NU was victorious in six of the ten bouts, winning each of the first two as well as the last two to seal the result. The win was the second of the season over a top-15 squad for the 'Cats after defeating No. 10 Virginia Tech in November.
The Wildcats took a quick 6-0 lead after No. 1 Sebastian Rivera won by forfeit at 125, with the redshirt sophomore improving to a perfect 16-0 on the campaign. Colin Valdiviez followed it up with a dominant performance against Jens Lantz, winning by major decision to put Northwestern up 10-0 after two matches.
After a pair of wins for the hosts, No. 3 Ryan Deakin re-upped the advantage for Chicago's Big Ten Team with a dismantling of UW's Devin Bahr at 157. Deakin notched a win by technical fall at the buzzer, adding five points to the visitors' cause as they held a 15-7 lead at the midway point of the contest.
At 174, redshirt senior Johnny Sebastian came through with another win by bonus points, cruising to a major decision over Patrick Spray. The 'Cats held a one-point lead with just two bouts remaining to decide the match.
Zack Chakonis took the mat against Beau Breske at 197 in a tightly-contested and low-scoring affair. A third-period escape and riding time point gave Chakonis a victory via 3-1 decision and, crucially, stretched the team lead to four points going into the final bout.
The heavyweight contest featured two ranked grapplers in No. 19 Conan Jennings and No. 9 Trent Hillger. The pair proved evenly matched as the score stood tied, 2-2, after three periods. Neither wrestler was able to move the needle until Jennings finally recorded a point and sealed the victory in the third extra period, giving the Wildcat a 3-2 (TB-1) decision over the highly-ranked Badger.
The victory by Jennings also punctuated the first conference win of the season for the Wildcats in the stacked Big Ten Conference, and the second-straight dual victory over Wisconsin. Northwestern defeated the 16th-ranked Badgers by a score of 18-14 in Evanston a year ago.
Chicago's Big Ten Team will be back in action on Sunday, returning home to host No. 7 Minnesota at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The action is set to start at noon CT.
Results:
125: Sebastian Rivera (NU) win by forfeit (FF)
133: Colin Valdiviez (NU) maj. dec. Jens Lantz (UW), 12-3
141: #16 Tristan Moran (UW) dec. Alec McKenna (NU), 2-1
149: #13 Cole Martin (UW) maj. dec. Shayne Oster (NU), 11-2
157: #3 Ryan Deakin Tech. Fall Devin Bahr (UW), 20-5 (7:00)
165: #3 Evan Wick wins by disqualification over Tyler Morland (NU) (DQ)
174: Johnny Sebastian maj. dec. Patrick Spray (UW), 12-3
184: Mason Reinhardt (UW) Tech. Fall Brendan Devine (NU), 17-2 (5:36)
197: Zack Chakonis (NU) dec. Beau Breske (UW), 3-1
285: #19 Conan Jennings dec. #9 Trent Hillger (UW), 3-2 (TB-1)
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