Nov. 21, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern's grapplers will take their act to the Missouri Open on Sunday, Nov. 24. The event, which will feature 25 teams from around the nation, will not keep team scores. Northwestern will be joined by fellow Big Ten schools Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin in Columbia, Mo.
NU head coach Tim Cysewski said he expects continued improvement after the Michigan State Open two weeks ago.
"It'll be a test for us," Cysewski said. "It is similar to the Michigan State Open, but it is only one day. We didn't meet all of our goals at Michigan State, but we'll take what we learned and see how we've developed."
A pair of underclassmen shined at the MSU Open. Sophomore Mike Kimberlin (Bradley, Ill./Bishop McNamara) won seven consecutive matches en route to a third-place finish at 157 pounds. Freshman Matt Delguyd (Mayfield, Ohio/Mayfield) went 6-1 at 197 pounds and also finished third.
The underclassmen will get plenty of matches under their belt again, as the Missouri Open features a bracket reserved for freshmen and sophomores, as well as a main draw.
Eastern Illinois, Southern Illinois, Air Force, Central Michigan and Oklahoma round out the Division I schools slated to participate.