After last Thursday’s loss to Wheaton, the Maroons suffered a 35­–3 defeat at their dual meet against the Elmhurst College Blue Jays this past Saturday.

Even though the loss could appear disheartening, the South Siders (0–3) did have several close matches that were determined by only one or two points.

Although the team hoped for different results heading into the meet, they knew that they were going up against a tough squad.

“Elmhurst was second in the nation last year,” third-year Adam Wyeth said. “But they graduated a few guys and we were hoping to capitalize on that.”

They were not able to accomplish that goal, but two of the matches this Saturday were still worth noting.

Mike McNulty, who ultimately lost 6–2, showed improvement from his 3–9 loss on Thursday and was able to send his Saturday match into overtime.

“He scored a takedown in the third period,” Wyeth said. “Unfortunately his opponent countered off of his shot in overtime and ended up winning.”

Although this meet ended without an overall victory, Chicago was able to return home with one individual win.

First-year standout Charlie Banaszak once again brought the Maroons their biggest win of the day, stealing a close 8–7 victory at 141 pounds.

“[His] match was fantastic,” Wyeth said.  “He got down a few points from a takedown and near fall early in the match, but ended up getting an escape and takedown in the second. Then he rode his opponent out for the last three minutes for the win, which was really impressive.”

Saturday’s Banaszak win was even closer than his Thursday one, bringing a fair amount of excitement, but the South Siders were still not cheerful after the meet.

“We’re not feeling too happy about the loss, but we know we can put this one behind us, learn a few things, and keep improving for our next event,” Wyeth said. “Everyone wrestled hard, and there will be a lot to learn from the day.”

The team is maintaining hope as it prepares for its next meet, which will be in two weeks.  It is determined to learn from both the wins and losses from its past three matches and use any mistakes to its advantage.

“We’re just getting back to the basics in practice and are going to work as hard as possible to fix our mistakes from the last week in order to be ready for the tournament,” Wyeth said.

Fourth-year Jeff Tyburski echoed this sentiment. “One or two less technical mistakes could make a big difference. Marginally better conditioning on our part might swing things in our favor,” he said.

Next up, the Maroons head to Mequon, WI to go up against a variety of schools at the 21st Annual Concordia University Wisconsin Open on Saturday, November 23. The first round of the tournament is slated to start at 9 a.m.