has five coaches rank the top 33 wrestlers in two weight classes. For ranking purposes, coaches must select a wrestler as a starter at a designated weight class. In addition, coaches may only select one wrestler per weight class.
To be eligible for an RPI ranking, a wrestler must have a minimum of 17 Division I matches at a given weight class. The top 33 wrestlers in the RPI are listed for each weight class.
The NU wrestlers listed in the RPI rankings are as follows:
• 125: Levi Mele – No. 5
• 133: Jameson Oster – No. 18
• 149: Kaleb Friedley – No. 26
• 165: Pierce Harger – No. 24
• 174: Lee Munster – No. 14
• 197: John Schoen – No. 32
• Hwt: Mike McMullan – No. 13
Dual-ing It Out
Northwestern has an 8-4 record in dual action and with three matches remaining, is guaranteed a winning record for the second-straight season. Last year, the 'Cats went an impressive 18-2 in dual action and since head coach Drew Pariano took over prior to the 2010-11 season, Northwestern is 26-6 (.813) in duals. This year, NU has won 69 individual matches compared to 51 for its opponents in dual action.
Moving On Up
Jason Welch wrestled in his 90th career match in a Northwestern singlet last Friday vs. Northern Illinois and moved up in the NU record books with his win. Welch now has a 73-17 career record, or .811 winning percentage, which ties him for eighth in career winning percentage with Steve DePetro (146-30-4; 1983-86). Welch, who is ranked No. 2 in the country at 157 lbs., entered Friday's match with the exact same record as former NU NCAA champion Mark Massery (72-17, .809), who ranked ninth on NU's career winning percentage list. Two wins Saturday would move Welch into sole possession of eighth place with a .815 winning percentage. Current volunteer assistant coach and former three-time NU All-American Brandon Precin holds the seventh spot at .817 (138-31).
The Streak Continues
Jason Welch is out to a perfect 18-0 record on the season and his 18-match winning streak is the longest for any NU wrestler this year. Welch has won a majority of his matches in dominating fashion as 12 of his 18 wins (66.7 percent; six major decisions, one tech fall and five pins) have come with bonus points. He has outscored his opponents 114-26 so far this year (doesn't include point totals in his five bouts won by fall). In Friday's match against Northern Illinois, Welch had a 7-0 lead on Tyler Loethen before pinning him in 5:13. In fact, the most any opponent has scored on Welch this year is four points, but the three times an opponent scored four on Welch, he won those bouts by major decision.
Oster Opens Up
True freshman Jameson Oster scored his first career major decision Friday, defeating NIU's Rob Jillard 11-2 in a key match during NU's 24-18 dual victory. Oster has had no problem winning his matches by fall this year as seven of his 10 wins have been in the form of a pin, including five in dual action. The Homer Glen, Ill., native is the only true freshman starter on this year's squad and he has started all but one dual at 133 lbs. for the Wildcats this season.
Precin Places Second at Dave Schultz Memorial
Northwestern volunteer assistant coach Brandon Precin took second at the Dave Schultz Memorial International Tournament in Colorado Springs last weekend, going 2-1 against wrestlers from Bulgaria, Japan and India. From Feb. 17-19, Precin will represent the U.S. on an international tour to wrestle at the Vladimir Semenov International in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.
Up Next
The 2011-12 regular season wraps up next Friday, Feb. 17 at Welsh-Ryan Arena when NU hosts Big Ten foe Indiana. Match time is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the final regular season dual also is Senior Night for Northwestern.
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