Wrestling Opens Home Slate Against Northern Illinois

Wrestling vs Northern Illinois (2-4, 0-2 MAC)
Date	Friday, Jan. 19 \| 7 p.m.
Location	Ypsilanti, Mich. \| Convocation Center
Game Notes	PDF Notes
Twitter	@EMUWrestling
Results	TrackWrestling
Live Stream	EMU All-Access ($)

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University wrestling team opens home dual action this Friday, Jan. 19, when it welcomes Northern Illinois University into the Convocation Center for Mid-American Conference action. The dual with the Huskies is set to begin at 7 p.m.
For those who can't make it out to the Convo, the dual can be followed live on Twitter by following @EMUWrestling, while a live stream will be on EMU All-Access ($). Full results can be found at TrackWrestling and will be posted to EMUEagles.com following the match. Admission into EMU home duals is free to the public.

ALL-TIME VS NIU: Friday marks the 35th all-time meeting between EMU and NIU, with the Huskies holding a commanding 29-4-1 advantage in the series. The first meeting between the two schools occurred in the 1971-72 season. The Eagles' last victory came in 2013, a 22-17 triumph in DeKalb, Ill.

LAST SEASON VS THE HUSKIES: The Eagles had an early lead, but could not hang on in a 22-14 defeat to Northern Illinois, Jan. 20, 2017, at the NIU Convocation Center. Eastern won four bouts, including major decision wins from Kyle Springer and Gage Hutchison.

Northern Illinois 22, Eastern Michigan 14 (Jan. 20, 2017)

125: Kirk Johansen (NIU) over No. 18 Noah Gonser (EMU) (Fall 3:31)
133: Alijah Jeffery (NIU) over Sa'Derian Perry (EMU) (MD 11-2)
141: Kyle Springer (EMU) over Angel Velasquez (NIU) (MD 18-6)
149: No. 12 Steve Bleise (NIU) over Nick Barber (EMU) (Dec 6-3)
*157: Zac Carson (EMU) over Caden McWhirter (NIU) (Dec 12-8)
165: Devan Marry (EMU) over Shaun`Qae McMurtry (NIU) (SV 7-5)
174: Trace Engelkes (NIU) over Jacob Davis (EMU) (Dec 5-1)
184: Bryce Gorman (NIU) over Kayne MacCallum (EMU) (Dec 4-3)
197: No. 9 Shawn Scott (NIU) over Derek Hillman (EMU) (Dec 2-0)
HWT: No. 14 Gage Hutchison (EMU) over Caleb Gossett (NIU) (MD 14-2)

EAGLES IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS: Heavyweight Gage Hutchison is currently the lone Eagle ranked by national outlets, coming in as high as 17th. A full list of rankings can be found on page 10 of the notes.

MOVING UP THE RECORD BOOK: In his five-year EMU career, Gage Hutchison has racked up 88 career victories, which ranks seventh all-time. EMU Hall of Fame inductee Steve Brown holds the all-time record with 117 wins.

NIU/EMU CONNECTIONS: Despite the relative distance between the two schools, EMU and NIU have a few common bonds between them. First, NIU's Head Coach, Ryan Ludwig, is a native of Chelsea, Mich., which is just 25 miles from Ypsilanti. In addition, NIU has two Michigan grapplers on its team, including freshman Will Feldkamp, who is from nearby Dexter, Mich. For EMU, three of its wrestlers hail from The Land of Lincoln, while one of its volunteer assistant coaches, Shawn Scott, was a three-time national qualifier for the Huskies, and his brother, Andrew, still wrestles for the squad. Both are from Holly, Mich.

TORRES TAKES PURPLE RAIDER CROWN: Redshirt junior Armando Torres was the lone Eagle to take part in the Purple Raider Open on the campus of the University Mount Union, Sunday, Jan. 14. The Ohio native made the most of his opportunity, going 4-0 to win the 133 lbs. championship.

Torres had the wrestling version of a cycle, as he won four matches in-a-row via pin (1:53), technical fall (20-4), major decision (12-4), and a 2-1 decision win in the final bout over Drew Marten of Central Michigan. It was the first tournament title of Torres' EMU career.

TOTAL DOMINATION: So far this season, redshirt senior Kyle Springer has been a bonus point machine for the Eagles. In his 14 wins, 12 of them have come with bonus points, including a team-high eight major decisions, a technical fall, and three pins.

HEAVIER WEIGHT, NO PROBLEM: Redshirt junior Kayne MacCallum, EMU's 184 lbs. starter, has wrestled up twice at 197 lbs. in duals this season. He has shown no struggles at the heavier weight class, going 2-0, including a pin vs. Cleveland State, Dec. 8, as well as a 6-1 decision vs Ohio, Jan. 5.

UP NEXT ON THE MATS: EMU continues its home swing when it welcomes MAC foe the University at Buffalo into the Convocation Center, Friday, Feb. 2. Action against the Bulls is set to begin at 7 p.m. and will be a "Beauty and the Beast" meet with EMU Gymnastics, as they will take on the University of Illinois-Chicago at the same time.

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Players Mentioned

Nick Barber

Zac Carson

Jacob Davis

Noah Gonser

Derek Hillman

Gage Hutchison

Gage Hutchison

Kayne MacCallum

Kayne MacCallum

Devan Marry

Sa'Derian Perry

Kyle Springer

Kyle Springer

Armando Torres

Eastern Michigan Athletics