The Panthers wrestled in two different states this weekend in less than 24 hours, but could not pick up a win at either place.

They lost Friday at South Dakota State Friday, 25-18, and Saturday at Northern Iowa, 28-18.

“We saw some real positives,” said head coach Ralph McCausland. “Kenny (Robertson) went 3-0, Greg (Perz) went 3-0, A.J. (Ciccarelli) went 2-1 and Joe (Trinka) went 2-1. I thought the guys wrestled well in spots, probably better against South Dakota and Northern Iowa than North Dakota. I thought we were in reach at both South Dakota and Northern Iowa.”

The Panthers gained a quick 9-0 lead Friday against the Jackrabbits thanks to freshmen A.J. Ciccarelli and Lenny Grodoski winning a decision and a forfeit respectively. The 141-165-pound weight classes, though, gave up a total of 16 points with a combination of two decisions, a major decision and a pin.

“We lost two bouts, one we needed, either at (1)41 or (1)49 and we were within reach at both of those,” McCausland said.

Senior Kenny Robertson, at 174 pounds, helped Eastern get back on track with a 1-0 win against Nate Althoff.

“(The match) went alright,” Robertson said. “I shot about 30 times and the guy didn’t do anything.”

His only point came from an escape.

Junior Greg Perz, at 184 pounds, had the lead 9-4 going into the third period.

His opponent suffered an injury, though, and Eastern went up 18-16 with only two wrestlers left.

“I don’t exactly know (what happened),” Perz said. “I caught his leg with my left hand and when I went to pivot he started screaming and had to injury default.”

The Panthers had to forfeit at the 197-pound weight class because of Jason Sherko’s injury, which put the Jackrabbits back up 22-18. Freshman heavyweight Joe Trinka was not able to break the five match win streak of Jason Stripling and fell 9-3.

The match against UNI started with Eastern taking an early 9-5 lead after three matches, with Robertson scoring a decision and Perz getting a pin.

The next two weight classes traded points, as Eastern forfeited the 197-pound weight class and N. Iowa forfeited the heavyweight class.

Ciccarelli then won a close decision with a takedown with two seconds remaining. This put Eastern up 18-11.

“I think it’s almost a turning point for him,” McCausland said. “We saw a lot of very good things. He made very little mistakes in the match and had very good opportunities. For A.J., coach (Clayton) French and I were very pleased in the direction he’s going.”

This would be the last score for the Panthers, as the 133-157-pound weight classes lost by a decision, two major decisions, and a pin.

The Panthers will have the next week off as they wait to travel to the Northern Illinois Triangular on Feb. 18.