Dominick Malone finds himself back in the national polls after a 5-3 win over Maryland's No. 20 Geoffrey Alexander last Friday.Dominick Malone finds himself back in the national polls after a 5-3 win over Maryland's No. 20 Geoffrey Alexander last Friday.

Northwestern Concludes Regular Season in Nation's Capital

Feb. 19, 2015

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2014-15 Northwestern Wrestling
 Date Saturday, Feb. 21
 Dual Meet #1 Northwestern (10-8) vs. George Mason (9-10) | 11 a.m.
 Dual Meet #2 Northwestern (10-8) vs. American (7-11) | 6:30 p.m.
 Location Recreation and Athletic Complex | Fairfax, Va.
 Live Results: TrackWrestling.com
Social Media @NU_SportsLIVE   | @NU_Wrestle   |  Facebook

EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern wraps up the 2014-15 regular season with a pair of non-conference bouts in the nation's capital on Saturday. The Wildcats travel to Washington D.C. for a doubleheader with George Mason and American.

Northwestern (10-8, 2-7) is 8-1 in non-conference matches with a perfect 8-0 mark against unranked teams.

Jason Tsirtsis enters Saturday's matches with an opportunity to reach 30 regular season wins. As a freshman a year ago, Tsirtsis put together a 32-3 mark. The third-ranked sophomore is 28-1 so far in the 2014-15 season.

Four other Wildcat wrestlers are nationally ranked by InterMat this week. Heavyweight Mike McMullan (21-2) has knocked off four straight ranked opponents to climb to No. 3. Pierce Harger (23-4) remained at No. 7 at 165 lbs. after winning his 100th career match in Northwestern's conference win over Maryland last Friday. At 197, Alex Polizzi (22-8) is 18th, and Dominick Malone (17-14) is back into the polls at 133 at No. 20.

Six Northwestern wrestlers are listed in the NCAA's RPI rankings of each weight class, which was released on Feb. 15. Tsirtsis is the highest-ranked Wildcat, coming in at No. 2. Harger and McMullan are highly regarded in RPI as each comes in fifth at their respective weight classes. Polizzi is 13th, Malone 25th and Jameson Oster 31st.

Polizzi is one of the best among all Division I wrestlers in wins by fall. The Northwestern senior has nine this season in a combined time of 24:53, placing him 10th among all wrestlers at any weight class.

Northwestern will use this weekend's action to prepare for the 2015 Big Ten Championships, which will take place on March 7 and 8 at St. John Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

Northwestern Probable Lineup
125: Garrison White (13-12)
133: #20 Dominick Malone (17-14)
141: Jameson Oster (16-10)
149: #3 Jason Tsirtsis (28-1)
157: Ben Sullivan (5-13)
165: #7 Pierce Harger (23-4)
174: Open
184: Mitch Sliga (10-15)
197: #18 Alex Polizzi (22-8)
285: #3 Mike McMullan (21-2)

George Mason is 9-10 in duals this season. The Patriots dropped a 27-9 decision to Lehigh last time out. George Mason wrestled another common foe in Maryland back on Nov. 9 and won 17-16. The Patriots wrestle Grand Canyon on Thursday before taking on Northwestern Saturday.

George Mason Probable Lineup
125: Ibrahim Bunduka (4-14) OR Robert Dooley (4-8)
133: Vince Rodriguez (13-12)
141: Sahid Kargbo (11-13) OR Zach Isenhour (3-4)
149: Blake Roulo (4-10) OR Konbeh Koroma (9-9)
157: Greg Flournoy (22-8)
165: Patrick Davis (9-11)
174: Ryan Forrest (10-12)
184: Daniel Mika (4-18)
197: Derek Dwyer (1-11)
285: Jake Kettler (24-9)

American enters Saturday's doubleheader with a 7-11 mark. The Eagles lost 34-3 to Missouri in their last dual. American and George Mason will compete against each other before Northwestern takes on the Eagles at 8 p.m.

Northwestern and American last met on Dec. 18, 2003 at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Wildcats dominated the Eagles, coming away with a 41-10 win.

American Probable Lineup
125: #17 David Terao (32-4)
133: Josh Terao (17-13)
141: Michael Sprague (12-16)
149: Tom Page (16-16)
157: John Boyle (31-7)
165: Brad Mutchnik (8-26)
174: Jason Grimes (17-9) OR Nick Carey (0-23)
184: Jeric Kasunic (20-8)
197: Brett Dempsey (18-16)
285: Chris McDermand (4-12)

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