NIU Wrestling Notes - NCAAs 

ESPN Coverage on Thursday
Session One - ESPNU | ESPN3 (Each Mat)
Session Two - ESPNU | ESPN3 (Each Mat)

NEW YORK CITY - The Northern Illinois University wrestling team arrived in New York City this afternoon ahead of this weekend's 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships, which will be held from Thursday afternoon to Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in the Big Apple.

NIU traveled with its largest continent to the NCAA Championships since 2007, which was the last time four Huskies qualified for nationals. Competing for NIU this weekend will be Mid-American Conference champion at 133 pounds Austin Eicher (Fenton, Mich./Hartland), redshirt freshman Steve Bleise (Chelsea, Mich./Chelsea) at 141, senior Andrew Morse (Alto, Mich./Lowell) at 157 and second-year NCAA qualifier Shawn Scott (Holly, Mich./Holly) at 197 pounds.

Having extended the program's streak of sending Huskie grapplers to NCAAs to 45 years in emphatic style after an impressive MAC Championships showing, NIU wrestling head coach Ryan Ludwig now wants to make more noise in NYC as Madison Square Garden hosts this event for the very first time.

"It goes without saying that we are fired up to compete at NCAAs this year. This year's championship is going to be as exciting as it's ever been," Ludwig said on Tuesday. "The men have certainly prepared well and are focused on their opening matches."

Wrestling begins at 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT on Thursday. Shawn Scott will be one of the first wrestlers in action as he faces John Bolich from Lehigh in a pigtail match at 197 pounds.

For the third consecutive year, ESPN will have complete coverage of the NCAA Wrestling Championships. Every session, every mat and every match will be available on ESPN3 or via the WatchESPN app. The first, second, third and fifth sessions will be live on ESPNU, while the fourth and sixth sessions - with the semifinals and finals - will be live on ESPN proper in prime time.

Video: NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships on ESPN

The NCAA Wrestling Championships use a double-elimination format, with the final two unbeaten wrestlers challenging for the national title while the remaining grapplers battle for the prestigious top-eight All-American places via the consolation brackets.

Steve Bleise was the only Huskie to be seeded for the event. The No. 13 seed at 141 pounds, he will open his tournament against Seth Gross of South Dakota State.

Austin Eicher looks to build off his MAC title, which he won as the No. 7 seed, with another stunning run at nationals. The redshirt freshman was drawn against No. 14 seed Geoffrey Alexander of Maryland in the opening round.

Also competing in his first NCAA Championships, senior Andrew Morse was given a difficult opening matchup against undefeated ACC champion and No. 2 seed Thomas Gantt of North Carolina State at 157 pounds.

Each of the four Huskies will wrestle at least twice on Thursday at Madison Square Garden on one of the eight mats used for the event. The opening session will last approximately four hours before the evening session begins at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT with the second rounds in the championship brackets and consolation contests.

Be sure to follow @NIUWrestling on Twitter throughout the weekend for updates.

--NIU--