DeKALB — The NIU wrestling team went up against Mid-American Conference rival Central Michigan University Friday night, falling to the Chippewas 33-6.

The dual was a rescheduled match that was previously scheduled for Jan. 7 before COVID concerns forced postponement. Redshirt senior Mason Kauffman continued his impressive season with a 5-3 win over junior Bret Fedewa of the Chippewas at 174 pounds. Kauffman has now won 10 of his last 12 matches.

Sophomore Michael Kaminski picked up the Huskies’ only other match win at 133 pounds after a hard fought bout against Central Michigan freshman Vince Perez. The first period of the dual was scoreless. The second period saw the first points as Kaminiski picked up a point off an escape and later picked up two more points off a takedown to take a 3-0 lead. Perez picked up two points of his own before Kaminski put the match away with two more takedowns and an escape to win 8-3.

“Mason was able to break through holds and pop into his leg attacks and that made him successful tonight,” head coach Ryan Ludwig said in an NIU Athletics news release. “Mike Kaminski did a nice job getting to his attacks. It was great to see his hard work paying off.”

The rest of the night did not fare well for the Huskies as they fell in every other match. It was a struggle, to say the least, for the Huskies as they could not find a way to pick up points against the Chippewas, ending with a final score of 33-6.

The Huskies look to bounce back in their next match Sunday at noon against the #17-ranked University of Oklahoma at Victor E. Court in DeKalb.