Northwestern University Athletics
No. 16 `Cats Welcome No. 2 Minnesota Friday
1/9/2014 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Jan. 9, 2014
| No. 2 Minnesota (4-0, B1G 1-0) at No. 16 Northwestern (6-1, B1G 1-1) |
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| Date | Friday, Jan. 10 | 7:00 p.m. CT |
| Location | Welsh-Ryan Arena | Evanston, Ill. |
| Live Stats | NWCA Track Wrestling |
| Live Video | BTDN on Wildcats All-Access |
| Social Media | @NU_Wrestle  | Facebook |
EVANSTON, Ill.-- No. 16 Northwestern faces a tough Big Ten challenge Friday when No. 2 Minnesota comes to Welsh-Ryan Arena at 7:00 p.m. to meet the Wildcats.
No. 16 Northwestern Probable Starters vs. No. 2 Minnesota
125: Garrison White (6-6) (Northwestern) vs. Sam Brancale (10-4) or Jordan Kingsley (10-5)
133: Dominick Malone (10-4) (Northwestern) vs. No. 10 David Thorn (13-2)
141: Pat Greco (12-4) (Northwestern) vs. No. 5 – Chris Dardanes (18-2)
149: No. 5 Jason Tsirtsis (16-2) and Colin Shober (Northwestern) vs. No. 2 Nick Dardanes (18-1)
157: Dylan Marriott (8-7) and David Helmer (Northwestern) vs. No. 9 Dylan Ness (11-4) or Brandon Kingsley (12-5)
165: No. 9 Pierce Harger (16-3) (Northwestern) vs. Danny Zilverberg (11-6)
174: No. 9 Lee Munster (5-1) (Northwestern) vs. No. 5 Logan Storley (18-2)
184: Jacob Berkowitz (8-6) (Northwestern) vs. No. 10 Kevin Steinhaus (5-2) or Brett Pfarr (17-2)
197: No. 18 Alex Polizzi (16-3) (Northwestern) vs. No. 1 Scott Schiller (18-0)
HWY: No. 8 Mike McMullan (3-1) or Robert Coukos (Northwestern) vs. No. 1 Tony Nelson (19-0)
Matchup to Watch
Friday's dual features a rematch of last season's Big Ten and NCAA Championships bouts between heavyweights Mike McMullan and Tony Nelson.
NU's McMullan is 3-1 this season and ranked No. 8. Nelson, the defending NCAA and Big Ten Champion is undefeated at 19-0 and ranked No. 1.
At 149 lbs., the 'Cats No. 5 Jason Tsirtsis (16-2) is matched up against the Gophers Nick Dardanes (18-1), ranked No. 2.
Lee Munster (5-1), ranked No. 9 at 174 lbs. is the 'Cats probable starter against Minnesota's No. 5 Logan Storley (18-2).
Also, at 197 lbs., Scott Schiller, ranked No. 1 in the nation with an undefeated 18-0 record, faces No. 18 Alex Polizzi (16-3).
Promotions
Friday is the Annual Family Night. The first 500 fans will receive a color changing Northwestern wrestling mug. The first 500 fans will also receive a free Vienna beef hotdog and a Coke Zero
Get to Know the Gophers
Minnesota enters Friday's match ranked No. 2 in the nation in the NWCA Coaches Poll, behind No. 1 Penn State.
Minnesota is 4-0 this season and 1-0 in conference play, defeating Purdue. The Gophers are coming off the Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tenn., finishing in third place with 161.0 points behind No. 1 Penn State (189.0) and No. 4 Oklahoma State (164.5).
No. 1 Scott Schiller (197 lbs.) and No. 1 Tony Nelson (285 lbs. ) won their respective weight class titles.
Both are undefeated on the season.
Also ranked in the Top 20 by Intermat for Minnesota are No. 10 David Thorn (133), No. 5 Chris Dardanes (141), No. 2 Nick Dardanes (149), No. 9 Dylan Ness (157), No. 5 Logan Storley (174) and No. 10 Kevin Steinhaus (184) in addition to No. 1s Schiller and Nelson.
Where They Rank
The 'Cats feature five wrestlers ranked in the nation's Intermat Top 20 rankings.
149: No. 5 Jason Tsirtsis
165: No. 9 Pierce Harger
174: No. 9 Lee Munster
197: No. 18 Alex Polizzi
HWY: No. 8 Mike McMullan
Intermat Rankings
USA Today/NWCA/AWN Coaches Poll
USA Today/NWCA/AWN Individual Rankings
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