Jan. 29, 2004
EVANSTON, Ill.--Northwestern's wrestling team (9-4, 0-3 Big Ten) faces No. 3 Illinois (8-0, 2-0) at 2 p.m. Sunday at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Wildcats are still searching for their elusive first win in the conference.
Last Friday, NU was close in taking down Purdue, but the Boilermakers were able to escape Evanston with a 20-19 win. The next day, Indiana defeated Northwestern 19-12.
One positive thing the Wildcats gathered from the weekend was the performance of freshman Nick Hayes (Council Bluffs, Iowa/Lewis Central), who improved to 9-3 overall, 3-0 Big Ten at 165 lbs. He is the only member of the team who is undefeated in conference play.
"For a true freshman excelling at a tough weight class, that says a lot," said head coach Tim Cysewski. "From what we have seen, he should have a bright future."
NU will need another solid performance from Hayes and the rest of the squad in competing against the Fighting Illini, who beat the 'Cats last year 37-3. Illinois boasts several highly ranked wrestlers, including No. 1 Alex Tirapelle (22-0) at 157 lbs., No. 3 Kyle Ott (11-2) at 125 lbs. and No. 4 Brian Glynn (23-3) at 184 lbs.
The Fighting Illini, in addition to being the only undefeated team in the Big Ten, won the Midlands Wrestling Championships in December at Welsh-Ryan.
"Illinois is wrestling well right now," said Cysewski. "We have to win all the close matches, and then good things will happen (for us).
"We prepared for them like we have any other Big Ten team, just because at this time of year, our intensity rises automatically."
Illinois will take on Indiana Saturday in Bloomington, Ind., before competing against Northwestern.