Northwestern Entertains No. 13 Wisconsin Friday, Visits No. 23 Rutgers Sunday

NORTHWESTERN WRESTLING: DUAL INFORMATION
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	LOCATION	Live Stream
Friday, January 27	#13 Wisconsin	7 p.m.	Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, Ill.	B1G+
Sunday, January 29	#23 Rutgers	3 p.m. (CT)	Jersey Mike's Arena Piscataway, N.J.	BTN
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EVANSTON, Ill. (January 26, 2023) – Coming off a thrilling win last Friday, No. 14 Northwestern wrestling (3-2, 2-2 B1G) returns to action this weekend for a pair of matchups.

The 'Cats close out a brief two-match homestand on Friday evening, welcoming No. 13 Wisconsin to Welsh-Ryan Arena at 7 p.m. Following its matchup with the Badgers, Northwestern faces a tight turnaround as it visits No. 23 Rutgers for a 3 p.m. (CT) clash on Sunday afternoon that will be televised on Big Ten Network.

LAST TIME OUT
Northwestern edged No. 25 Illinois by an 18-17 margin at Welsh-Ryan Arena this past Friday. The Wildcats and Fighting Illini finished the meet in a 17-17 deadlock, with Northwestern prevailing on criteria of total match points scored (52-46).

Michael DeAugustino provided late heroics at 125 pounds to help propel Northwestern to victory. Leading 1-0 entering the third period, DeAugustino registered a pair of near falls, the second of which came with just 30 seconds remaining that pushed the redshirt senior to a 10-1 major decision win and the Wildcats to a dual meet victory.

Maxx Mayfield picked up a ranked win at 165 pounds, upending No. 12 Dan Braunagel by an 8-3 margin. Competing at 149 pounds, Yahya Thomas stayed perfect in Big Ten action, putting away Jake Harrier, 7-3. Trevor Chumbley (157 pounds) and Lucas Davison (285 pounds) also added wins for the 'Cats.

SCOUTING WISCONSIN
Sitting 13^th in the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Top 25, Wisconsin enters the weekend at 7-5 overall, a mark that includes a 1-4 ledger against Big Ten opposition. The Badgers gave No. 2 Iowa all it could handle last Friday at the UW Field House, dropping a 19-18 decision on criteria.

Currently in the midst of his fifth season at Wisconsin, Head Coach Chris Bono's team features six nationally ranked competitors. Austin Gomez is the top ranked Badger in the latest FloWrestling rankings, sitting at No. 2 at 149 pounds. Gomez and Thomas will put their perfect starts to Big Ten action on the line on Friday.

At 165 pounds, Dean Hamiti is slotted seventh, while Eric Barnett (125 pounds; 9^th) and Trent Hillger (285 pounds; 10^th) also find themselves ranked in the top 10. Barnett took home the 125-pound individual title at the 58^th Annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships last month.

SCOUTING RUTGERS
Boasting a record of 9-4 overall (1-3 B1G), Rutgers, ranked No. 23 in the latest NWCA Top 25, dropped a 24-9 decision to No. 3 Michigan last Sunday inside Jersey Mike's Arena in Piscataway, N.J.

Head Coach Scott Goodale is in his 16^th season at the helm at Rutgers. A pair of Scarlet Knights appear inside the top 15 on the FloWrestling charts, with Dean Peterson slotted No. 12 at 125 pounds, while Joe Heilmann is ranked No. 14 in the 133-pound rankings.

SERIES STUFF
Wisconsin owns a 63-32-2 (.660) lead in 97 previous matchups with Northwestern in wrestling. The 'Cats have prevailed in three of the previous four encounters, including an 18-17 win in the Badgers' last visit to Welsh-Ryan Arena back on February 14, 2021.

Northwestern saw a three-match win streak against Wisconsin come to an end last season at the UW Field House, falling by a 19-15 final. DeAugustino, Chris Cannon, Lucas Davison, and Ryan Deakin all notched victories for the Wildcats.

Northwestern and Rutgers will meet for only the fifth time on Sunday afternoon, a series in which the Scarlet Knights own a perfect 4-0 record (1.000).

The Wildcats and Scarlet Knights haven't clashed since February 14, 2020, a 26-13 Rutgers win. Davison, Deakin, Shayne Oster, and Alec McKenna put points on the board for Northwestern in the dual.

WEEKEND PROBABLES
#14 Northwestern
125: #6 Michael DeAugustino
133: #11 Chris Cannon
141: #13 Frankie Tal-Shahar
149: #4 Yahya Thomas
157: #15 Trevor Chumbley
165: #17 Maxx Mayfield
174: #19 Troy Fisher -OR- Ankhaa Enkhmandakh
184: Evan Bates -OR- Jon Halvorsen
197: HM Andrew Davison
285: #4 Lucas Davison

#13 Wisconsin
125: #9 Eric Barnett
133: HM Taylor LaMont
141: HM Joseph Zargo -OR- Felix Lettini
149: #2 Austin Gomez
157: #18 Garrett Model
165: #7 Dean Hamiti
174: Josh Otto -OR- Cael Anderson
184: Tyler Dow
197: #16 Braxton Amos
285: #10 Trent Hillger -OR- Peter Christensen

#23 Rutgers
125: #12 Dean Peterson
133: #14 Joe Heilmann
141: HM Joseph Olivieri
149: HM Anthony White
157: HM Andrew Clark
165: Robert Kanniard -OR- Connor O'Neill -OR- Al DeSantis
174: Jackson Turley
184: #16 Brian Soldano
197: Billy Janzer
285: #22 Boone McDermott -OR- John O'Donnell -OR- Kyle Epperly

*All individual rankings courtesy of FloWrestling (January 23)

UP NEXT
Northwestern closes out the home portion of its 2023 schedule on Sunday, February 5 when it hosts No. 6 Ohio State at 2 p.m. for Senior Day at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Northwestern Entertains No. 13 Wisconsin Friday, Visits No. 23 Rutgers Sunday

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Players Mentioned

Evan Bates

Chris Cannon

Trevor Chumbley

Andrew Davison

Lucas Davison

Ryan Deakin

Michael DeAugustino

Ankhaa Enkhmandakh

Troy Fisher

Jon Halvorsen

Maxx Mayfield

Frankie Tal-Shahar

Yahya Thomas

Northwestern University Athletics