In total, Northwestern won 13 of 20 bouts Saturday afternoon. Levi Mele (125), Jason Welch (157), Pierce Harger (165), Lee Munster (174) and Mike McMullan (Hwt) all went 2-0 on the day.
Saturday marked the final regular season road trip and final out-of-conference duals for Northwestern as the 'Cats wrap up the regular season Friday, Feb. 17 vs. Indiana. Match time is scheduled for 7 p.m. and Friday's dual is Senior Night at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Recaps from NU's wins over North Carolina and Campbell are below.
Northwestern vs. North Carolina
In the first dual of the day, Northwestern won five bouts, including four by bonus points, to defeat UNC, 20-15. NU jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead thanks to a 15-2 major decision for 10th-ranked Mele at 125. The win was Mele's fifth-straight, his team-leading 24th victory of the year and 13th win with bonus points.
NU's quick lead diminished though as UNC won three-straight bouts at 133, 141 and 149. Redshirt freshman Pat Greco filled in for Kaleb Friedley at 149 lbs. and fell to Nick Heilmann, 6-2.
Welch, who is ranked second in the country at 157, got the 'Cats back in the match, tying the score at 9-9 with an 18-2 tech fall over Jonathan Burns. With the win, Welch remained a perfect 19-0 on the year.
The 'Cats then extended their lead to 16-9 as Pierce Harger and No. 12 Lee Munster won their bouts at 165 and 174, respectively. Harger defeated Kyle Kiss 4-1 and Munster tacked on some more bonus points for NU with his 14-1 major decision over Alex Utley.
UNC kept the dual close, winning bouts at 184 and 197, to come within one point (16-15) heading into the final match. No. 13 Mike McMullan returned to the lineup at heavyweight and secured the Northwestern dual victory, defeating Frank Abbondanza by a 14-1 major decision.
No. 17 Northwestern 20, North Carolina 15
125: No. 10 Levi Mele (NU) maj dec Brian Bokoski (UNC), 15-2 (4-0 NU)
133: Brock Livorio (UNC) dec Jameson Oster (NU), 7-5 (4-3 NU)
141: No. 20 Evan Henderson (UNC) dec Colin Shober (NU), 8-1 (6-4 UNC)
149: Nick Heilmann (UNC) dec Pat Greco (NU), 6-2 (9-4 UNC)
157: No. 2 Jason Welch (NU) tech fall Jonathan Burns (UNC), 18-2, 4:30 (9-9)
165: Pierce Harger (NU) dec Kyle Kiss (UNC), 4-1 (12-9 NU)
174: No. 12 Lee Munster (NU) maj dec Alex Utley (UNC), 14-1 (16-9 NU)
184: Thomas Ferguson (UNC) dec Robert Kellogg (NU), 7-3 (16-12 NU)
197: Zachary Bennett (UNC) dec John Schoen (NU), 9-4 (16-15 NU)
Hwt: No. 13 Mike McMullan (NU) maj dec Frank Abbondanza (UNC), 14-1 (20-15 NU)
Northwestern vs. Campbell
Northwestern then had a strong showing against Campbell, winning eight of 10 bouts. Right off the bat, the 'Cats had two quick falls as Mele pinned Grabiel Soto in 3:53 to open the match at 125 and then Oster pinned his eighth opponent of the year, sticking Joey Rizzolino in 1:12 at 133. Mele and Oster lead NU with 10 and eight falls, respectively, and it's fitting that Oster's pin was the 46th of the season for Northwestern, surpassing last year's total of 45 falls.
After two quick bouts to start the dual, Shober needed an overtime period to edge Jordan Tolbert 5-3 at 141. Campbell got on the board as Mark Hartenstine narrowly defeated Greco 4-2, who again filled in for Friedley at 149 ,but the Camels only were awarded two points as one was deducted for unsportsmanlike conduct following the 133 lbs. bout.
Leading 15-2, Welch then added another win with bonus points to his record and his second tech fall of the day, shutting out Daniel Luty 16-0 in 6:43. With one match remaining in the regular season, Welch is still undefeated at 20-0 and has won 14 of those matches with bonus points.
Welch's win started a string of four-straight victories for NU. Harger won his second bout of the day, defeating Paul Duggan 8-2 at 165 and Munster also recorded his second victory with a 5-2 decision over James Cook.
Marcus Shrewsbury made the start at 184 and scored a key victory for the 'Cats, with a 5-3 decision over John Merickel, extending NU's lead to 29-2 with two matches to go.
Campbell needed an overtime period to win their second bout of the afternoon as John Weakley edged John Schoen 9-7 in sudden victory. McMullan once again ended things on a positive note for Northwestern with a 6-2 decision over Joe Nolan, giving NU its second win of the day and 10th dual victory on the year.
No. 17 Northwestern 32, Campbell 5
125: No. 10 Levi Mele (NU) pins Grabiel Soto (CU) 3:53; NU 6-0
133: Jameson Oster (NU) pins Joey Rizzolino (CU) 1:12; NU 12-(-1)
*Campbell received a one-point unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the 133-pound bout.
141: Colin Shober (NU) dec Jordan Tolbert (CU) 5-3 (OT); NU 15-(-1)
149: Mark Hartenstine (CU) dec Pat Greco (NU) 4-2; NU 15-2
157: No. 2 Jason Welch (NU) tech fall Daniel Luty (CU) 6:32; NU 20-2
165: Pierce Harger (NU) dec Paul Duggan (CU) 8-2; NU 23-2
174: No. 12 Lee Munster (NU) dec James Cook (CU) 5-2; NU 26-2
184: Marcus Shrewsbury (NU) dec John Merickel (CU) 5-3; NU 29-2
197: John Weakley (CU) dec John Schoen (NU) 9-7 (OT1); NU 29-5
285: No. 13 Mike McMullan (NU) dec Joe Nolan (CU) 6-2; NU 32-5
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now