Feb. 16, 2006
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern's 13th-ranked wrestling team concludes regular-season action by hosting No. 17 Indiana at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17. The team will honor its seniors in a ceremony prior to the first match.
All-Access members can watch the dual live via webcast by clicking on the above link.
The Wildcats enter the match looking for their fifth Big Ten win, which would be the most conference wins for Northwestern in 10 seasons.
The 'Cats went 1-1 last weekend in a pair of conference matchups, topping No. 18 Michigan State 21-13 before falling in a tight match to No. 9 Iowa, 20-16.
Jake Herbert (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) went 2-0 on the weekend, including a win over Michigan State's fifth-ranked R.J. Boudro. Herbert now stands at a perfect 27-0 this season and is riding a 33-match winning streak--the second longest active streak in the nation. Herbert is slated to face Indiana's Marc Bennet at 174 lbs.
In another key matchup for the Wildcats, eight-ranked senior John Velez (Kings Mills, Ohio/Kings) is expected to face the Hoosiers' top-ranked Joe Dubuque. Dubuque is a perfect 18-0 this season, while Velez stands at 20-5.
Senior Matt Delguyd (Mayfield, Ohio/Mayfield) looks to make his last appearance Welsh-Ryan Arena his best when he takes the mat with IU's 10th-ranked Brady Richardson. Richardson is 24-5 this season while Delguyd has posted a 24-7 mark.
The Indiana wrestling team is off to an 11-4 start on the year. Currently, the Hoosiers are on a four-match losing streak, each of those losses coming against top-10 programs. In the Hoosiers' 11 victories, they have defeated their opponents by an average of 25 points.
Indiana won the last meeting of these two programs, 22-15, on Jan. 21, 2005 in Bloomington. Overall, IU leads the all-time series 41-26-4. IU owns a seven-match winning streak against the Wildcats.