After a pair of tough home losses, wrestling hopes to turn its season back in the right direction when it faces Cleveland State at 7 p.m. today at Victor E. Court.

NIU (2-4) has had a successful run against the Vikings (1-2), winning all four previous duals against the improving program. Its most recent win over Cleveland State came in last season’s finale. NIU won 26-11, highlighted by wins from six current Huskies.

NIU has the better wrestlers on paper, but head coach Ryan Ludwig knows each dual presents a new challenge.

“[Cleveland State looks] good; they’ve got a tough squad,” Ludwig said. “They have a much-improved squad and have had some pretty good results in their early duals. We’re looking forward to a tough challenge.”

Assuming Jared Torrence hits the mat for NIU, the matchup of the night may very well be at 285.

Cleveland State’s best young wrestler is Riley Shaw. As a freshman last season, Shaw won an overtime battle over Torrence, 3-1.

Torrence is a leader on and off the mat for the Huskies and looks poised to have his best season yet. He is 3-3 in duals, suffering a couple close losses already this season.

“That’s a great matchup,” Ludwig said. “These guys battled it up last year, and it came down to a very close bout in overtime…. I don’t think Jared has forgotten about that one, so he’s looking forward to that match.”

Sophomore Andrew Morse has had ups and downs early on this season, but looks to have a solid matchup at 157 against one of two rather inexperienced Vikings.

Cleveland State is expected to send out either Latrell Davis or Matt Donohoe. Morse, who was nationally ranked earlier this season, should feast on his matchup, especially after pinning the senior who was above him on Cleveland State’s depth chart last season.

Senior Nick Smith is expected to start at 133 for the Huskies. Smith has looked like his usual self since returning from an offseason injury, going 3-1 in his last four decisions.

“It’s always great to have Nick in the lineup,” Ludwig said. “He’s always been a sparkplug for us. The kid wrestles with a lot of heart and a lot of determination and always sets the tone for the rest of our lineup.”

Smith will likely take on Jared McKinley, an unproven sophomore. McKinley transferred to Cleveland State after starting his collegiate career at Cumberland University.

He has only one true win this season, as he has won by forfeit in two of the three duals. His win came against Indiana’s highly touted freshman, Chris Caton.