Wrestling’s slide continued, as it closed out January with its third-straight loss.

The Huskies (6-9, 1-5 MAC) fell to the Old Dominion Monarchs (6-9, 2-2 MAC), 23-12, Friday at the Ted Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk, Va. They previously lost to the Purdue Boilermakers, 26-11, on Jan. 19 and the then-No. 7 Missouri Tigers, 31-0, on Jan. 25.

The Huskies posted six team points through their first eight matches before adding six more late.

Redshirt freshman Shawn Scott (197) and redshirt senior Jared Torrence (285) each won their respective matches by decision in the final two matches of the dual.

“They were both great performances,” said head coach Ryan Ludwig. “Shawn Scott wrestled someone who was ranked ahead of him nationally. He put himself in a good position to win, and he did.

“Jared Torrence beat an experienced, wily opponent. He came from behind to win, which is hard to do at heavyweight. He proved his leadership role on the team.”

The Huskies went 1-7 in their first eight matches. Senior Nick Smith (133) recorded six points for the Huskies with a third-period pin in the second match.

“Nick Smith did a great job in his match at 133,” Ludwig said. “It was a huge, huge performance by him.”

Of the 10 matches, NIU faced two wrestlers who were ranked in their weight classes.

Junior Tyler Argue (141) couldn’t get anything going, as he was shut out, 4-0, by No. 5 Chris Mecate.

Senior Rob Jillard (149) lost by decision to No. 20 Alexander Richardson, 7-5, in sudden victory two.

Sophomore Andrew Morse (157) had a chance to tie or give the Huskies the lead right before intermission. He lost by decision, 7-5, in sudden victory one against Tristan Warner, and the Huskies trailed, 12-6, at the break.

Warner recorded a last-second takedown in the third period to force the overtime session.

“We were in position to win,” Ludwig said. “We gotta be able to close, get up off our knees and wrestle out the entire match. When you wrestle aggressively good things happen.”

The Huskies return home for their final home dual against Kent State at 3 p.m. Saturday at Victor E. Court.

“We can’t just put our heads down; we have to have confidence,” Ludwig said There’s no time to worry about what’s happened in the past. We need to learn from our experiences, work hard and move on to the next one.”