Hoosiers Head West to Face Ranked Competition; From Indiana SID office: Nice Job

[TomM]

Hoosiers Head West to Face Ranked Competition (From Indiana SID office: Nice Job)

Indiana wrestles its final away meets at Wisconsin, Nebraska
Story Link | http://iuhoosiers.com/news/2018/1/25/wrestling-hoosiers-head-west-to-face-ranked-competition.aspx

Meet Notes (PDF) | http://iuhoosiers.com/documents/2018/1/25/2018_1_26_Wisconsin_Nebraska_Notes.pdf

Follow the Action: BTN Plus | https://www.btn2go.com/schedule?date=today&sids=WR

FloWrestling | https://www.flowrestling.org/events

TrackWrestling: IU-WIS |http://www.trackwrestling.com/tw/seasons/LoadBalance.jsp?seasonId=571556009&pageName=DualMatches.jsp&dualId=6104102009

TrackWrestling: IU-NEB | http://www.trackwrestling.com/tw/seasons/LoadBalance.jsp?seasonId=571556009&pageName=DualMatches.jsp&dualId=6073549009

Season Statistics (PDF) | http://admin.iuhoosiers.com/documents/2017/11/6/WR_Stats_17_18.pdf

Media Guide (PDF) | http://admin.iuhoosiers.com/documents/2017/12/10/17_18_Wrestling_History_Records.pdf?id=24419

January 25, 2018

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Big Ten is amidst their final stretch of the 2017-18 regular season. The Hoosiers are set for their first conference weekend double of the year, a road trip to the Big Ten's western edge for meets at No. 21 Wisconsin and No. 16 Nebraska.

The away coupling begins on Friday night in Madison, where the Hoosiers seek vengeance for the Badgers' 19-18 tiebreaker win in Bloomington last year. After that, Indiana heads to a Sunday afternoon showdown at the Devaney Center against the Huskers.

The Hoosiers need to make these meets count, for these matches are Indiana's last away from Bloomington until all 140 Big Ten wrestlers convene at the Breslin Center in March. Both meets will stream live on BTN Plus and FloWrestling; fans can also follow the live dashboard on TrackWrestling.com.

Big Ten Wrestling
Indiana (6-5, 0-4) at No. 23/21 Wisconsin (5-2, 2-2)
Friday, January 26 • 8:00 p.m. ET • FloWrestling • BTN Plus • TrackWrestling
UW Field House • Madison, Wisconsin

Projected Starters (Rankings provided by FloWrestling):
125: Elijah Oliver (IU) vs. Johnny Jimenez (WIS)
133: Garrett Pepple (IU) vs. Jens Lantz (WIS)
141: No. 16 Cole Weaver (IU) vs. Eli Stickley (WIS)
149: Alejandro Raya (IU) vs. Cole Martin (WIS)
157: Austin Holmes (IU) vs. No. 19 Andrew Crone (WIS)
165: Dillon Hoey (IU) vs. No. 5 Evan Wick (WIS)
174: No. 19 Devin Skatzka (IU) vs. Ryan Christensen (WIS)
184: Norman Conley (IU) vs. No. 9 Ricky Robertson (WIS)
197: Jake Kleimola /or/ Spencer Irick (IU) vs. Hunter Ritter (WIS)
285: Fletcher Miller (IU) vs. Ben Stone (WIS)

Indiana (6-5, 0-4) at No. 16/16 Nebraska (6-3, 4-1)
Sunday, January 28 • 3:00 p.m. ET • FloWrestling • BTN Plus • TrackWrestling
Bob Devaney Sports Center • Lincoln, Nebraska

Projected Starters (Rankings provided by FloWrestling):
125: Elijah Oliver (IU) vs. Mitchell Maginnis (NEB)
133: Garrett Pepple (IU) vs. No. 14 Jason Renteria /or/ Brian Peska (NEB)
141: No. 16 Cole Weaver (IU) vs. No. 13 Chad Red Jr. (NEB)
149: Alejandro Raya (IU) vs. No. 12 Colton McCrystal (NEB)
157: Austin Holmes (IU) vs. No. 8 Tyler Berger (NEB)
165: Dillon Hoey (IU) vs. No. 12 Isaiah White (NEB)
174: No. 19 Devin Skatzka (IU) vs. Beau Breske (NEB)
184: Norman Conley (IU) vs. No. 7 Taylor Venz (NEB)
197: Jake Kleimola /or/ Spencer Irick (IU) vs. Eric Schultz (NEB)
285: Fletcher Miller (IU) vs. David Jensen /or/ Patrick Grayson (NEB)

Last Time: Late Thriller With MSU
Indiana hosted last weekend's BTN showdown with Michigan State, and both teams delivered an intense dual meet to their national audience. Tied 15-15 after nine matches, the Spartans picked up the decisive win at 285 to win the battle for a Big Ten conference victory.

The Hoosiers put together a valiant effort with five individual wins, led by No. 19 Cole Weaver's (141) victory against No. 20 Javier Gasca. Elijah Oliver (125) made a triumphant return from injury to extend a seven-match win streak, while Garrett Pepple (133) and Norman Conley (184) scored their first conference wins of the season. Devin Skatzka (174) also picked up a win by decision.

Weaver Fever
The most captivating storyline of Indiana's 2017-18 season has been junior Cole Weaver (141), who's wrestling better than ever in a career burdened by a pair of injury setbacks. Weaver (20-6) got back in the win column with a big result last weekend, a 2-1 decision for his first career win over No. 20 Gasca.

This weekend provides a pair of testers for IU's highest-ranked grappler. Weaver will need to be ready for a fight from Eli Stickley (WIS), currently on the fringe of the national rankings. Sunday's match with No. 12 Chad Red (NEB) will be his first against a top-15 wrestler this calendar year.

Series History: Hoosiers vs. Badgers
Indiana and Wisconsin will meet on the mat for the 48th time since 1950 on Friday night. The Badgers lead the overall series, 33-24, while Indiana seeks their first series win since 2004.

The sub-plot of the current series is the coaching matchup: Duane Goldman  ('86) and Wisconsin's Barry Davis ('85) both wrestled at Iowa under Dan Gable and amassed Hall of Fame careers. This will be their 17th dual meet against one another.

The only projected rematch comes at 174 between No. 19 Devin Skatzka and Ryan Christensen; that career series is tied at 1-1.

Series History: Hoosiers vs. Huskers
Indiana and Nebraska are set for their 20th all-time meeting and their fifth as Big Ten foes. The Huskers control a 14-5 series lead and took last year's dual meet, 31-15, in Bloomington.

Seven combined grapplers are back in the starting lineup from last year's meet, but no rematches are expected. These will be the first matches at the Devaney Center for all 10 IU starters.

On the other bench, Nebraska is projected to start seven nationally ranked grapplers, led by returning All-American Tyler Berger (157).

Up Next: Hoosiers Make Home Stand
The Hoosiers will end the 2017-18 regular season with three Big Ten dual meets at home. That starts next weekend with Friday night's lock-up with the No. 15 Illini and continues on Sunday against No. 24 Purdue.

Last season's meet ar Purdue's Mackey Arena came down to the final decision, when the Boilermakers won at heavyweight for a 19-12 victory.

Back Points...
• Devin Skatzka's team-leading six pins have occurred in 15:14 aggregate time. The sophomore set a career best with a fall in 0:47 against Northern Illinois (12/2).

• Junior Elijah Oliver (125) remains unbeaten in Big Ten dual meets this season, at 3-0. Oliver has won his last seven matches, tied for the longest winning streak by a Hoosier this season.

• Freshman Alejandro Raya (149) is projected to make his first career appearance in the IU singlet this weekend. Raya has earned two podium finishes as an unattached grappler in his first collegiate season.

• At 297 career dual meet wins, head coach Duane Goldman is close to crossing the 300-win career milestone.
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Nick Reith
Media Relations Assistant
Indiana University Athletics
Primary Contact: Field Hockey,
Wrestling, Water Polo
C: 317-371-6079
Email: nbreith@indiana.edu
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