When you think about college wrestling, you think about the Big Ten. But when you think about Big Ten wrestling, Northwestern is probably not the first team that comes to mind.
In many ways, the Wildcats thus resemble the Blue Devils—programs at small, private schools with rigorous academic standards competing in two of the strongest wrestling conferences in the country.
Those similarities make Friday night's dual match between Duke and Northwestern all the more important from a recruiting standpoint.
"They're kind of like us," Duke head coach Glen Lanham said. "We've got to go out there and prove that we can go out there and compete on the mat. Both institutions are great academically, both institutions have great names, [so] now we've got to put the next piece of the puzzle together, saying 'Not only can you get a great education at Duke, but you can also be a great student-athlete at Duke.'"
The Blue Devils will step outside of ACC action this weekend for their last two dual matches of the regular season, beginning Friday at 8 p.m. against Northwestern at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill. Two days later, Duke will move over to West Lafayette, Ind., for a 1 p.m. contest against No. 24 Purdue.
Redshirt junior Jake Faust could give the Blue Devils (5-8) a spark against the Boilermakers (8-6) if he can continue his winning ways at 165 pounds. The Bellville, Ohio, native climbed into the top 25 at No. 18 in his weight class and notched top-15 wins against both No. 16 North Carolina and No. 3 Virginia Tech last week—earning ACC Wrestler of the Week honors in the process—but will face yet another stiff test against Purdue's No. 8 Chad Welch.
The redshirt senior owns an 11-3 record—6-3 in Big Ten duals and 5-0 against all other grapplers—and qualified for the NCAA tournament a season ago, a destination where Faust could find himself if he continues to come on strong at the close of the season.
"This weekend for Jake can really solidify his whole season and set him up for nationals and ACCs, especially for nationals," Lanham said. "The ranking is huge for him. He's got to put these last couple of matches together, and it's two Big Ten wins. For us as a program, that would be huge as well too."
But Faust's opponent will not be the only Welch to take the mat Sunday.
Usually, the Blue Devils are the ones who leaving opponents seeing double, trotting out twins Zach and Mitch Finesilver at 141 and 149 pounds, respectively. But the Boilermakers have three Walshes on their roster, with Doug Welch expected to jump onto the match just ahead of Chad Welch at 157 pounds. Redshirt sophomore Luke Welch is penciled in as Purdue's usual starter at 133 pounds, a spot the Blue Devils have left vacant in recent weeks.
The Finesilvers will both be tested against the Wildcats (1-12) Friday, with Northwestern sending a top-20 grappler to the center of the mat at the two weight classes. Zach Finesilver will take on No. 19 Jameson Oster at 141 pounds before clearing the way for his brother, who will go up against No. 6 Jason Tsirtsis looking to extend his winning streak to 14 consecutive matches.
"He's put in the time. [The Finesilvers were] here all summer long, working on their weaknesses," Lanham said. "A lot of guys want to focus on what they're good at. Every day, they go in and work on what they need to improve on. Obviously, it's just paid off for him. He's setting the tone not just for himself but for the team. You expect big things from a guy that works that hard."
Extending the streak, though, will not come easy in the Midwest, where crowds pack gyms to cheer on their Big Ten wrestlers.
"These are some new faces, but it's the Big Ten, so it's definitely going to be a challenge for our guys, but it's good to get out there," Lanham said. "Wrestling's really popular there, so you're going to get a good crowd and some intense guys and intense wrestling."
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