Wildcats Use Late Run to Down Stanford in Opener, 18-16

PALO ALTO, Calif. — Opening its 2010-11 season against a solid Stanford team in front of more than 1,500 Cardinal supporters, Northwestern overcame an early deficit and posted a 18-16 victory Sunday in Palo Alto, Calif. The win gave Drew Pariano a successful start to his Division I head coaching career.

“This was a great night of wrestling for the fans here in California, they saw two good teams going at it,” Pariano said after winning his debut as head coach of the Wildcats. “We have a lot to improve on over the next few weeks but in general I thought we battled hard tonight, especially working for bonus points at the end of matches that turned out to be the difference.”

Sunday’s dual was originally scheduled to take place outdoors on Stanford’s Taube Tennis Center before rain forced the action indoors to a packed Burnham Pavilion.

The teams drew to start the match at 174 pounds, where Brian Roddy, Jr. opened his second season as a starter for NU against a tough opponent in sixth-ranked Nick Amuchastegui. Roddy was unable to muster any offense as Amuchastegui posted a 14-2 major decision win, giving Stanford a 4-0 advantage to start the match.

Senior 184-pounder Aaron Jones then put three points up on the board for NU, wrestling a smart match to the end as he was a 4-3 winner over Spence Patrick.

But Stanford’s 11th-ranked Zack Giesen picked up a win at 197 pounds and Cardinal heavyweight Dylan Rush managed to fight off Wildcat junior Ben Kuhar for a 3-2 decision as the home team jumped to a 10-3 lead in the team score.

Northwestern received a boost from the return to the lineup of two-time All-American Brandon Precin to the lineup at 125 pounds. Precin, wrestling his first match for NU since 2009, found himself in a battle with No. 15 Ryan Mango but staved off Mango’s late shots and won by 5-4 decision.

After Matt Sencenbaugh restored a seven-point Cardinal lead with a 5-2 decision over NU senior Robert Joyce, Pariano sent true freshman Kaleb Friedley onto the mat in the 141-pound match for Friedley’s first collegiate bout. Friedley did not look the part of a true freshman, attacking relentlessly and acquiring back points on more than one occasion to win 11-0 over Stanford’s Jordan Gray.

Senior and 10th-ranked Andrew Nadhir followed that with an impressive 16-6 major decision win over Timmy Boone. Nadhir, who was 24-12 during his junior campaign a year ago, fought down the stretch to ensure the bonus-point win to give NU its first lead of the night at 14-13.

Next up was redshirt sophomore Jason Welch at 157 pounds, who was making his return to his native Bay Area where he was a three-time California state champion while at Las Lomas High School. The eighth-ranked Welch turned in a workmanlike 11-3 major decision victory over Mike Kent.

Up 5-2 after an escape to begin the third period, Welch got in on a shot and worked hard to secure the “2″ on the edge of the mat before sliding out of bounds. He added another late takedown and was able to ride out the final 30 seconds, securing the riding time point in the process to get the bonus-point win.

Stanford’s Lucas Espericueta won one final decision at 165 pounds, but it was not enough to match NU as the Wildcats claimed the 18-16 dual victory.

No. 18 Northwestern 18, Stanford 16

174: #6 Nick Amuchastegui (ST) maj. dec. Brian Roddy, Jr. (NU), 14-2 (4-0 ST)
184: Aaron Jones (NU) dec. Spence Patrick (ST), 4-3 (4-3 ST)
197: #11 Zack Giesen (ST) dec. Marcus Shrewsbury (NU), 13-8 (7-3 ST)
285: Dylan Rush (ST) dec. Ben Kuhar (NU), 3-2 (10-3 ST)
125: #2 Brandon Precin (NU) dec. #15 Ryan Mango (ST), 5-4 (10-6 ST)
133: Matt Sencenbaugh (ST) dec. Robert Joyce (NU), 5-2 (13-6 ST)
141: Kaleb Friedley (NU) maj. dec. Jordan Gray (ST), 11-0 (13-10 ST)
149: #10 Andrew Nadhir (NU) maj. dec. Timmy Boone (ST), 16-6 (14-13 NU)
157: #8 Jason Welch (NU) maj. dec. Mike Kent (ST), 11-3 (18-13 NU)
165: Lucas Espericueta (ST) dec. Robert Kellogg (NU), 15-8 (18-16 NU)

Courtesy of Northwestern Sports Information