For three straight years, NIU wrestling has finished second to Central Michigan in the MAC Championships.

In a budding rivalry, the No. 23 Huskies will host No. 10 Central Michigan in the Chippewas’ first MAC dual meet of the season at 7:05 p.m. today at the Convocation Center.

“This is huge,” NIU freshman Derek Hunsinger said. “Every year, it’s between us two teams to win the conference, and they’re really tough this year.”

Unfortunately for NIU (11-2 overall, 3-0 MAC), Hunsinger is out for three to six weeks. The 197-pounder, who boasts a 15-9 record, will have surgery today to repair a broken left orbital bone sustained Saturday versus Ohio. Junior Brandon Check will wrestle in Hunsinger’s slot.

CMU (9-4, 0-0) has been depleted by injuries as 133-pound junior Jason Borrelli sustained an injury at the National Duals last week. The Chippewas do not have a replacement scheduled and will likely forfeit six points.

The last time CMU traveled to DeKalb in 2003, the Huskies scored a 16-15 victory. NIU coach Dave Grant hopes history will repeat itself.

“We got to have our ‘A’ game [tonight],” Grant said. “When we last beat them, they were ranked higher than us. And they’re coming into this gym again ranked higher than us, so we’re going to have to have our best game and be ready to go hard.”

Pre-season conference rankings had NIU and CMU tied at No. 1 to win the MAC. Most recently, CMU finished a school-best sixth place at the National Duals with wins over three top-25 teams. Senior Mitch Hancock’s 6-0 record at the tournament helped the 174-pounder garner MAC Wrestler of the Week.

Given the two teams’ past history, junior Josh Wooton realizes the importance of the match.

“We’ve been scouting their tapes and watching what they do,” Wooton said. “It will definitely be our toughest dual meet of the year. We were tied with them at No. 1 at the beginning of the year. We’ll be ready.”

Probable Starting Lineup

(Contributions by NIU Sports Information)

Weight Class; NIU vs. Central Michigan

125: Chad Vandiver (17-9, 1-2 MAC) vs. #11 Luke Smith (21-8, 0-0 MAC)

133: #12 Sam Hiatt (20-5, 3-0 MAC) vs. Forfeit

141: Josh Wooton (5-4, 3-0 MAC) vs. Brandon Carter (21-5, 0-0 MAC)

149: Mike Grimes (15-7, 2-1 MAC) vs. #11 Mark DiSalvo (23-5, 0-0 MAC)

157: Joe Henning (3-3, 1-1 MAC) vs. Eric Neil (23-9, 0-0 MAC)

165: Johnny Galloway (21-5, 3-0 MAC) vs. #9 David Bolyard (21-3, 0-0 MAC)

174: Danny Burk (15-10, 1-2 MAC) vs. #7 Mitch Hancock (23-3, 0-0 MAC)

184: Tyler Bruesewitz (14-9, 0-3 MAC) vs. Russ Vanderheyden (13-5, 0-0 MAC) or #15 Alex Lammers (19-6, 0-0 MAC)

197: Brandon Check (1-6, 0-0 MAC) vs. #15 Wynn Michalak (21-5, 0-0 MAC)

285: Joe Sapp (13-10, 2-1 MAC) vs. #10 Bill Stouffer (18-5, 0-0 MAC)