2016-17 Schedule

EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern head coach Matt Storniolo announced the 2016-17 wrestling schedule on Monday, highlighted by nine home duals and the 54th annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships.

The Wildcats' opponents this year combined for 125 wins during the 2015-16 season. Six teams finished in the top-15 in the year-end InterMat rankings and placed in the top-15 at the 2016 NCAA Championships.

"I am excited about this season's schedule," Storniolo said. "We are a young team and this will allow us to grow and mature throughout the year. The Big Ten is by far the best conference in college wrestling, and we are ready to embrace that challenge."

Fans will have their first opportunity to see the Wildcats on the season's opening weekend, when the team hosts a local tri-dual meet with the University of Chicago and North Central College on Sunday, Nov. 6.

Chicago's Big Ten Team then hits the road the next two weeks for a pair of tough non-conference matchups against Cal Poly (Nov. 12) and Lehigh (Nov. 18). Following the Lehigh match is an annual trip to the Keystone Classic in Philadelphia, Pa. on Nov. 20.

The 'Cats return home to Evanston in consecutive weeks to take on North Dakota State (Dec. 2) and SIU-Edwardsville (Dec. 10).

Big Ten competition begins at Ohio State on Friday, Dec. 16. That match is the last dual of the 2016 calendar year.

The 54th annual Midlands is set for Dec. 29 and 30 at Welsh-Ryan Arena. More than 40 teams and nearly 400 wrestlers convened on Evanston, Ill. last season for the largest Midlands ever.

The Wildcats welcome four conference opponents in a row to Welsh-Ryan Arena to begin January 2017. That stretch begins with Purdue on Jan. 8 and is followed by Michigan State (Jan. 13), Michigan (Jan. 22) and Indiana (Jan. 27).

A road trip to defending national champion Penn State on Jan. 29 is sandwiched in between another home contest against Illinois on Feb. 3. The Wildcats and Illini came down to the final match a year ago.

The Big Ten schedule wraps up with an east coast road trip against Maryland (Feb. 10) and Rutgers (Feb. 12).

The National Duals are scheduled for Feb. 19. The Big Ten Championships will take place March 4-5 in Bloomington, Ind., while the NCAA Championships are scheduled for March 16-18 in St. Louis, Mo.

••••••

Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook, check us out on Instagram, visit our Social Media page and download our mobile app from the Apple Store and Google Play! To get involved with the #B1GCats, become a season-ticket holder or join the Wildcat Fund!

Northwestern University Athletics

Northwestern University Athletics

Northwestern Releases 2016-17 Wrestling Schedule

••••••

Related News

Related Videos