March 7, 2010

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- On the final day of the 2010 Big Ten Championships, Northwestern junior Andrew Nadhir posted a third-period pin of Purdue's Nick Bertucci to nab seventh place and qualify for his first trip to the NCAA Championships. Nadhir was one of four Wildcats wrestling in seventh-place matches during Session III, with NU coming up just short in three bouts decided either by one point or in sudden victory.

Eric Metzler (133), Brian Roddy, Jr. (174) and Aaron Jones (184) are all first-time place-winners at the conference meet with their eighth-place finishes.

Nadhir's pin of Bertucci at 149 pounds was all the more impressive considering he trailed by a 5-1 margin on the scoreboard when he rocked the Boilermaker into a defensive pin.

Nadhir, wrestling this weekend near his hometown of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., won two of three meetings this season against Bertucci and has run his 2009-10 record to 21-10. He has placed sixth and seventh, respectively, in his last two trips to the Big Ten Championships.

At 133 pounds, NU senior Eric Metzler took on Michigan's sixth-seeded Zac Stevens, against whom Metzler won a dramatic 14-12 decision when they met in a dual match on Feb. 21. Sunday's match was comparatively lower-scoring but equally as gritty with Stevens holding a 3-1 lead entering the third period. Metzler came alive in the third, notching the escape and takedown he would need to win the match with one minute remaining.

With 20 seconds remaining, however, Stevens appeared to have scored two points on a reversal that would have given him a 5-4 lead. Instead, the officials convened after the buzzer and determined that Stevens had in fact not gained control and that he only merited one point for an escape, sending the match to overtime in a 4-4 tie.

Neither wrestler managed any points in the one-minute sudden victory period, sending the bout to tiebreakers where Stevens escaped in his half of the period. Metzler could not get free in the ensuing period, however, giving Stevens a 5-4 decision and leaving Metzler with a 14-12 record this season.

It was another tight match in the 174-pound seventh-place bout where Roddy faced Ohio State's fourth-seeded and 10th-ranked Dave Rella. Roddy, who suffered a 17-5 major decision loss to Rella in a dual match earlier this season, tied up the score at two in the second period. Rella then escaped in the third to take a 3-2 lead and proved too strong down the stretch, denying Roddy's attempts at a winning takedown in the final minute.

Northwestern's final bout of the tournament featured junior Aaron Jones and Michigan's seventh-seeded Hunter Montoya in the seventh-place match at 184 pounds. Jones seized a 5-4 lead with a takedown in the third period but Montoya reclaimed the edge with a reversal with one minute remaining.

The Macomb, Ill., native did well to break free for the tying point down the stretch, forcing sudden victory. But 20 seconds into the period, Montoya finished out a double-leg takedown with two back points to win the match, 10-6. Jones wraps up the 2010 campaign with a 10-18 record.

Northwestern placed 11th at the Big Ten Championships with 20.0 team points.

With a ticket to the NCAA Championships secured, Nadhir has two weeks to prepare for his debut at the national tournament. Potential wild card bids to the championships will be announced this week.

Session III Results
Seventh-place Matches
133: #6 Zac Stevens (MICH) dec. #5 Eric Metzler (NU), 5-4 TB1
149: #6 Andrew Nadhir (NU) FALL #8 Nick Bertucci (PU), 5:16
174: #4 Dave Rella (OSU) dec. #6 Brian Roddy, Jr. (NU), 3-2
184: #7 Hunter Montoya (MICH) dec. Aaron Jones (NU), 10-6 SV

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