Feb. 7, 2010

MT. PLEASANT, Mich. - The Northern Illinois University wrestling team suffered a 29-6 loss to No. 6 Central Michigan Sunday afternoon at Rose Arena.

"There were quite a few matches that could have gone either way," NIU Head coach Dave Grant said. "I was impressed with our overall effort and intensity. We were battling and that's what you want to do this time of year.

"It was a really good performance by our guys. We really wrestled hard."

The Huskies, (9-8, 1-3) recorded two wins on the day with Bryan Deutsch (Columbia City, Ind./Columbia City) scoring a 6-3 victory over Donnie Corby at 157 and freshman Zach Benzio (Connellsville, Pa./Connellsville Area) edging out Dillon Kern, 9-8, at 184 .

Deutsch was in complete control during his match, opening a 2-1 lead after the first period of action on a takedown. He scored a two-point nearfall to extend his lead to 4-1 in the second. A reversal in the third gave Deutsch a 6-1 lead before Corby executed a reversal of his own to close the gap to 6-3.

Benzio's match with Kern was a see-saw affair. Benzio captured an early 4-0 lead on a takedown and two-point nearfall. However, Kern took a 5-4 lead on a reversal and three-point nearfall, before Benzio tied the match with an escape. Benzio trailed 6-5 early in the second period before taking a 7-6 lead on a takedown. Kern took an 8-7 advantage to begin the third period on a takedown. A reversal by Benzio gave him a 9-8 lead and the victory.

The Huskies received solid performances from Patrick McLemore (Hinckley, Ohio/Padua Franciscan), Dan Ruettiger (Joliet, Ill./Providence) and John Odeen (Coal City, Ill./Coal City). McLemore suffered a 5-3 loss at 141, as did Odeen at 165. Ruettiger was edged out 3-2 in his match at 149. Izzy Montemayor (Barrington, Ill./Grant Community) put up a fight against No. 9 Matt Steintrager at 125, falling 4-1.

"I think we wrestled well," Grant said. "There were quite a few matches that were really close that if we can make up some ground in the next three or four weeks, we can change those scores around."

Northern Illinois returns to the mat on Friday, Feb. 12 when the Huskies play host to Northern Iowa. The first match is set to begin at 7 p.m. CST.

No. 6 Central Michigan 29, Northern Illinois 6
141: Conor Beebe (CMU) dec. Patrick McLemore, 5-3
149: No. 14 Tony D'Alie (CMU) dec. Dan Ruettiger, 3-2
157: Bryan Deutsch (NIU) dec. Donnie Corby, 6-3
165: Eric Cubberly (CMU) dec. John Odeen, 5-3
174: No. 10 Ben Bennett (CMU) tech. fall Joe Clothier, 17-0 at 4:58
184: Zach Benzio (NIU) dec. Dillon Kern, 9-8
197: Eric Simaz (CMU) dec. Scott Penny, 7-2
285: No. 3 Jarod Trice (CMU) dec. Dakota Greenhaw, 8-3
125: No. 9 Matt Steintrager (CMU) dec. Izzy Montemayor, 4-1
133: No. 8 Scotti Sentes (CMU) pin Zach Taylor at 1:55

-NIU-