Brad Dieckhaus
The Northern Illinois wrestling team brings their regular season to a close Saturday at Victor E. Court as they welcome Buffalo.
Seniors Brad Dieckhaus, Mike Lukowski and Izzy Montemayor will be honored prior to the match as a part of the Senior Day festivities.
The meet will be a critical one for both teams, as each will look to gain momentum heading into postseason competition.
“The men have been very intense in their training,” said Huskie head coach Ryan Ludwig. “Every man knows what his job is this weekend and is prepared to go into battle.”
The Huskies enter Saturday’s regular season finale with an 8-8 mark overall and 0-4 MAC record on the season following a pair of wins against Tiffin and SIU-Edwardsville Sunday, Feb. 12. In those matches, NIU won all but three matches and outscored the Dragons and Cougars by a combined 76-8 margin.
The Bulls, meanwhile, come to DeKalb sporting a 5-14 record overall and are also looking for their first conference win of the season. UB has dropped their last three duals following a 24-15 win over The Citadel Jan. 14 at the Virginia Duals, but also have three wins in road/neutral sites.
The Bulls are led on the mat by 141-pounder Kevin Smith (26-7 overall) and 165-pounder Mark Lewandowski (29-6 overall), who leads the nation with ten technical falls.
NIU owns an 8-4 record against UB since their first meeting on Jan. 3, 2000. The Bulls have won the last two meetings between the two teams. The last Northern win against the Bulls came on Feb. 21, 2009, when NIU emerged with a 21-15 victory in western New York.
Saturday will also mark the last time Dieckhaus, Lukowski and Montemayor will be competing in front of a home crowd. The three seniors have combined for 93 wins and 20 pins in their time at NIU. In addition, the trio has combined for 10 tournament placings and an individual MAC Championship.
For more information on NIU wrestling and Huskie athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.
