The Panther wrestlers will take a break after another big loss, head coach Ralph McCausland said.

Eastern dropped to 4-6 after a 37-3 loss to Northwestern Sunday at Lantz Arena. Injuries forced seniors Matt Veach and Pat Dowty as well as Jim Kassner, Adam Sesso and Kenny Robertson to sit out of against the Wildcats.

“These were the guys placing in tournaments all year,” McCausland said. “It’s frustrating that now that duals have come they have to sit on the bench.”

Eastern, who had six underclassmen in the line-up, lost the first five matches by close decisions and got their only points of the night from junior heavyweight Pete Ziminski’s 2-1 victory. They also forfeited two weight classes and were techically falled at two other. Ziminski, 28-9, recorded the only Panther victories in their last two dual meets.

“The freshmen have stepped in with no qualms,” McCausland said. “We need to keep them focused.”

The Panthers had a short Christmas Break and have wrestled six dual meets in the last nine days.

“Physically and emotionally we are hurting right now,” McCausland said.

The team is going to take time to get things back together.

“We’re going to take a few days off to rekindle the fire,” McCausland said. “The boys need a break.”

It is a perfect time to regroup before they welcome Big Ten powerhouse Purdue to Lantz, who is ranked #20 in the nation, next Sunday.

It’s unclear if Dowty (15-6), and Veach, (22-4) who have both sat out the last two meets, will be in Eastern’s starting line up, McCausland said.

McCausland is not opposed to holding out all of his experienced upperclassmen until the NCAA Regional meet if it rehabilitation takes that long. Eastern will compete against Air Force, Northern Iowa, Wyoming and Fresno State on March 6.

“Our key goal is the regional meet,” McCausland said. “We want to give them the best chance to succeed.”