EVANSTON, Ill.- The thick of Big Ten wrestling began tonight, as Wisconsin wrestling traveled to Evanston to take on the Northwestern Wildcats. The Badgers fought hard and took the final four of five matches, but in the end lost the dual 18-14 in many part to bonus points in the individual matches. 

"I knew it would be a tight dual," head coach Barry Davis said. "It's the technical things we have to work on. You have to know where you're at and not give up the bonus points. Unfortunately that's what it came down to tonight and we were on the wrong side of it."

After the first five matches of the dual, the Badgers found themselves down 15-1 in a dramatic first half. Northwestern won the first three matches that included a tech fall and major decision, but Wisconsin found itself in a bigger hole when it was deducted two team points for misconduct and control of mat area. At the half, UW was back in the positive from an Eli Stickley 6-0 decision victory. 

The second half showed the tale of two tapes for the dual, as the Badgers regained the momentum, winning four of the final five matches in a 13-4 run. That included a six-takedown performance from No. 6 Evan Wick in a major decision victory, as well as last-minute decision victories by Andrew Crone, Ricky Robertson and Hunter Ritter. 

The 16th-ranked Badgers suffered its first defeat of the season, now at 4-1 and 1-1 in Big Ten play. UW will have exactly a week to prepare before the team heads to Ann Arbor to take on the eighth-ranked Wolverines next Friday. UW will then get one day off to prepare and make a stop in East Lansing to take on the Spartans of Michigan State

"I know we can bounce back," senior and ninth-ranked Ricky Robertson said. "We all know that no matter if you won or lost tonight, we all have to step it up when we head to Michigan next week. We have a week to utilize and fix our mistakes, and I know every guy will work hard to make those mistakes up."


#25 Northwestern 18, #16 Wisconsin 14
285: Conan Jennings (NU) dec. Ben Stone (WIS), 3-1 | NU 3, WIS 0
125: #10 Sebastian Rivera (NU) Tech. Fall Johnny Jimenez (WIS), 16-0 (3:57) | NU 8, WIS 0
One point unsportsmanlike penalties assessed to both teams after the 125 bout
One point Wisconsin deduction on head Coach Barry Davis
133: #18 Colin Valdiviez (NU) maj. dec. Jens Lantz (WIS), 13-4 | NU 11, WIS -2
141: Eli Stickley (WIS) dec. Alec McKenna (NU), 6-0 | NU 11, WIS 1
149: #4 Ryan Deakin (NU) maj. dec. Cole Martin (WIS), 19-7 | NU 15, WIS 1
157: Andrew Crone (WIS) dec. Shayne Oster (NU), 7-5 | NU 15, WIS 4
165: #6 Evan Wick (WIS) maj. dec. Michael Sepke (NU), 12-3 | NU 15, WIS 8
174: #18 Johnny Sebastian (NU) dec. Ryan Christensen (WIS), 2-1 | NU 18, WIS 8
184: #9 Ricky Robertson (WIS) dec. Mitch Sliga (NU), 3-1 | NU 18, WIS 11
197: Hunter Ritter (WIS) dec. Regis Durbin (NU), 3-1 | NU 18, WIS 14