After a season cut short and a long-delayed process to begin again, No. 21 Northwestern wrestling finally returned to the mat for the 2021 season last Friday. Facing No. 16 Purdue, coach Matt Storniolo’s squad showed plenty of new faces in a 28-8 team loss against the Boilermakers.
Surprisingly, opening the night in West Lafayette at 125-lb weight class was junior Matt Vinci, who dropped a 16-0 tech fall against Purdue’s Devin Schroder. With five assumed starters, including returning 125 National Wrestling Coaches Association All-American Michael DeAugustino, out of Friday’s lineup, the ‘Cats won just two of ten matches.