Northwestern Announces 2012-13 Wrestling Schedule 

Wildcats to wrestle six duals, 50th Midlands Championships at Welsh-Ryan

Aug. 20, 2012

2012-13 Northwestern Wrestling Schedule

2012-13 Printable NU Wrestling Schedule

Purchase Tickets for 50th Midlands Championships at Welsh-Ryan Arena

EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern wrestling fans will have plenty of opportunities to see the Wildcats at Welsh-Ryan Arena with six home duals, along with the 50th Ken Kraft Midlands Championships, highlighting the 2012-13 schedule that was released today. NU's regular-season schedule includes 17 duals and two tournaments.

"Our schedule is always one of the most challenging in the country," Northwestern head coach Drew Pariano said. "We continue to search for duals and tournaments that will help us prepare for the Big Ten and NCAA Championships in March. Seven of our dual opponents finished in the top 20 at NCAA's last season and we expect all of our opponents to be top notch. We have an experienced team with nine returning starters and I'm excited to see the results of all the hard work they've put in during offseason training."

Northwestern will visit both coasts within the first two weeks of the season, opening with a dual at Stanford on Friday, Nov. 9 in Palo Alto, Calif. The Wildcats return to the Keystone Classic, which they won in 2011, in Philadelphia, Pa., on Sunday, Nov. 18.

The month of December is a busy one with five duals and Midlands. Northwestern hosts its first home duals on Saturday, Dec. 1, facing Stevens Tech at 5 p.m. and Duke at 6:30 p.m. Stevens Tech and Duke will square off at 8 p.m.

The 2012-13 Big Ten season begins on the road Friday, Dec. 7 at Minnesota and Northwestern heads back to the East Coast, facing Edinboro and Clarion Sunday, Dec. 16 in Edinboro, Pa.

December concludes at Welsh-Ryan Arena when the Wildcats welcome some of the best teams in the country for the historic 50th Ken Kraft Midlands Championships. This year's tournament falls on a weekend, taking place Saturday, Dec. 29-Sunday, Dec. 30. Tickets are available for the tournament by calling 888-GO-PURPLE or via the Midlands ticket order form.

NU gets back to Big Ten action immediately after Midlands, hosting duals on back-to-back weekends. Ohio State visits Welsh-Ryan Arena Sunday, Jan. 6 at 2 p.m. and on Sunday, Jan. 13, at 2 p.m., Northwestern wrestles Nebraska for the first time since the Huskers joined the Big Ten.

The 'Cats hit the road for the remainder of January, visiting Edwardsville, Ill., Sunday, Jan. 20 to face SIU-Edwardsville and Northern Iowa. The following weekend, NU takes a road trip to Michigan, meeting Michigan State Friday, Jan. 25 in East Lansing and the Wolverines Sunday, Jan. 27 in Ann Arbor.

Five duals await in February, beginning with NU's match against Purdue on Friday, Feb. 1, which kicks off Alumni Weekend. The 'Cats visit in-state rival Northern Illinois Friday, Feb. 8, in DeKalb, Ill., and close out the home schedule with Senior Day Sunday, Feb. 10 at 2 p.m. against another in-state rival, Illinois.

The regular season ends on the road as NU visits Brookings, S.D., for the nonconference finale against South Dakota State on Sunday, Feb. 17 and the conference dual season concludes Saturday, Feb. 23 at Indiana.

Illinois hosts the 2012 Big Ten Championships in Champaign from March 9-10 and the 2012-13 season culminates at the NCAA Championships in Des Moines, Iowa from March 21-23.

Northwestern returns a veteran squad for 2012-13 that includes nine returning starters and 16 letterwinners from last year's team that finished in the top 10 at the NCAA championships. All six NCAA qualifiers from 2011-12 are back this year, including All-Americans Mike McMullan (heavyweight) and Jason Welch (157 lbs.).

In his first two seasons as head coach, Pariano has compiled a 29-6 dual record, including 19-0 mark in nonconference matches.

Please note that all dates and times for the 2012-13 schedule are subject to change. Be sure to check NUsports.com for any updates throughout the wrestling season