Feb. 15, 2008
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue wrestling team dropped a hard-fought 21-17 loss to No. 11 Northwestern on Friday night. The Boilermakers drop to 10-6 on the year and 2-4 in the conference, while Northwestern draws even at 7-7 (2-3 Big Ten).
The Boilermakers picked up solid victories at four weight classes, but were unable to hold off the talented Wildcats in the loss. Freshman A.J. Kissel scored a huge highlight, pinning Northwestern senior Adil Kolovic in 3:47 to break Purdue's single-season school record for falls. The Boilermaker rookie took a 5-0 lead in the first period, and finished off the match with his signature arm bar in the second.
Purdue got another huge lift at 149 pounds as 14th-ranked junior Jake Patacsil hammered sixth-ranked senior Ryan Lang by major decision, 18-6. The match was action packed from start to finish as control went back and forth through the first period before Patacsil locked in on top and did his thing, turning the Wildcat senior for a series of four near falls.
Senior Sean Schmaltz won in his final career match at 133 pounds, topping Northwestern sophomore Eric Metzler, 2-1. Metzler led 1-0 heading into the final period, but picked up a third false-start call and then Schmaltz wrangled free just a second before the impending riding-time point to escape with the win.
Sophomore 157-pounder Nick Bertucci scored the Boilermakers' final win of the day, posting an impressive major decision over freshman Andrew Nadhir. Bertucci had his way with the Wildcat rookie, nearly pinning him on a few occasions and racking up a series of takedowns and back points.
Northwestern rode the laurels of their other top-ranked wrestlers, getting major decisions from No.1 heavyweight Dustin Fox, No. 3 197-pounder Mike Tamillow and fifth-ranked 125-pounder Brandon Precin. Also 12th-ranked Nick Hayes edged out Purdue's 17th-ranked sophomore 174-pounder Nick Corpe with a 2-1 tie-break win, in one of the deciding matches of the evening. Other close ones came at 141 and 165 pounds, where freshman Keith Sulzer and sophomore Dominic Marella were both able to score decisions for the Wildcats.
Purdue returns to action Sunday at ninth-ranked Penn State.