Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Take on No. 23 Purdue, Indiana This Weekend
1/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern embarks on a weekend road trip to the Hoosier State looking for a pair of conference wins. The 17th-ranked Wildcats (8-3) travel to West Lafayette, Ind. on Friday to take on No. 23 Purdue (7-4) at 6 p.m. and then head to Bloomington for a Sunday afternoon showdown with Indiana (2-4) at noon.
Five Wildcats are nationally ranked according to the weekly InterMat poll.
Defending national champion Jason Tsirtsis continues to lead the way at 149 lbs. with his 22-0 mark and 38-match winning streak. Pierce Harger (17-3) remained seventh at 165, while Alex Polizzi (19-4) moved into the top-10 at 197. Mike McMullan (15-2) is No. 4 at 285, and Dominick Malone moved up a spot to 19th at 133 lbs.
A week after beating No. 10 Timmy McCall of Wisconsin in a 7-6 thriller, Polizzi is going to get a chance to take on another high-profile opponent. The Northwestern senior is slated to match up against Purdue's 15th-ranked Braden Atwood (9-4) in a rematch from last year's NCAA Championships.
Malone and 20th-ranked Danny Sabatello will wrestle again at 133 lbs. after Malone won the first round at Midlands in a 9-7 sudden victory decision. In another Midlands rematch, Harger will look to avenge his finals loss to Indiana's fourth-ranked Taylor Walsh. The Hoosier received the Dan Gable Most Outstanding Wrestler award for his efforts at the annual tournament.
Purdue is 7-4 heading into Friday's match. The Boilermakers are 0-2 since the Midlands with both losses coming against ranked teams on the road. Like Northwestern, Purdue will be looking for its first conference win. The Boilermakers' Doug Welch has amassed a 20-6 record, including an upset of then second-ranked James Green of Nebraska last weekend. Danny Sabatello is 18-4 at 133 lbs. Sabatello has taken down six nationally-ranked opponents this season.
Northwestern won their last trip to West Lafayette, taking a 21-18 decision from Purdue in 2012. NU has taken two of the last three in the series.
The 2-4 Indiana Hoosiers are in the midst of a three-match losing streak, including a pair of losses to top-10 conference opponents Penn State and Illinois. Indiana dropped a 45-0 decision earlier in the year to Wisconsin. The Hoosiers are led by Walsh at 165 lbs. He has a 24-2 record this season with 18 wins by fall. The senior has seven wins over ranked opponents. Nate Jackson has also been a strong presence in the lineup with a 17-8 mark at 174 lbs. but after starting 16-3 is just 1-5 in his last six matches.
Northwestern has won four consecutive meets against Indiana. The Wildcats bested the Hoosiers in last season's dual in Evanston, 27-12.
Both meets are available via BTN Plus on BTN2GO.
After the weekend stint in Indiana, Northwestern travels to Iowa City to take on the second-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes on Jan. 23.
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