Feb. 4, 2011
EVANSTON, Ill. - Friday night's Big Ten wrestling dual got out of control quickly as 24th-ranked Purdue surrendered the first six matches in a 32-6 loss at No. 17 Northwestern University. The Boilermakers fell to 5-7-1 overall and 0-4 in conference action, while Northwestern improved to 16-2 (4-2 Big Ten).
Northwestern did all the damage they needed to do in the first six matches, running up a 26-0 lead on two falls, two major decisions and two decisions. Wildcat sophomore Levi Mele and freshman Kaleb Friedly did the big portion of the damage scoring falls at 133 and 141 pounds, respectively. Senior All-America Brandon Precin and classmate Andrew Nadhir added major decisions at 125 and 149, and 10th-ranked sophomore Jason Welch and fellow second-year Kevin Bialka sealed the win with decisions at 157 and 165.
Boilermaker senior Luke Manuel, ranked eighth in the nation at 174 pounds, got Purdue off the slide, scoring the team's first win of the night in a 7-3 decision over sophomore Brian Roddy. Manuel put together a pair of takedowns in the first period and another in the third for his 108th career victory.
Disaster struck again for the Old Gold and Black at 184 pounds as Northwestern senior Aaron Jones pulled off a 6-1 upset victory over seventh-ranked Boilermaker A.J. Kissel. Jones used a pair of Greco Roman ties to secure single-leg takedowns in the closing seconds of the first and second periods, and despite giving Kissel a shot on top in the third, made an impressive escape.
Purdue added three more points at 197 pounds as ninth-ranked senior Logan Brown posted a decisive 8-1 victory over junior John Schoen. Brown earned his 104th career win, matching Boilermaker great Tim Dernlan for 11th all-time at Purdue, and scored his 316th career takedown, closing in on Alex Coriano.
The match ended with a narrow 3-2 victory for Northwestern junior Ben Kuhar as Purdue senior Roger Vukobratovich surrendered a third-period takedown and fell just shy of sending it to overtime with 58 seconds of riding time.
Purdue returns to action Sunday at 1 p.m. (CT) at No. 6 Wisconsin.