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EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern Wrestling fans got their first glimpse of a pair of top-ranked Wildcats last weekend, but the 2014-15 'Cats open the dual season in earnest Saturday with a road trip to Stanford.
The dual is slated to begin at 4 p.m. CT and will be hosted in Stanford's Burnham Pavilion, with no charge for admission. Stanford will not be providing live video or live online scoring, but will live-tweet the action on Twitter via @CardWrestling.
No. 16 Northwestern at Stanford: Probable Starters
125: Stevan Micic OR Garrison White (NU) vs. #15 Evan Silver OR Mason Pengilly (SU)
133: #19 Dominick Malone (NU) vs. Connor Schram (SU)
141: Jameson Oster (NU) vs. Isaiah Locsin (SU)
149: #1 Jason Tsirtsis (NU) vs. Garrett Schaner (SU)
157: Bryce Brill (NU) vs. Maxwell Hvolbek OR Peter Galli (SU)
165: #5 Pierce Harger (NU) vs. #16 Jim Wilson (SU)
174: Johnny Sebastian OR Ben Sullivan (NU) vs. Keaton Subjeck (SU)
184: Mitch Sliga (NU) vs. Zach Nevills OR Garet Krohn (SU)
197: #11 Alex Polizzi (NU) vs. Michael Sojka (SU)
285: #1 Mike McMullan (NU) vs. Nathan Butler (SU)
Series History
Northwestern and Stanford have squared off in dual action every year since the 2008-09 season, with the Wildcats winning five of the six matchups. None were more tightly contested than last season's meeting, when Jacob Berkowitz, Alex Polizzi and Mike McMullan combined to win the final three bouts and lift Northwestern to a 20-19 come-from-behind victory. Despite the long travel, Northwestern also has successfully won three straight road meetings in Palo Alto, most recently a convincing 32-6 win in the 2012 season-opener.
2014-15 Lineup Overview
Now in his fifth season, head coach Drew Pariano returns a wealth of experience to the lineup, including an NCAA champion in Jason Tsirtsis at 149 pounds, a total of three All-Americans (Tsirtsis, Mike McMullan and Pierce Harger), and five returning NCAA qualifiers (Tsirtsis, McMullan, Harger, Alex Polizzi and Dominick Malone).
The 'Cats also feature returning 2013-14 starters at 125 pounds in Garrison White (7-9 in duals last season) and at 184 pounds in Ben Sullivan, who won three dual contests as a true freshman. There's also experience for the Wildcats at 141 pounds in Jameson Oster, who saw extensive action as a true freshman and as a sophomore before opting to redshirt last season. Ready for their first appearance in the Northwestern dual lineup are redshirt freshman 184-pounder Mitch Sliga and true freshman Bryce Brill at 157.
'Cats Go Two-for-Two at NWCA All-Star Classic
Kicking off the college wrestling season with matchups featuring many of the biggest names in the sport, Northwestern's tandem of 2015 NCAA championship hopefuls shined brightly at the NWCA All-Star Classic. Northwestern joined Nebraska as the only schools to have to winners at Saturday night's event. Returning 149-pound NCAA champion Jason Tsirtsis claimed a 4-1 victory against the man he beat to win the 2014 title, No. 2 Josh Kindig of Oklahoma State. Last March, Tsirtsis defeated the Cowboy by a 3-1 score in overtime to win the 10th individual national championship in Northwestern Wrestling history. Earlier in the evening, three-time All-American and 2013 NCAA finalist Mike McMullan started his season in auspicious fashion, knocking off defending NCAA heavyweight champion Nick Gwiazdowski of North Carolina State, 8-4.
On the Horizon
After returning from Stanford, Northwestern will have one week to recover and prepare for the Eastern Michigan Duals on Saturday, Nov. 15. The 'Cats will be facing off with EMU, Clarion and the always-strong Central Michigan over the course of the morning and afternoon in Ypsilanti.
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