No. 25-ranked UNI improved to 4-5-1 on the season, while Northern Illinois dropped to 8-6 on the year. UNI now holds a commanding 21-1-5 lead in the all-time series, despite settling for ties in 2006 (16-16) and 2007 (17-17) when the teams met on the mat.
The dual began at 133 pounds where Northern Illinois' Pat Castillo scored a 21-9 win over UNI's Josh Baldridge (Haysville, Kan.). Castillo is ranked No. 10 in the nation and is a two-time national qualifier.
The Panthers dented the scoreboard twice with pair of wins from the Ettelson brothers of Hudson, Iowa. C.J. scored a major decision at 141 pounds with a 15-7 victory over Tristen DeShazer. Charlie then followed with a decisive 7-1 win at 149 pounds over NIU's Kalen Knull.
C.J. trailed early in his match with DeShazer but used two tilts, a takedown and a reversal to take a commanding 14-3 lead late in the match. DeShazer countered with a four-point move in the final 15 seconds of the match, but Ettelson hung on for the eight-point major decision.
Charlie held a commanding 6-0 lead midway through the third period before he allowed an escape, while looking for another major decision. However, Charlie could not get a takedown in the final seconds and had to settle for a 7-1 decision over Knull. Charlie's win gave UNI a 7-4 lead in the dual.
NIU knotted the dual at 7-7 after 157 pounds behind a 6-3 win from Bryan O'Conner over UNI's Tyson Reiner (Mitchell, S.D.). Reiner trailed 3-2 in the third period, but O'Conner scored a takedown and added a riding time point to secure the three-point win.
UNI junior Moza Fay (Anamosa, Iowa) notched his team-high sixth pin of the season at 165 pounds to put the Panthers on top, 13-7. Fay scored his fall in the second period at the 4:40 mark against NIU's Anthony Victor.
No. 13-ranked Duke Burk tallied a 5-1 victory over UNI's Alex Dolly (Mishawaka, Ind.) at 174 pounds. Dolly and Burk were locked in a 1-1 battle with 40 seconds left in the third period, when Burk scrambled for a takedown and two-point nearfall to take the match.
UNI redshirt freshman Andy O'Loughlin (Independence, Iowa) took the initiative at 184 pounds against NIU's Brad Dieckhaus. O'Loughlin scored a takedown and a two-point nearfall 1:15 into their match. O'Loughlin then added a second takedown later in the first stanza to take a commanding 6-1 advantage. O'Loughlin increased the lead to 8-2 with another takedown in the second period. O'Loughlin opened the third period with his fourth takedown of the match and added his fifth takedown in the closing seconds. The Panther 184-pounder added a riding time point for the 13-3 major decision, which gave the Panthers a 17-10 lead in the dual.
After watching O'Loughlin score early and often at 184 pounds, UNI 197-pounder Andrew Anderson followed his lead and scored a takedown only 10 seconds into his match and then notched another two-pointer at the close of the period to take a 4-1 lead against NIU's Jake Smith. Anderson began the second period with a reversal and added two more takedowns to take a commanding 10-3 lead. Anderson finished off Smith with a 13-5 major decision. Anderson's win also gave UNI a 21-10 lead in the dual.
NIU's Dave Benner scored a 6-3 win over UNI's Dustin Bauman (Stratford, Wis.) at heavyweight.
UNI redshirt freshman Caleb Flores (Rosemead, Calif.) finished off the dual with an 8-7 victory over NIU's T.J. Wunnicke at 125 pounds.
The Panthers will be in action next Sunday (Feb. 10) against South Dakota State in a Western Wresting Conference dual. UNI and SDSU will take to the mat in the McLeod Center at 2 p.m.
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