EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE celebrated Senior Day Sunday at the Vadalabene Center, but 17th-ranked Northwestern came up with the team victory, upending SIUE 36-10.
SIUE closed out the regular season with a 6-14 dual record while Northwestern finished 11-4.
Nate Higgins picked up a big victory for the Cougars at 165 pounds. He bested Michael Sepke with a 10-2 major decision.
"Nate did a good job," said SIUE Head Coach Jeremy Spates. "He had been wrestling really well this second semester and then came off a couple of bad matches. It was good to see him getting back to his offense."
Zac Gentzler was the only other wrestler to pick up a victory, accepting a forfeit at 125 pounds.
Spates said the team's offense was not as good as it was against No. 3 Missouri earlier in the week.
"I think that was the big key," said Spates. "He (Higgins) was shooting so he was scoring points. In a lot of the other matches, we were losing because we were not shooting."
With the regular season coming to a close, the Cougars now prepare for the Southern Conference Championships March 3 in Charleston, South Carolina.
"We have to recalculate and figure out some things before we get out to the SoCon Championships," added
Northwestern 36 SIUE 10
141 - Alexander McKenna (Northwestern) over Dakota Leach (SIUE) (Dec 5-0)
149 - Ryan Deakin (Northwestern) over Tyshawn Williams (SIUE) (Fall 2:26)
157 - Shayne Oster (Northwestern) over Karsten Van Velsor (SIUE) (TF 16-0 3:24)
165 - Nate Higgins (SIUE) over Michael Sepkle (Northwestern) (MD 10-2)
174 - Johnny Sebastian (Northwestern) over Bryce Shewan (SIUE) (MD 8-0)
184 - Mitch Sliga (Northwestern) over Jacob Godinez (SIUE) (Fall 4:17)
197 - Zachary Chakonis (Northwestern) over Christian Dulaney (SIUE) (Fall 6:51)
285 - Conan Jennings (Northwestern) over Tommy Helton (SIUE) (Dec 3-0)
125 - Zac Gentzler (SIUE) won by forfeit
133 - Colin Valdivez (Northwestern) over John Muldoon (SIUE) (Dec 4-2)
