DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University wrestling team returns to Mid-American Conference competition when the Huskies travel to Eastern Michigan and Ohio for a pair of duals this weekend.
 
The Huskies will face the Eagles in Ypsilanti, Mich. Friday at 6 p.m., before heading to Athens, Ohio to take on the Bobcats of Ohio University at 12 p.m.
 
The Huskies are meeting the Eagles for the 35th time.  NIU is 29-4-1 all-time versus Eastern Michigan including the Huskie winning the last four meetings.  Last season, the Huskies picked up the win over the Eagles, 22-14. 
 
The Huskies are meeting the Bobcats for the 25th time.  NIU is 10-14-1 all-time versus Ohio.  Last season, the Huskies suffered a loss, 22-10, in the hands of the Bobcats.
 
"EMU and Ohio are some familiar MAC foes," said NIU head wrestling coach Ryan Ludwig. "Both teams are tough. It is going to be a knockdown drag out event and I am sure every team will be prepared and ready to rock this weekend."
 
Alijah Jeffery (Marion, Iowa/Linn-Mar) leads the team with 23 dual points after he registered two first round pins in last weekend's SIUE tri-meet and leads the team with five dual wins.  The Huskie redshirt junior, who wrestles at 133, faces a tough test as he squares off with No.15 ranked Cameron Kelly of Ohio University on Sunday.
 
"We were really proud of the efforts [last weekend] and I thought that Alijah Jeffery led that effort," said Ludwig.  He came out strong in both of the events at 133 with a couple of falls and just the way he competed and the energy he brought was contagious."
 
At 184, Bryce Gorman (Manhattan, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central) stormed back from injury last weekend as he wrestled to a technical fall and a major decision victory.  The Huskie redshirt-junior is 6-4 this season and has 32 career wins.
 
"It is great to have Bryce back," said Ludwig.  "He is an electrifying guy, very fast and he threw up a lot of points out there and did his job. When you talk about bonus points, which is a big deal in dual matches.  They can make all of the difference in the world and Bryce went out and did that."
 
Freshmen Nolan Baker (Byron, Ill./Byron) at 149 and Jose Acosta (Manitowoc, Wis./ Lincoln) at 165 made their debuts last weekend in the wins against The Citadel and SIUE.
 
"I saw a lot of eagerness and fire to get out there and compete," said Ludwig. "They brought a lot of energy to the lineup. Jose was able to get his first varsity win and they both fought like we expect them do in both of their matches."
 
The Huskies are in the middle of its MAC schedule as three of its next five duals are against MAC opponents.  Preparation and durability are very important during this stretch of the season. 
 
"This is a focused group, they listen, and are coachable," said Ludwig.  "It has been a good week so far."
 
Live scoring for both Eastern Michigan and Ohio will be provided through trackwrestling.com.  Live streaming for Eastern Michigan will be through EMU All-Access and ESPN3 for Ohio. Follow the Huskie grapplers on Twitter @NIUWrestling for the two weekend duals and throughout the 2017-18 season. 
 
Below are the probable lineups for the Huskies:
 
NIU Huskies (2-4 0-2 MAC)
125: Brock Hudkins (12-5) or Kirk Johansen (2-4) 
133: Alijah Jeffery (14-7)
141: Anthony Rubino (1-13)
149: Zackary Velasquez (2-8) or Nolan Baker (0-2) 
157: Caden McWhirter (3-5) 
165: Andrew Scott (5-10) or Jose Acosta (4-5) 
174: Quinton Rosser (9-10) 
184: Bryce Gorman (6-4) or Michael Aldrich (7-11) 
197: Max Ihry (4-13) 
285: Caleb Gossett (12-8) or Ross Sealby (3-8) 
 
–NIU–