The win improves the Wildcats to 12-8 overall, 2-5 in the Big Ten. The loss drops Purdue to 10-8 overall, 0-8 in conference.
Greg Hagel (Linwood, N.J./Blair Academy) started the dual against Justin Fraga at 165 lbs. and surrendered three takedowns in the first period, but notched two escapes and trailed 6-2 heading into the second.
Hagel closed to 6-3 with an escape early in the second and went into the third facing a three-point deficit. Fraga scored an escape in the third and eased to a 7-3 decision to give the Boilermakers a 3-0 lead.
NU would notch 31-straight points starting with Nick Hayes (Council Bluffs, Iowa/Lewis Central) at 174 lbs.
Hayes took on Jason Martin at 174 lbs. and after the Boilermaker picked up and early point, Hayes came back with a two-point takedown to make the 2-1. Martin scored a takedown, but a swift escape by Hayes made the score 3-3 heading into the second period.
The junior faced a 7-5 deficit heading into the third period and Martin escaped early to pull ahead 8-5. A two-point takedown by Hayes made the score 8-7. The Boilermaker escaped, but Hayes quickly took him back down to tie the score at 9-9. A Martin escape put him ahead, 10-9, but Hayes came right back with another takedown and took an 11-10 lead. Hayes rode Martin for the rest of the match and took a 12-10 decision to tie the team score at 3-3.
Herbert, the nation's top-ranked 184-pounder, needed 15 seconds to score his first points on Nick Skinner at 184 lbs. with a takedown in the first. Skinner escaped twice, but Herbert scored two more takedowns to take a 6-2 lead. The junior gave up another escape to go neutral with Skinner and then swiftly notched his fourth takedown of the first period. Herbert's fifth takedown in the first gave him a 10-4 lead heading into the second.
A reversal by Herbert gave him a 12-4 lead in the opening seconds of the second period and he used another takedown to extend his lead to 14-5. Herbert finally ended the match with a pin in the closing seconds of the period for six team points to give NU the 9-3 advantage. The fall was Herbert's team-leading ninth of the season.
Seventh-ranked Mike Tamillow (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick) returned after missing the Indiana dual to face 14th-ranked Nathan Moore at 197 lbs and notched a quick two-point takedown in the first. He rode Moore for the rest of the frame and maintained a 2-0 lead going into the second period.
The junior escaped early and added another takedown late in the second to take a 5-0 lead going to the third. Tamillow rode another takedown and riding time to an 8-0 major decision to extend Northwestern's overall lead to 13-3. Tamillow improved his season mark to 29-3.
Fox, the nation's fourth-ranked heavyweight, came next against David Pisarcik and quickly got on the board with a two-point takedown. Fox notched a total of four takedowns in the first to take an 8-3 lead heading into the second stanza.
Fox finally pinned Pisarcik with 35 seconds left in the second to give NU a 19-3 lead heading back down to the lower weights. The pin was only Fox's second of the season.
Brandon Precin (Orland, Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg), ranked 18th, took on Brandon Tucker at 125 lbs. and the two battled to a scoreless first period. The freshman registered an escape early in the second to take a 1-0 lead and rode Tucker for the entire third period to capture the 2-0 decision. The win was Precin's 29th of the season.
Eric Metzler (Luxemburg, Wis./Luxemburg-Casco) took to the mat next at 133 lbs. against Purdue's Sean Schmaltz. The Boilermaker quickly went up 2-0 with a two-point takedown. Metzler escaped to close to 2-1 midway through the opening stanza. No more points were scored in the period.
The Wildcat started down in the second and quickly escaped to tie the score at 2-2 and he broke through with a takedown in the closing seconds of the frame to lead 4-2 heading into the third.
Schmaltz closed to 4-3 with an escape midway through the final period, but he could not get closer as Metzler took his second win in a Big Ten dual with a 4-3 decision. NU led 25-3 heading into the final three matches.
Lang, ranked No. 1 at 141 lbs., battled Nick Bertucci at in only his second match back from injury. He scored an early takedown and near-fall to take a 5-0 lead less than halfway through the opening frame and maintained the five-point advantage heading to the second.
Lang escaped to start the second to extend his lead to 6-0 and used a takedown to make the score 8-0 going to the third. After multiple takedowns in the third, Lang scored NU's third pin of the dual to make the overall score 31-3.
Marty Gould (Lincolnwood, Ill./Niles West) was pinned by ninth-ranked Jake Patacsill at 149 lbs. and Dominic Marella (Roselle, Ill./Conant) fell to Jake Murphy at 157 lbs. to close out the match with NU coming out on top, 31-13.
The 'Cats host Michigan in their dual finale at 7 p.m. Sunday evening at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
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