No. 10 Jason Welch is slated for yet another matchup with a ranked opponent when he meets No. 20 Colton Salazar at 157 pounds Friday vs. Purdue.No. 10 Jason Welch is slated for yet another matchup with a ranked opponent when he meets No. 20 Colton Salazar at 157 pounds Friday vs. Purdue.

'Cats Try to Shut Down Boilermakers Friday in Evanston

Feb. 2, 2011

No. 17 Northwestern (15-2, 3-2 Big Ten) vs. No. 24 Purdue (5-6-1, 0-3 Big Ten)
Friday, Feb 4
Welsh-Ryan Arena
Evanston, Ill. • 7 p.m. CT
Streaming Video: BigTenNetwork.com
Live Updates: Twitter (@NU_SportsLIVE)

Northwestern Wrestling Weekly Release -- Feb. 2 Get Acrobat Reader

EVANSTON, Ill. -- No. 17 Northwestern, which is forced to travel just once beween now and the NCAA Championships March 18, is set for another Big Ten tilt when it duals 24th-ranked Purdue at 7 p.m. Friday in Welsh-Ryan Arena.

NU, which is attempting to reach four Big Ten dual victories in a season for the first time since 2005-06, has claimed wins over the Boilermakers in three of their last four meetings dating to 2005.

The Wildcats are in the midst of four consecutive matches being streamed live on BigTenNetwork.com and re-aired on television as part of BTN's "Student U" initiative. Fans can purchase subscriptions to the web streaming service for as low as $7.95 per month. Live updates are also available on Twitter by following the username @NU_SportsLive.

What to Watch For
While Northwestern's trio of nationally ranked wrestlers can be found among the lowest five weights, Purdue presents a contrast in that their four ranked individuals -- including three in the top 10--check in at 157, 174, 184 and 197. In addition, an intriguing early matchup could come at 133 pounds where Purdue senior Akif Eren has always presented a stern test, and that test could fall on either Levi Mele (14-5) or Bobby Joyce (8-5) on Friday.

The lone meeting of two ranked opponents is set for 157 pounds where sophomore NU Jason Welch (20-3) and Purdue's Colton Salazar (10-5) will likely meet for the first time. Meanwhile at 197, John Schoen could pick up a resumé-building victory over No. 9 Logan Brown, who owns a 6-0 victory over Schoen in their last meeting in a dual on Nov. 14, 2009. The Boilers also feature ranked wrestlers in No. 7 A.J. Kissel at 184 and No. 8 Luke Manuel at 174.

Nadhir Rises in Big Ten Action
Andrew Nadhir's story at Northwestern is one of development and commitment to improvement. Nadhir struggled as a freshman starter at 157 pounds but later found a home at 149, where he has posted a 14-7 record in Big Ten dual matches since his sophomore season. He has been ranked as high as No. 6 this year and leads Northwestern with nine wins by major decision. Nadhir, 24-3 in his senior campaign, is coming off an 11-4 decision win over Iowa's Matt Ballweg last Friday.

Inside Northwestern Wrestling with Coach Pariano
Head coach Drew Pariano is writing a weekly blog this season for Illinoismatmen.com. An excerpt of the latest installment of Coach Pariano's blog can be found below:
"We just endured one of the worst blizzards in Chicago history this week, which obviously impacted our team's practice schedule. This angered me a bit but it also taught me and the guys an important lesson: only worry about the things that you can control. We can't control the weather and with that being said, let's take the approach that other schools have it much worse then us. The roads will be cleared immediately and all that means is that the travel to the Ken Kraft Wrestling Complex will be ready to go. We need this week desperately to rebound from our dual against Iowa.

Practice on Sunday was purposeful and it was a grind. Coach Storniolo had a one hour and forty five minute non-stop practice on the docket. When the guys thought that practice was over, I took over and put the team through another 15 minutes of conditioning. Coaches always have a plan for what they want to accomplish on any given day at practice. However, it is up to the athlete to decide what they have as their personal goal for the practice. For example, if a guy continues to ride you from the right side and you are having difficulty escaping from that side, you must develop a change-over to get him on the side that you are more comfortable with. It's really common sense and even college wrestlers need to be reminded constantly that they need to have a plan each day they enter the practice room..."

Big Ten Championships Coming to NU in March
Don't miss out on your chance to watch many of the nation's top amateur wrestlers competing in Welsh-Ryan Arena when Northwestern hosts the 2011 Big Ten Championships, Saturday-Sunday, March 5-6. Tickets are on sale now and are available by calling the NU ticket office at 888-GO-PURPLE. For a complete ticket breakdown and schedule of sessions, click here.

No. 17 Northwestern vs. No. 24 Purdue: Probable Lineups
125: #3 Brandon Precin, 25-1 (NU) vs. Camden Eppert, 8-10 (PU)
133: Levi Mele, 14-5 or Robert Joyce, 8-5 (NU) vs. Akif Eren, 9-9 (PU)
141: Kaleb Friedley, 20-6 (NU) vs. Jake Fleckenstein, 8-10 (PU)
149: #13 Andrew Nadhir, 24-3 (NU) vs. Sam Patacsil, 13-14 (PU)
157: #10 Jason Welch, 20-3 (NU) vs. #20 Colton Salazar, 10-5 (PU)
165: Kevin Bialka, 10-11 (NU) vs. Kyle Mosier, 11-8 (PU)
174: Robert Kellogg, 3-12, or Brian Roddy, Jr., 8-4 (NU) vs. #9 Luke Manuel, 11-6 (PU)
184: Aaron Jones, 14-8 (NU) vs. #8 A.J. Kissell, 19-3 (PU)
197: John Schoen, 16-7 (NU) vs. #9 Logan Brown, 16-3 (PU)
285: Ben Kuhar, 11-12 (NU) vs. Roger Vukobratovich, 10-12 (PU)

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