The Huskie wrestling team will play host to the Buckeyes of Ohio State on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Chick Evans Field House.

The match will be a reunion of sorts for Huskie coach Ed Vatch. Ohio State coach Russ Helickson was Vatch’s coach at Wisconsin during his collegiate days.

“I long for the day to shake his hand after a match and say to him ‘nice try,'” Vatch said.

However, Vatch knows it will be difficult for his 2-11-1 Huskies to pull off a win over the Buckeyes.

“They are real strong and real young just like us,” Vatch said. “Earlier in the season they came real close to knocking off Iowa. That tells you that they are a tough team to go up against.”

Even though the match will be a struggle Vatch and his crew are looking forward to meeting the Buckeyes.

“We get real excited when we get a chance to wrestle great people like Ohio State. If we wrestle tough and win, it just makes believers out of us,” Vatch said.

This week in practice Vatch focused on getting his troops in better condition with extensive drilling.

“We drilled a lot this week and we did not go live all that much. We’re trying to get the kids with the bumps and bruises well for the upcoming matches and for regionals,” he said.

The Huskies will have a change in their lineup for Saturday’s match. NIU’s Tim Cocco moves back up to 158 pounds, where he wrestled at for a few matches earlier in the season. Cocco wrestled at 150 pounds for most of the season, but Vatch believes the senior will be stronger at 158 pounds for the remainder of the season.

Huskie freshman Brett Messerli will switch with Cocco and wrestle the rest of the season in 150-pound division.