Huskies muzzle the cougars in 42-0 shutout routing of SIU-Edwardsville

Publish Date:02/01/2010

By Patrick Tretina

Complete domination is the only phrase that can describe NIU’s wrestling performance Friday. The Huskies bounced back from three-straight losses with a huge 42-point shutout win against Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville at the Convocation Center. Redshirt junior Pat McLemore kicked things off at the 141-pound weight class with a solid 6-3 win over SIUE’s Dillon Pousson. From there, the rout was on. Redshirt senior Dan Ruettiger exploded in the second match defeating Kyle Lowman 13-1 at the 149-pound weight class and ignited the packed crowd alongside him. Redshirt junior Bryan Deutsch would follow and push his match win-streak to six with a 7-3 win over Cougars’ sophomore Steve Ross. NIU’s John Odeen would follow suit with a dominate performance of his own, winning 17-2 over SIUE’s Lenny Kuspa. “It felt really good to get out there and not only win individually, but as a team,” Odeen said. “We have been working pretty hard with some bumps in the road, so it’s good to get a win like this.” The Huskies would also grab wins by pin fall from sophomore Izzy Montemayor and redshirt junior Scott Penny in 3:52 and 4:17, respectively. “I liked the way Izzy Montemayor came out and wrestled hard,” said NIU head coach Dave Grant. “I was really pleased.” NIU would round out the night with wins by Mason True, Zach Benzio, Dakota Greenhaw and Tristen DeShazer to complete the 10-match sweep of the Cougars. “Overall, it was a good performance from all our guys,” Grant said. “I was [also] very happy with Zach Benzio, he’s making strides and just getting better and better each week. It’s something we can build for next weekend when we go into Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan.”