Both ranked in the Top 25, the Huskies have redemption on their minds.

Last year, Central Michigan coach Tom Borelli moved his then No. 15 ranked, 157-pound grappler David Bolyard up to 165-pounds in order to avoid him facing then No. 7 Scott Owen in both team’s last match of the regular season for the MAC Title.

“It was a smart move on the coach’s part,” Owen admitted.

The coach’s strategy worked as Bolyard defeated Bryce Hasseman 14-7 to give the Chippewas an 18-14 triumph over the Huskies.

“A lot of matches were close and could have gone either way,” NIU coach Dave Grant said. “We came within one match of the MAC Title.”

Owen got his shot at Bolyard when he defeated him 14-1 at the 2002 MAC Championships.

“He’s been in the Top 10 all year, and he’s a tough wrestler,” Owen said. “I’ll be ready to wrestle.”

Competing against its seventh ranked opponent this season, and third at home, No. 21 NIU (9-6, 1-1 MAC) will host the preseason favorite to win the MAC at 7:05 p.m. today at the Convocation Center.

Coming off their first home and MAC victories, the Huskies carry some much needed momentum against the Chippewas which haven’t lost a MAC dual meet since the 1997-’98 season.

No. 15 CMU (8-2, 0-0 MAC) has lost two of its last three meets, its first one coming at the hands of No. 2 Iowa.

Though the meet will not contain the same implications as last year’s do-or-die match, NIU has the opportunity to give the Chippewas their first loss in the MAC, which in turn would leave Kent State (11-3, 3-0) with the only undefeated conference record.

The real challenge for the Huskies will begin with No. 20 Josh Wooton’s toughest match of his young career when he faces No. 1 141-pound Jason Mester who is 14-0 on the season.

“Josh is the type of cat who doesn’t worry about who he’s wrestling,” Owen said.

Next in line for CMU is its No. 9, 149-pound grappler Ty Morgan who will take on NIU’s Oliver Vasquez. Vasquez is coming off his toughest loss of the season, losing to Ohio’s No. 4 Jake Percival by technical fall.

After Owen and Bolyard’s match, freshman Jeremy Benesh will take on No. 11 Kevin Carr to round out CMU’s middle weight gauntlet.

However, NIU’s other weight classes are making some noise, as well.

The Huskies’ 133-pound Sam Hiatt is on a four-match winning streak. The reigning MAC Wrestler of the Week’s streak is not the only one, as three-match winning streaks have been put together by No. 8 184-pound Ben Heizer and 197-pound James Oliva.