Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Battle Two Top-10 Ranked Teams
1/22/2015 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern will match up against two top-10 teams this weekend when it travels to Iowa City, Iowa to take on the second-ranked Hawkeyes on Friday at 7 p.m. and then welcomes No. 10 Illinois to Evanston at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
The first 500 Wildcat fans to Sunday's home dual will receive a Northwestern-themed `90s throwback tank in honor of the 1990 team that will be celebrated at intermission.
Northwestern (9-4, 1-3) is coming off a blowout win at Indiana in which it won eight of 10 matches on the way to a 37-9 victory.
Four Northwestern wrestlers are in the polls this week. Jason Tsirtsis retains a firm grasp on the top-spot at 149 lbs. after extending his winning streak to 40 with a 23-9 major decision over Indiana's (insert name here) last Sunday. Heavyweight Mike McMullan remained at No. 4 after a pair of major decision victories. Pierce Harger moved up a spot to No. 6 at 165 lbs. after a 15-0 thrashing of the Hoosiers' fourth-ranked Taylor Walsh. At 197 lbs., Alex Polizzi is No. 13 after splitting a pair of matches in last weekend's duals.
The Wildcats will have six wrestlers take on ranked foes from both Iowa and Illinois this weekend, including Harger at 165 who will wrestle No. 9 Nick Moore (Iowa) and No. 8 Jackson Morse (Illinois). Tsirtsis will look to extend his streak to 41 against Iowa's Brandon Sorensen, who is ranked third in the nation. McMullan will get a chance to avenge his Midlands loss to Bobby Telford, when he meets the top-ranked Hawkeye on Friday night. At 125 lbs., Garrison White will get a chance for a big upset when he wrestles No. 1 Jesse Delgado of Illinois on Sunday.
Northwestern Probable Lineup
125: Garrison White (11-9)
133: Dominick Malone (16-10)
141: Jameson Oster (15-6)
149: #1 Jason Tsirtsis (24-0)
157: Ben Sullivan (5-9)
165: #6 Pierce Harger (19-3)
174: Open
184: Mitch Sliga (9-11)
197: #13 Alex Polizzi (20-5)
285: #4 Mike McMullan (17-2)
The second-ranked Hawkeyes (9-0, 4-0) have won 13 straight duals and seven in a row at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. In its most recent outing, Iowa knocked around the Fighting Illini to the tune of a 25-12 win in Iowa City. Each of Iowa's 10 wrestlers are ranked and nine of them are in the top-10 at their respective weight classes.
Iowa Probable Lineup
125: #5 Thomas Gilman (18-1)
133: #4 Cory Clark (15-2)
141: #8 Josh Dziewa (16-5)
149: #3 Brandon Sorensen (23-2)
157: #15 Michael Kelly (16-3)
165: #9 Nick Moore (13-4)
174: #2 Mike Evans (17-0) or Alex Meyer (15-2)
184: #8 Sammy Brooks (17-2)
197: #5 Nathan Burak (12-0)
285: #1 Bobby Telford (18-0)
No. 10 Illinois (8-3, 2-2) is in the midst of a two-meet losing streak. The Illini fell 25-12 at Iowa and, most recently, 20-19 to top-ranked Minnesota. Illinois wrestles No. 12 Nebraska before coming to Evanston for Sunday's dual.
Illinois Probable Lineup
125: #1 Jesse Delgado (2-0) or Dominic Olvieri (8-9)
133: #4 Zane Richards (18-2)
141: #12 Steven Rodrigues (9-6) or Logan Arlis (8-6)
149: Kyle Langenderfer (14-7)
157: #4 Isaiah Martinez (20-0)
165: #8 Jackson Morse (20-2)
174: #9 Zac Brunson (18-3)
184: #20 Nikko Reyes (17-7)
197: Jeff Koepke (14-8)
285: Brooks Black (11-9) or Chris Lopez (11-4)
Both dual meets will be streamed live via BTN Plus on BTN2GO.
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