Jan. 8, 2009
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- Fresh off a fifth-place finish competing against the nation's elite in the Midlands Championships, No. 20 Northwestern is off to another ultra-competitive setting, the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa. In a repeat of last year's trip to the National Duals, NU will lock horns with No. 4 Nebraska in the opening round at 9 a.m. Saturday.
A replay of this year's NWCA National Duals will air on ESPNU on Thursday, Jan. 15 at 3 p.m.
This year's trip to the duals is especially notable as 2009 marks the first time in program history that the 'Cats have earned a spot in the esteemed competition four years running.
“Being able to compete in the National Duals is always a special event and a great honor,” said NU head coach Tim Cysewski. “The fact that we have accomplished a program-first by participating four consecutive years shows our program is well established among the nation's best and continually improving.”
A win for NU against the Huskers would mean a second-round match-up with either fifth-ranked Missouri, which placed third at the recent Midlands Championships, or 14th-ranked Big Ten foe Penn State.
Northwestern (7-1) is coming off back-to-back years in which it placed at the National Duals, also a first for the program. The Wildcats nabbed eighth in 2007 and last year rebounded from their opening-round loss to Nebraska with wins against Tennessee-Chattanooga and Missouri. Knotted at 19 against the Tigers after nine matches, eventual heavyweight national champion Dustin Fox defeated Mark Ellis to keep NU's tournament hopes alive.
SCOUTING THE HUSKERS
Nebraska is off to a 6-0 start to earn its No. 4 national ranking, having posted recent wins against then-No. 7 Minnesota (21-18) and then-15th-ranked Michigan (22-13). Nebraska's strengths unquestionably lie in the upper weights as the Huskers boast five ranked wrestlers beginning at the 157-pound division. They are led by top-ranked Craig Brester, a 2008 All-American who is currently 15-0 in his junior campaign, at 197. Brester moved into the top spot after the loss by Iowa State's Jake Varner in the Midlands Championships.
Another junior, Jordan Burroughs, is 14-0 and ranked second in the nation at 157 while senior Brandon Browne is also No. 2 in the polls in the 174-pound class. An interesting match-up looms at 184 pounds, where NU's top-ranked senior Jake Herbert (16-0) faces a challenge in Nebraska senior Vince Jones, ranked No. 14.
Nebraska is 37-4 in dual competitions from the 149-pound division and up in 2008-09.
A LOOK AT THE DUALS
Iowa, which defeated Iowa State by just a three-point margin in the Midlands team standings, has sat atop the NWCA rankings since the start of the 2008-09 campaign and have drawn the No. 1 seed in this year's National Duals. In last year's National Duals finals, the Hawkeyes won convincingly against Nebraska, taking eight of 10 matches.
In addition to Iowa and Nebraska, Iowa State and Cornell round out this year's top four seeds, while Ohio State, Missouri, Wisconsin and Minnesota also earned seeded positions.
Missouri is poised to make a run for a team title having started the year with an 11-0 mark. They are anchored at the heavyweight spot by Mark Ellis, who is coming off a Midlands Championship and a win against Pitt's Zac Sheaffer in the finals.
MIDLANDS IN REVIEW
Nearly 375 wrestlers hit the mat at the start of the first session of the 46th annual Midlands Championships and three Wildcats were left standing as place-winners. Jake Herbert joined the list of three-time Midlands champions as two pins, a tech fall and a major decision were enough to emerge from the 184-pound class. All-American Brandon Precin bested his 2007 second-place finish with a championship in 2008, knocking off Iowa State's Tyler Clark in the finals, 3-2. Freshman Jason Welch wrestled an exciting tournament, posting a remarkable pin against Missouri's Emmanuel Brooks before falling to 34-year old four-time Midlands champion Chris Bono and eventually finishing fifth.
Other Wildcats who impressed at Midlands included Andrew Nadhir (149), who opened with a 9-5 decision against Michigan State's David Cheza and also won a 6-4 bout vs. Joey Metzler of Old Dominion, as well as freshman Eric Galka, who recorded the fastest fall of this year's Midlands, an 18-second defeat of Triton's Vince Vallez.