FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Clark Teuscher, Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302
(article posted by Lauren Brightmore, Student Sports Information Assistant)

Jan. 24, 2011 - North Central College junior Andrew Zobac is taking down the competition this season.  The exercise science major wrestles at 141 pounds and knows how to draw in a crowd, with a current season record of 33-6. Throughout the winter, Zobac has thrice received Wrestler of the Week honors from the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW). His most recent CCIW honor was given to him based on his Dec. 18 victory at the North Central Quadrangular, where he defeated a two-time NCAA Division III All-American.

A: I try to keep it basic, one match at a time, but I first want to focus on qualifying for nationals. At the NCAA Division III Nationals, I'd like to earn All-American honors at least, if not win the whole thing. I'm ranked nationally in the top ten, and I've competed against multiple All-Americans throughout the season. I know what I can do, so at this point I just need to perform up to my abilities when it becomes time.  

A: Over the summer, I figured that if I could excel at positions which most people aren't used to, then I'll be able to improve my performance. And if I could win with those positions, then I would be able to take a lot of matches. I stayed at North Central over the summer and helped with some wrestling camps. From the camps, I was able to wrestle coaches from the area, so that I had a wide variety of partners to train with. I've definitely seen the improvement I was looking for. I'm night and day compared to last year. It's kind of unreal. I was 23-12 last season, which is ok, but another year of training and competing has given me more maturity as an athlete in addition to a mental edge. 

A: We decided to start a fundraising initiative called Taking Down Cancer. Each wrestler found a sponsor, and for every match they won, the sponsor would donate a certain amount of money to Relay for Life. We also had each wrestler wear colored shoelaces to raise awareness for a specific kind of cancer. I had lime green (ovarian cancer) and dark blue (colon cancer) shoelaces. We sold t-shirts too, which read, “Fear the Bird” on the front, and “Taking Down Cancer” on the back.

A: I think just on the t-shirts alone we made about $2,000. We've raised way beyond what we thought we could.

A: We label ourselves as hammers for the event, like hammering cancer. At Relay, we bring a hammer and pass that off as a baton while we switch-off walking during the night.  

A: There's a few. One of the main matches I think about though was when I wrestled a nationally ranked NCAA Division II guy. I didn't know who he was at first, and I was able to win that match. After the win, I realized I was at a competitive level where I was just as good, if not better than former All-Americans. Ultimately, it was the first big win that got me on the national radar.  

A: We've obviously had our ups and downs, having lost a few athletes along the way, but I think a lot of freshmen have stepped up and taken the role they needed to. We're a young team, which means we're not always favored to win, but our success really showed in the dual against Elmhurst College. Almost all of Elmhurst's starters were returning, and at least half of ours graduated last year. We only lost four matches against them, basically giving them 12 points through forfeit and weight class changes. So we beat them rather handily, 22-18. It was awesome. 

A: My mom does. A lot of times she won't even watch me because she gets so nervous. I kind of feel bad for her when she comes just because she gets so nervous and jittery for me.

A: You have to take your lumps as a freshman, and keep everything in perspective. Winning is nice, but the goal is to improve. It's important to realize your faults and what you need to work on. Wrestling is about going into practice knowing what you need to fix, instead of trying to win matches constantly. You're not always going to win your matches, so you can't take it personally.

A: Most of us when it comes down to business, we take the sport very seriously and dedicate ourselves to it. The way a lot of wrestlers see it, is that wrestling is not a sport, it's a lifestyle. You have to dedicate yourself to the sport all year.

A: We strive to be like a family, and we tell our freshmen this every year. The family atmosphere was one of the main reasons why I came to North Central. I saw that everyone on the team wanted to help one another and were really invested in the program. I had that team environment in high school, and that's what I wanted in college. 

A: For me, it's pretty much Gatorade and fruit snacks.

A: I like all sports, but I really admire cross country. I ran cross country in high school, and I know that it's a big commitment. The early morning workouts and the long runs take a full-life commitment to be really good at it. I really respect the sport.

A: Anatomy & Physiology was tough, but Dr. John Zenchak, who taught the course, is the man. Dr. Z's humor and application of concepts to everyday life made the class enjoyable. He's a great teacher.

A:Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and Student-Athlete Mentors (SAMs). I do Habitat for Humanity. I've been to Starkville, Mississippi, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina building homes with that organization. Then with the wrestling team, I do Relay for Life and Special Olympics. 

A: I'm unable to lose to our graduate assistant coach, Joe Norton. It's physically impossible. You can ask him yourself. 

A: Teleportation. Then you can go pretty much wherever you want. You could be sitting on the couch, teleport to the fridge, grab something to eat, and never have to get up. In these cold winter months you could teleport to practice and class instead of walking across campus.

A: That's tough. I'm going to have to say my former teammate, Joe Norton. He shares my love for the sport, and we could just sit there, wrestle, and talk about wrestling the whole time.