Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Travel to SIUE For Regular Season Finale
2/22/2020 9:00:00 AM | Wrestling
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Northwestern will travel south this weekend to tackle its final dual before the Big Ten Championships. The Wildcats will stop in Edwardsville, Illinois for a Sunday showdown against SIU-Edwardsville.
Northwestern is coming off last weekend with matchups against Rutgers and Maryland under its belt, notably beating the Terrapins 37-9, which marked the most points in a match for NU since Nov. 12, 2017, in a 37-3 win over Gardner-Webb.
The nation's top ranked wrestler at 157 lbs, #1 Ryan Deakin, was characteristically dominant as he improved to 17-0 on the season after adding a major decision against Michael VanBrill (Rutgers) and a fall against Lucas Cordio (Maryland) in 1:58. Deakin's fall was his fifth of the season and his fastest since the 2018 Big Ten Championships.
#12 Shayne Oster is also coming off yet another strong weekend, including a win on Sunday in which the senior pulled away in the third period to beat Kyle Cochran (Maryland) in a 9-3 decision. Oster also won a close and hard-fought bout from beginning to end over Brett Donner (Rutgers) with a 2-0 decision. Oster has now won seven-consecutive bouts and is 8-1 in Big Ten action this season, with his lone setback coming to No. 1 Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State).
#3 Sebastian Rivera returned to the mat in dominant fashion on Sunday at Maryland, pinning King Sandoval (Maryland) in the first period. Making his first appearance since the Midlands Championships in December, Rivera notched the first takedown of the match and turned it into a pin within seconds.
Also coming off a strong weekend 141 lbs is senior, Alec McKenna, who won both of his matches last weekend to improve to 5-4 in Big Ten action on the year. McKenna earned a 2-0 victory over JoJo Aragona (Rutgers) on Friday, after an impressive second period where he rode the Scarlet Knight for the entire period, preventing Aragona from notching an escape point and racking up a full two minutes of riding time. McKenna followed with a pin in his final Big Ten dual as a Wildcat against Hunter Baxter (Maryland). McKenna took him to his back halfway through the first and recorded the pin in just 1:55, his fastest fall since November 6, 2016 against UChicago. McKenna will look to repeat his performance against Saul Ervin (SIUE) from earlier this season, a 3-2 win by decision.
Northwestern has won each of its last three matches over SIU Edwardsville. Last season, the Wildcats and Cougars faced off in the 2018-19 regular season finale at Welsh-Ryan Arena, with the 'Cats earning a 36-7 victory.
The dual is slated to start at 2 p.m. CT on Sunday, Feb. 23. After these duals, Northwestern will head to Piscataway, NJ in two weeks for the Big Ten Championships.
*All individual rankings come from FloWrestling as of Feb. 17
••••••
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 is coming off last weekend with matchups against Rutgers and Maryland under its belt, notably beating the Terrapins 37-9, which marked the most points in a match for NU since Nov. 12, 2017, in a 37-3 win over Gardner-Webb.
The nation's top ranked wrestler at 157 lbs, #1 Ryan Deakin, was characteristically dominant as he improved to 17-0 on the season after adding a major decision against Michael VanBrill (Rutgers) and a fall against Lucas Cordio (Maryland) in 1:58. Deakin's fall was his fifth of the season and his fastest since the 2018 Big Ten Championships.
#12 Shayne Oster is also coming off yet another strong weekend, including a win on Sunday in which the senior pulled away in the third period to beat Kyle Cochran (Maryland) in a 9-3 decision. Oster also won a close and hard-fought bout from beginning to end over Brett Donner (Rutgers) with a 2-0 decision. Oster has now won seven-consecutive bouts and is 8-1 in Big Ten action this season, with his lone setback coming to No. 1 Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State).
#3 Sebastian Rivera returned to the mat in dominant fashion on Sunday at Maryland, pinning King Sandoval (Maryland) in the first period. Making his first appearance since the Midlands Championships in December, Rivera notched the first takedown of the match and turned it into a pin within seconds.
Also coming off a strong weekend 141 lbs is senior, Alec McKenna, who won both of his matches last weekend to improve to 5-4 in Big Ten action on the year. McKenna earned a 2-0 victory over JoJo Aragona (Rutgers) on Friday, after an impressive second period where he rode the Scarlet Knight for the entire period, preventing Aragona from notching an escape point and racking up a full two minutes of riding time. McKenna followed with a pin in his final Big Ten dual as a Wildcat against Hunter Baxter (Maryland). McKenna took him to his back halfway through the first and recorded the pin in just 1:55, his fastest fall since November 6, 2016 against UChicago. McKenna will look to repeat his performance against Saul Ervin (SIUE) from earlier this season, a 3-2 win by decision.
Northwestern has won each of its last three matches over SIU Edwardsville. Last season, the Wildcats and Cougars faced off in the 2018-19 regular season finale at Welsh-Ryan Arena, with the 'Cats earning a 36-7 victory.
The dual is slated to start at 2 p.m. CT on Sunday, Feb. 23. After these duals, Northwestern will head to Piscataway, NJ in two weeks for the Big Ten Championships.
*All individual rankings come from FloWrestling as of Feb. 17
••••••
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!
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