Aaron Jones was one of five Wildcats to go 2-0 on Northwestern's first day of dual action Sunday in California.Aaron Jones was one of five Wildcats to go 2-0 on Northwestern's first day of dual action Sunday in California.

'Cats Come Home to Evanston for NU Duals Sunday

Nov. 11, 2010

NU DUALS
Sunday, Nov. 14
Sports Pavilion & Aquatic Center (SPAC) • 2311 N Campus Drive
Evanston, Ill.
Noon: Northwestern vs. UW-Whitewater
2 p.m.: Northwestern vs. South Dakota State
4 p.m.: Northwestern vs. Northern Iowa
Live Twitter Updates: @NU_SportsLIVE

EVANSTON, Ill. -- After a successful opening weekend in California, No. 17 Northwestern begins a stacked 2010-11 home schedule Sunday at the NU Duals. Head coach Drew Pariano and his squad will endure a triple-header against UW-Whitewater, South Dakota State and Northern Iowa beginning at noon CT.

Northwestern will venture outside the usual setting of Welsh-Ryan Arena this weekend, hosting the NU Duals at Northwestern's Sports Pavilion and Aquatic Center (SPAC) at 2311 N Campus Drive on the lakeside. The price of admission for the match, which will be held on the courts of the Combe Varsity Tennis Center, is $7 for adults and $4 students and youth.

Below is a complete match schedule:
Noon:
Mat One: NU vs. UW-Whitewater
Mat Two: South Dakota State vs. UW-Parkside
Mat Three: Northern Iowa vs. McKendree

2 p.m.:
Mat One: NU vs. South Dakota State
Mat Two: McKendree vs. UW-Whitewater
Mat Three: Northern Iowa vs. UW-Parkside

4 p.m.:
Mat One: NU vs. Northern Iowa
Mat Two: South Dakota State vs. UW-Whitewater
Mat Three: UW-Parkside vs. McKendree

Best in the West
Foregoing any open tournaments and soft early-season scheduling, Northwestern dove headfirst into exciting dual competition to begin the year. NU made the trek to Stanford looking to avenge a 27-6 loss to the Cardinal in 2009 and managed to do just that, rallying from a 13-6 deficit to win the dual, 18-16. Northwestern's Kaleb Friedley (141), Andrew Nadhir (149) and Bay Area-native Jason Welch (157) posted back-to-back major decision victories to ensure a successful debut for first-year head coach Drew Pariano.

After that, NU finished off the day by winning nine of 10 bouts in a 43-3 victory against NAIA foe Menlo College. Friedley, a true freshman, stood out once again with his pin of Menlo two-time All-American Christian Martinez.

'Cats in the Rankings
A trio of Wildcats garnered preseason recognition in the Intermat Wrestling weight-by-weight rankings. Returning two-time NCAA All-American Brandon Precin is ranked No. 2 in the nation at 125 pounds following his redshirt year in 2009-10--with only 2010 NCAA champion Matt McDonough of Iowa ranked ahead of him.

Sophomore Jason Welch is ranked No. 8 at 157 pounds coming off his redshirt season a year ago. Welch qualified for the NCAA Championships and reached the Big Ten final at 157 pounds as a true freshman in 2009.

At 149 pounds, senior Andrew Nadhir looks to build off his breakout season a year ago and begins his final go-round at Northwestern as the nation's 10th-ranked 149-pounder. Nadhir finished 24-12 overall and just one win shy of All-American status at the 2010 NCAA Championships.

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