No. 13 NU Pulls Away From No. 26 Indiana 27-12

EVANSTON, Ill. – No. 13 Northwestern opened it’s Big Ten home schedule by defeating the No. 26 ranked Indiana Hoosiers 27-12 Saturday at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

NU won seven of the 10 bouts, including two by bonus points to improve to 6-1 and 1-1 in conference play. The Hoosiers dropped to 5-2 and 0-1 in their first Big Ten match of the year..

Indiana’s Taylor Walsh, ranked No. 5 at 157 lbs. who finished in second place at the 51st Ken Kraft Midlands Championships last week, began the match pinning the Wildcats Dylan Marriott at 6:18, giving the Hoosiers bonus points and a 6-0 advantage.

NU responded to tie the match with back-to-back shutout victories at 165 lbs. and 174 lbs. Pierce Harger (16-3) defeated Ryan LeBlanc by a 2-0 decision. No. 9 Lee Munster (5-1) returned to the lineup and defeated Nate Jackson 3-0 to tie the match at 6-6.

At 197 lbs., No. 17 Alex Polizzi (16-3) propelled the `Cats into the lead, earned bonus points for NU with a 15-0 tech fall win over the Hoosiers Garret Goldman. Polizzi registered the `Cats third shutout of the match, putting NU ahead 11-9.

Indiana’s No. 8 Adam Chalfant (16-1) dealt No. 2 heavyweight Mike McMullan(3-1) his first loss of the season. Chalfant grabbed an early lead and never led it go, scoring nearfall and take down points in the second period and an escape and take down in the third period to secure a 9-4 decision.

With the `Cats lead down to just 12-11, NU pulled away winning at the lower weights from 125 lbs. to 149 lbs.

After Garrison White won by forfeit at 125 lbs., Dominick Malone put NU up 20-12 with a 9-4 decision over IU’s Chris Caton and Pat Greco defeated Kyle Springer 10-7, as each wrestler earned an extra point with riding time.

No. 5 Jason Tsirtsis closed out the match for NU, giving the `Cats bonus points at 149 lbs. He upended Eric Roach 17-4, winning by major decision.

No. 13 Northwestern 27, No. 26 Indiana 12
125: Garrison White (Northwestern) won by forfeit over Unknown (Unattached), NU 17-12, NU 27-12
133: Dominick Malone (Northwestern) won by decision over Chris Caton (Indiana) 9-4, NU 20-12
141: Pat Greco (Northwestern) won by decision over Kyle Springer (Indiana) 10-7, NU 23-12
149: Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern) won by major decision over Eric Roach (Indiana) 17-4.
157: No 5. Taylor Walsh (Indiana) won by pin Dylan Marriott (Northwestern), 6:18, IU 6, NU 0
165: No. 9 Pierce Harger (Northwestern) won by decision over Ryan LeBlanc (Indiana) 2-0, IU 6, NU 3
174: No. 9 Lee Munster (Northwestern) won by decision over Nate Jackson (Indiana) 3-0, NU 6, IU 6.
184: No. 19 Lucas Sheridan (Indiana) won by decision over Jacob Berkowitz (Northwestern) 3-2, IU 9, NU 6.
197: Alex Polizzi (Northwestern) won by tech fall over Garret Goldman (Indiana) 0:37 15-0, NU 11-9.
285: No. 8  Adam Chalfant (Indiana) won by decision over Michael McMullan (Northwestern) 9-4, NU 12-11.