LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Bellarmine wrestling made its home debut on Friday night, gutting out a 23-13 victory over a tough Northern Illinois team in Knights Hall.

"I'm really proud of the team's fight tonight," said head coach Ned Shuck. "They fought really, put forth a tremendous effort and had a fantastic attitude the entire night. That was a lot of hard-fought battles; Northern Illinois wrestles really hard and those are the type of challenges we look forward to in competition."

Friday night's win marks the first time the Knights have taken down the Huskies. In the two meetings, Northern Illinois (1-2) took down BU 33-5 (11/21/21) and 46-0 (1/10/21).

"Tonight was a good measure of where we are and how much we have grown," Shuck added. "It was great to come away with a win at home and kick the home dual season off like that in front of such a loud and rowdy crowd."

The Knights (1-1) earned wins in six of the ten bouts, but one stood above the rest. In the final match of the night, redshirt junior Trayce Eckman (133) scored a takedown with 28 seconds left in the third period to jump ahead 5-1 before cutting NIU's Markel Baker loose to battle out the final 20 seconds. Eckman secured the 5-2 win over Baker, ranked as high as No. 13 by WrestleStat and No. 22/23 by Intermat and The College Wrestling Report.

Making his Knights Hall debut, redshirt freshman Noah Hall (165) turned in the loudest victory for Bellarmine, earning the lone pin of the evening, taking down Colin Young in 4:13.

Redshirt sophomores AJ Rallo (141) and Andrew Liber (197) also notched bonus point victories for the Knights. Rallo kicked the dual off with a rousing 18-6 major decision over Deuce Curtis before Liber calmly worked his way to a 9-0 major decision over Ian Smith later in the match.

Up next, Bellarmine continues its gauntlet of early season tests as the Knights head to Columbus, OH for a bout with the No. 2 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes on Wednesday, December 3.

"We're looking forward to our next opportunity against a formidable opponent who just so happened to win the National Duals," Shuck said of what's next on the schedule. "We're not shying away from tough competition by any means, and we're really excited for that opportunity."

Bellarmine (23) vs. Northern Illinois (13)
141: AJ Rallo (BU) def. Deuce Curtis (NIU) by MD, 18-6
149: Zac Cowan (BU) def. Tommy Curran (NIU) by DEC, 15-13
157: Tyler Turzinksi (NIU) def. Jeb Prechtel (BU) by DEC, 7-2
165: Noah Hall (BU) def. Colin Young (NIU) by Fall, 4:13
174: Tommy Bennett (NIU) def. Grant O'Dell (BU) by DEC, 8-6
184: Gavin Rickets (BU) def. Caleb Roe (NIU) by DEC, 4-2
197: Andrew Liber (BU) def. Ian Smith by MD, 9-0
285: #25 Devon Dawson (NIU) def. #27 Daulton Mayer (BU) by DEC, 6-5
125: #14 Blake West (NIU) def. Damion Ryan (BU) by MD, 10-0
133: Trayce Eckman (BU) def. #13 Markel Baker by DEC, 5-2

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