Kent State University
Northern Illinois University
Flashes Visit Northern Illinois Friday Night
2/15/2018 2:08:00โฏPM | Wrestling
Kent State (12-9, 2-4) looks to close out its regular season on a high note Friday, with a Mid-American Conference dual at Northern Illinois (3-9, 1-5).ย The Golden Flashes and Huskies square off at 7 p.m. Eastern (8 Central), in a final test before the 2018 Mid-American Conference Championships.ย Live video can be seen on ESPN3 at Victor E. Court.
Last Time Out
The Flashes bring momentum from a 21-13 upset over No. 16 Central Michigan this past Sunday at the M.A.C. Center.ย None of Kent State's six victories came easily and all but one came down to either the final seconds of regulation or overtime. ย The only exception was Stephen Suglio's second period pin of No. 18 Matt Stencel.ย
Suglio trailed 4-2, before reversing Stencel to his back and quickly securing the pin with two second left in the second.ย Tim Rooney (141) and Nick Monico (149) each scored match-sealing takedowns in sudden victory, while Anthony Tutolo (133) and Kyle Conel (197) converted clutch takedowns late in the third period.
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Probable Kent State Lineup 125- Jake Ferri (11-15) 133- No. 28 Anthony Tutolo (24-10) 141- Tim Rooney (26-12) 149- No. 33 Nick Monico (20-12) or Chance Driscoll (13-12) 157- Casey Sparkman (21-14) 165- Isaac Bast (20-17) 174- Dylan Barreiro (18-17) 184- Colin McCracken (12-20) or Shane Mast (8-16) 197- No. 29 Kyle Conel (19-9) 285- Stephen Suglio (16-8) NCAA Coaches Panel Rankings
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Probable Northern Illinois Lineup 125- No. 27 Brock Hudkins (12-9) or Kirk Johansen (4-4) 133- Alijah Jeffery (14-13) 141- Anthony Rubino (1-18) 149- Nolan Baker (1-6) 157- Caden McWhirter (6-9) 165- Andrew Scott (6-14) or Jose Acosta (4-6) 174- Quinton Rosser (11-13) 184- Bryce Gorman (8-7) or Michael Aldrich (7-11) 197- Max Ihry (6-17) 285- Caleb Gossett (13-13) or Ross Sealby (3-8) |
Quick Shots
- Junior Casey Sparkman became the 17th wrestler in program history to earn his 100th career victory Sunday against Central Michigan.ย Sparkman leads the Flashes with 11 bonus-point victories (5 tech falls, 6 major decisions) this season.ย
- Stephen Suglio was named MAC Wrestler of the Week Wednesday after going 2-0 in MAC duals.
- True freshman Jake Ferri (125) earned his first career MAC dual victory at Ohio last month.
- Junior Anthony Tutolo was named MAC Wrestler of the Week last month after going 4-0 at the Virginia Duals.
- The NWCA honored Kent State for having the fourth highest grade point average in the nation last season at 3.423.
- Junior Kyle Conel is 25-6 in career dual meets.ย
- Conel, junior Devin Nye and freshman Colin McCracken all lead the team with five pins on the season. Nye's 31 career pins rank fifth among Kent State's all-time leaders.
- Conel won a 197-pound title at the Clarion Open this season, while Nye won a 285-pound crown at the Cleveland State Open for the second time in his career.ย Ferri also won a 125-pound title at Cleveland State.
- Sophomore Tim Rooney was named MAC Wrestler of the Week on Nov. 15, after going 5-0 at the Journeymen Duals and Journeymen Classic.ย
Dual Success
Eight of the Flashes' dual wins this year have been by 11 or more points.ย Four of those wins have been by 27 or more points.
Since the 2005-06 season, Kent State is 157-90-1 in dual meets and 50-27-1 in MAC duals.ย
Series History
Kent State leads the all-time series with Northern Illinois 23-6-2. ย The Golden Flashes' 10-year winning streak was snapped last season at the M.A.C. Center in a 30-12 road win for the Huskies.ย The last time the teams met in DeKalb, the Flashes won six matches in a 21-12 victory in 2016.ย NIU's last win over the Flashes in DeKalb came in 2004.
The Opponent
Northern Illinois is coming off a 19-16 road victory at Buffalo this past Sunday, winning five bouts from 149 to 184.ย Last month the Huskies went 2-0 at a tri-meet with victories over The Citadel (43-10) and SIU-Edwardsville (28-14).ย Sophomore 125-pounder Brock Hudkins qualified for the NCAA Championships as a true freshman last year and advanced to the round of 12.ย Junior 133-pounder Alijah Jeffrey is a three-year starter.
MAC Rankings
Five Golden Flashes were in the latest February MAC rankings:
No. 4 Anthony Tutolo, 133
No. 4 Tim Rooney, 141
No. 4 Nick Monico, 149
No. 4 Casey Sparkman, 157
No. 4 Kyle Conel, 197
Up Next
The Golden Flashes will get two weeks off from competition as they prepare for the Mid-American Conference Championships March 3-4, hosted by Central Michigan.ย
Players Mentioned
