Wildcats Set for Pair of Weekend Duals in Michigan

Friday, February 8

East Lansing, Mich.

6 p.m.

Northwestern

Michigan State

Wildcats Set for Pair of Weekend Duals in Michigan

2/6/2019 3:37:00 PM | Wrestling

NORTHWESTERN WRESTLING: MATCH DAY INFORMATION
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	LOCATION	BROADCAST	LIVE STATS
Friday, February 8	Michigan State	6 p.m.	Jenison Field House East Lansing, Mich.	BTN Plus	TrackWrestling
Sunday, February 10	#4 Michigan	11 a.m.	Cliff Keen Arena Ann Arbor, Mich.	BTN	TrackWrestling
Social: Twitter (@NUwrestle) \| Instagram (@NUwrestle) \| Facebook 2018-19 Season Stats

EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern will hit the road this weekend, traveling to Michigan for a pair of dual meets against conference opponents. The 'Cats will face Michigan State on Friday at 6 p.m. CT before taking on No. 4 Michigan on Sunday at 11 a.m.

NU is coming off a setback against No. 6 Ohio State in which it won four bouts over Buckeye wrestlers.

Sebastian Rivera improved to 19-0 with his victory at 125, while Alec McKenna was able to notch his first dual win of the campaign with a decision at 141. At 157, No. 3 Ryan Deakin rolled to a dominant, 8-0 major decision over No. 6 Ke-Shawn Hayes, picking up his fifth top-ten of the year in the process. In the final bout of the contest, No. 16 Conan Jennings defeated OSU's Gary Traub, 11-0, tallying his fourth win by major decision of the season.

The Spartans enter the weekend on a three-match winning streak, most recently taking down Northern Illinois last Saturday. The stretch has improved MSU to 7-6 on the season with a 2-4 mark in Big Ten play, with its last loss coming in a narrow, 22-20 result at No. 18 Rutgers.

Northwestern and Michigan State have met six times over the past ten seasons, with the Wildcats winning five of those matches. Most recently, NU recorded a narrow, 23-21 victory over the Spartans at Welsh-Ryan Arena in January of 2017.

Friday's action will be a highlighted by a top-ten matchup at 125, where Rivera will likely take on No. 7 Rayvon Foley. The meeting will be the first between the two grapplers.

Michigan is coming off its first loss of the season, dropping its match against No. 1 Penn State last Friday. The Wolverines were previously 9-0 with five wins over ranked squads, including then-No. 6 Lehigh and then-No. 2 Ohio State.

Chicago's Big Ten Team last took down UM in February of 2010, winning 20-16 in a home match for the 'Cats. The Wolverines have won each of the four matchups since, including most recently in Evanston two years ago

Sunday's match will mark the eighth nationally-ranked opponent of the campaign for Northwestern, as well as the fourth meeting with a team in the top seven. The weekend will also be the final road trip of the regular season for NU before returning home for its final two matches.

PROBABLE NORTHWESTERN LINEUP
125: #1 Sebastian Rivera (19-0)
133: Colin Valdiviez (12-11)
141: Alec McKenna (7-8)
149: Shayne Oster (8-9) OR Yahya Thomas (11-8)
157: #3 Ryan Deakin (20-2)
165: Tyler Morland (2-5)
174: Johnny Sebastian (5-7) OR Braxton Cody (0-5)
184: Brendan Devine (0-15)
197: Zack Chakonis (3-14)
285: #16 Conan Jennings (12-8)

PROBABLE MICHIGAN STATE LINEUP
125: #7 Rayvon Foley (26-1)
133: Anthony Tutolo (15-11)
141: Austin Eicher (11-9) OR Alex Hrisopoulos (18-8)
149: Jaden Enriquez (11-16)
157: Jake Tucker (18-11)
165: Austin Hiles (10-12) OR Logan Ritchie (11-12)
174: Drew Hughes (20-9)
184: #15 Cameron Caffey (23-3)
197: Nick May (10-8) OR Brad Wilton (15-9)
285: Chase Beard (13-8)

PROBABLE MICHIGAN LINEUP
125: #15 Drew Mattin (12-5)
133: #1 Stevan Micic (10-0)
141: #6 Kanen Storr (17-3)
149: Malik Amine (8-4)
157: #5 Alec Pantaleo (11-5)
165: #7 Logan Massa (12-4)
174: #3 Myles Amine (14-2)
184: #20 Jelani Embree (9-4)
197: Jackson Striggow (10-7)
285: #6 Mason Parris (23-4)

••••••
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!