Northwestern
Lehigh
Northwestern Falls to Lehigh in Top-20 Dual Matchup
11/30/2014 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
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No. 12 Lehigh 30, No. 16 Northwestern 10 Welsh-Ryan Arena • Evanston, Ill. NU vs. Lehigh: Bout-by-Bout Scoring
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- No. 16 Northwestern was handed its first dual defeat of the season Sunday at Welsh-Ryan Arena, falling to the 12th-ranked Lehigh Mountain Hawks, 30-10. NU's trio of returning All-Americans -- Jason Tsirtsis (149), Pierce Harger (165) and Mike McMullan (285) -- accounted for the Wildcats' three victories on the day.
Lehigh earned its second win over a Big Ten opponent in as many days after also downing Illinois, 24-15, in Champaign.
The dual match began at 125 pounds where Northwestern junior Garrison White squared off with Lehigh's Scott Parker, who jumped in front 6-1 before White notched a reversal and three back points to pull level at six at the end of the opening period. But Parker notched a second-period takedown and tacked on a riding time point to earn a 9-7 decision and the first team points of the dual for the Mountain Hawks.
Junior Dominick Malone was locked in a tight bout with Mason Beckman, the nation's No. 6-ranked 133-pounder, before Beckman fought for three near-fall points in the third period on his way to a 6-1 decision.
No. 19 Jameson Oster surrendered a third-period pin to Lehigh's Randy Cruz before NU's No. 1-ranked 149-pounder Jason Tsirtsis put the Wildcats on the board with a hard-fought 7-4 victory against Lehigh's Drew Longo, improving to a perfect 10-0 on the year.
Lehigh's lead grew by six points, however, with a Wildcats forfeit at 157 pounds, setting the stage for No. 8 Pierce Harger to face off with Santiago Martinez at 165 pounds. The two wrestlers managed only one escape apiece in regulation, but in the first sudden victory period Harger earned the winning takedown to move to 8-1 this season and set the team score at 18-6.
At 184 pounds, sophomore Mitch Sliga fell by a 7-2 decision against Nathaniel Brown, and ninth-ranked Alex Polizzi was knocked off by No. 18 Elliot Riddick in a 197-pound match that lasted into the second sudden victory period. Tied at four after regulation, each wrestler escaped in their respective tiebreaker periods, and it was Riddick who found the winning takedown in sudden victory to claim the upset.
McMullan ended NU's home-opener on a winning note, however, overcoming a scoreless first period to eventually win by a 9-1 major decision thanks to a final takedown in the bout's final 15 seconds.
The dual was just the third all-time between Northwestern and Lehigh and the first since 1999.
Northwestern will be back in action at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Saturday (Dec. 6), competing in four dual matches during the 2014 Windy City Duals. The Wildcats will face Cal Poly, Davidson, Drexel and Princeton in succession beginning at 11 a.m., allowing the Wildcats to be on hand for a total of 10 dual matches for the price of one.
No. 12 Lehigh 30, No. 16 Northwestern 10
125: Scott Parker (LEH) dec. Garrison White (NU), 9-7
133: #6 Mason Beckman (LEH) dec. Dominick Malone (NU) , 6-1
141: Randy Cruz (LEH) FALL #19 Jameson Oster (NU), 5:37
149: #1 Jason Tsirtsis (NU) dec. Drew Longo (LEH), 7-4
157: Will Switzer (LEH) winner by forfeit
165: #8 Pierce Harger (NU) dec. Santiago Martinez (LEH), 3-1 (SV-1)
174: Marshall Peppelman (LEH) winner by forfeit
184: Nathaniel Brown (LEH) dec. Mitch Sliga (NU), 7-2
197: #18 Eliot Riddick (LEH) dec. #9 Alex Polizzi (NU), 7-5 (SV-2)
Hwt: #1 Mike McMullan (NU) maj. dec. Doug Vollaro (LEH), 9-1
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