Wrestling tops Northern Illinois 33-6
Eight Chippewa wrestlers won their matches Sunday as Central Michigan defeated Northern Illinois 33-6.
CMU improved to 5-2 overall and 3-2 in the Mid-American Conference.
The Chippewas got their wins from Brent Fleetwood, Corey Keener, Mason Smith, Colin Heffernan, CJ Brucki, Jordan Ellingwood, Austin Severn, and Newton Smerchek.
"I was happy with the way we wrestled the whole weekend." said head coach Tom Borrelli. "We are getting better technically and trying to be aggressive."
Brucki improved his record to 22-5 after beating NIU's Trace Engelkes by technical fall shortly after the second period started in the 174-pound match. Brucki turned his opponent multiple times resulting in three sets of near fall points.
"This guy (Engelkes) I've seen before," said Brucki. "I lost to him at University Nationals, so it was good to get a nice win over him and kind of avenge that loss."
Severn finished off the weekend defeating 9th-ranked Shawn Scott by decision. Severn came in as the underdog and got a takedown right before the second period ended. Two more escape points for Severn resulted in a 4-3 win at 197.
"We have been working really hard in the room trying to score more points," Severn said. "I think it's showing off, especially in the last couple of dual (matches). Everybody is wrestling better as a whole."
Sophomore Justin Oliver lost to NIU's Steve Bleise by decision at 149. Oliver took an aggressive shot in the first period which was countered by Bleise.
The referee rewarded Bleise with a takedown and near fall points. Oliver then scored four unanswered points until Bleise got an escape point. Oliver scored another takedown as time expired but still lost by one point.
The victory for CMU caps off an undefeated weekend. The Chippewas defeated Old Dominion in dominating fashion by a score of 28-9 on Friday.
"Overall, I think we had a great weekend," Brucki said. "These are the wins that we need to get better bids."
CMU will host Michigan Thursday at 7 p.m. at McGuirk Arena.
