Sunday, November 6, 2011

#19 Northwestern Thrashes #14 Stanford

I suppose credit should be given to Stanford for upping their schedule strength by adding a Big Ten team. However if they thought Northwestern was going to be a pushover they were sorely mistaken. In fact the only two people to pick up wins for Stanford were their ranked grapplers.

Final Score: 27 - 8 Northwestern

Bout by bout:
125: #16 Levi Mele (Northwestern) maj dec. Matt Sencenbaugh (Stanford), 13-3, NU leads 4-0
133: #7 Ryan Mango (Stanford) maj dec. Jameson Oster (Northwestern), 12-4, Dual tied 4-4
141: Colin Shober (Northwestern) maj dec. Donovan Halpin (Stanford), 12-3, NU leads 8-4
149: #20 Kaleb Friedley (Northwestern) dec. Timmy Boone (Stanford), 6-2, NU leads 11-4
157: #3 Jason Welch (Northwestern) dec. Mike Kent (Stanford), 6-1, NU leads 14-4
165: Kevin Mialka (Northwestern) dec. Matt Schneider (Stanford), 8-2, NU leads 17-4
174: #1 Nick Amuchastegui (Stanford) maj dec. #10 Lee Munster (Northwestern), 9-1, NU leads 17-8
184: Brian Roddy (Northwestern) dec. Spence Patrick (Stanford), 6-4, NU leads 20-8
197: Alex Polizzi (Northwestern) maj dec. Alan Yen (Stanford), 13-3, NU leads 24-8
Hwt.: #11 Mike McMullan (Northwestern) dec. Dan Scherer (Stanford), 6-2, NU wins 27-8

Important things to note:

Amuchastegui, who every Penn State fan should remember, got his season off and rolling with an impressive 9-1 major over the top ten ranked Lee Munster. Perhaps Amuchastegui has gained some swagger after his finals appearance last year?

Jason Welch's performance could perhaps be called underwhelming considering his is the #3 guy at 157 right now. But to be fair three or four of the best grapplers at that weight either graduated or moved up a weight plus Welch was never one to blow guys out of the water often.

Levi Mele wrestled at 133 for Northwestern last season. Apparently 125 is the more natural fit except when Brandon Precin was standing in the way. This takes some depth away from an already skimpy Big Ten 133 weight class and adds more depth to the deep Big Ten 125 weight class.

Should this put the Big Ten on notice about Northwestern? Not necessarily.

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