Friday, January 19
Evanston, Ill. (Patten Gym)
7 p.m.
Northwestern
vs
Nebraska
#20 Wildcats Set to Host #18 Nebraska on Friday
1/16/2018 2:54:00 PM | Wrestling
| NORTHWESTERN WRESTLING: MATCH DAY INFORMATION | ||||||
| DATE | OPPONENT | TIME | LOCATION | BROADCAST | RADIO | LIVE STATS |
| Friday, Jan. 19 |
#18 Nebraska | 7 p.m. | Historic Patten Gym Evanston, Ill. |
BTN Plus via BTN2Go | N/A | TrackWrestling |
| Social: Twitter (@NUwrestle and @NU_SportsLive) | Instagram (@NUwrestle) | Facebook Northwestern Stat Pack HISTORIC PATTEN GYM FAN INFO |
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EVANSTON, Ill. — After earning their first ranked win since January 2014, and subsequently shooting up to their highest ranking since January 2015, the #20 Northwestern Wildcats (7-1, 2-1 Big Ten) will return home and look to knock off their second consecutive ranked opponent as they play host to #18 Nebraska (4-3, 2-1 Big Ten) at historic Patten Gymnasium on Friday evening in a match set for 7 p.m. CT.
PRIOR RETURNS
The 'Cats won five bouts against #16 Wisconsin on Friday in a match that Northwestern won in commanding fashion 18-14. Conan Jennings, Sebastian Rivera, Colin Valdiviez, Ryan Deakin and Johnny Sebastian each picked up victories on the afternoon.
Jennings (285) kicked off the match on a high note for the Wildcats, taking a start-to-finish, 3-1 decision over Wisconsin's heavyweight Ben Stone to bring his record to 15-7 on the season.
Rivera (125) followed up that performance with a quick, 3:57 tech fall of Johnny Jimenez to take a 16-0 victory, marking the second time that he has beaten Jimenez since Dec. 29. This was Rivera's fourth consecutive win and his 18th in his 19 bouts this season.
Colin Valdiviez kept the momentum rolling for the #B1GCats, finishing with a 13-4 major decision over Jens Lantz. The win improved Valdiviez's record to 3-0 in Big Ten competition.
At 149, Ryan Deakin went on a point-scoring frenzy against Wisconsin's Cole Martin, topping him with a 19-7 major decision. Deakin has now amassed a 22-3 record to start his Wildcat career and is one of only two newcomers in the most recent Intermat poll at 149 lbs.
Redshirt junior Johnny Sebastian earned a hard-fought win against Ryan Christensen — a Badger that he had twice beaten this season – as he grinded out a 2-1 victory over Christensen in the bout's final seconds and seal the victory for NU. Sebastian has now won three straight matches and boasts a perfect 3-0 record in conference play.
RANKING RUMBLINGS
In the most recent Intermat ranking, four Wildcats are listed among the top in the nation. Ryan Deakin leads the way in fourth place, while Sebastian Rivera is in 10th. After entering the Intermat rankings for the first time last week, #18 Johnny Sebastian and #19 Colin Valdiviez both proved they belonged and stayed in the rankings for a second straight week following their wins against Wisconsin.
Northwestern was ranked 20th in the most recent NWCA/USA TODAY Coaches' Poll. This is the highest team-ranking since being named the 18th-best team in January 2015.
SUPER SEBASTIAN
Redshirt first year Sebastian Rivera (125 lbs.) has started his debut season at a scorching clip, currently sitting on a 18-1 record. The last Wildcat grappler to win at least 18 of his first 19 bouts was Jason Tsirtsis (18 wins) in the 2014-15 season. Rivera boasts wins over three of the top 20 wrestlers in his weight class, with his only loss coming to #2 Nick Suriano.
PROJECTED LINEUP
125 #10 Sebastian Rivera 18-1
133 #19 Colin Valdiviez 14-7
141 Alec McKenna 10-11
149 #4 Ryan Deakin 22-3
157 Shayne Oster 9-11
165 Michael Sepke 9-12
174 #18 Johnny Sebastian 18-7
184 Mitch Sliga 13-8
197 Zack Chakonis 9-9
Hwt. Conan Jennings 15-7
••••••
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Players Mentioned
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