UW vs NDSU Sunday, February 2, 2014

[Manty77]

Several Wisconsin connections here. This will be a fun dual.

125-Hunter Weber - WI boy.  HS record of 212-3.  3X state champ
133-Justin LaValle - North Dakota boy but wrestled for Apple Valley.  Initially wrestled for ODU where he had 62 - 38 record.  Prior NCAA qualifier.  Is listed at 141 on roster; don't know when he droped down to 133.
141-Clay Cathey - from MT.  2X state champ. Had 20-10 record as RS last year.
149-Tyler Diamond - from CA.  Not a lot of accolades or many notable accomplishments.
157-Matt Grey - Yet another WI kid.  Had HS state finishes of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.  Finished 3rd in Greco and 2nd in FS at Fargo.
165-Steven Monk - WI boy.  I think he has record for greatest number of HS career wins. Ranked 3rd in country.  Finished 1 win shy of AA last year at Nationals.
174-Hayden Zillmer - 3X HS state champ for MN. Won Cadet triple crown. Ranked #10 nationally.
184-Kurtis Julson - 1X HS state champ from MN.  Currently a JR with no notable college accolades.
197-Tyler Lehmann - 3X HS state champ from ND, but spent first 3 years in HS wrestling for Apple Valley.  Spent a year at Olympic Training Center.  
285-Evan Knutson - Another WI boy from Wausau.  Finished 2nd and 3rd at state.  No slouch.  Not ranked in top 20, but is probably right on cusp.

Actually that would be Hunter with the win record

yep, I just did some digging and saw that Hunter has 212 HS career wins and Monk has 202.

[sadpanda]

My prediction: WI 22/NDSU 10. If the same Badger team that wrestled in Evanston last week shows-up, they will have no trouble with this dual! 

[MNbadger]

NDSU 18-WI 17

Hope I am wrong but after MN and WI I do like NDSU and Kish has done a good job there so far.

[Wisconsin Wrestling Fan]

Overall, I like our matchups in this one.  And we have wrestled pretty well at home all season.

The Badgers will win !!

[dad 2 5]

the more I think about it the more i think this could be bad:
"coming off a big weekend of solid wins"
"NDSU should be easy"
"two weeks is huge!"

Those are things I have heard from fans and my guess is the team has said this.
It is those kinds of statements and thinking that you fall behind and snowball effect takes over and you look back saying "what just happened".

The Badgers need to come in prepared and ready to battle. Like someone said, "this has been circled on NDSU for a long time". They are going to coming ready and hungry.

Bucky, don't let off the gas! Go get another big win.

[badgerjohn]

the more I think about it the more i think this could be bad:
"coming off a big weekend of solid wins"
"NDSU should be easy"
"two weeks is huge!"

Those are things I have heard from fans and my guess is the team has said this.
It is those kinds of statements and thinking that you fall behind and snowball effect takes over and you look back saying "what just happened".

The Badgers need to come in prepared and ready to battle. Like someone said, "this has been circled on NDSU for a long time". They are going to coming ready and hungry.

Bucky, don't let off the gas! Go get another big win.

Bucky learned a lesson at UNI earlier this season.  Enough said.

[easytopin]

Don't know what score will be but I would think with rankings being the same it should be about 30-4. If Indiana is ranked higher the score should be farther apart you would think.  I think it will be closer because NDSU is a feisty bunch.

[TomM]

Bison Wrestling Faces Big Ten Opponent Wisconsin Sunday 
NDSU Bison Athletics -    The North Dakota State University wrestling team will travel to Madison, Wis., this weekend for a non-conference dual with the Wisconsin Badgers of ...
http://www.gobison.com/news/2014/1/30/WR_0130144242.aspx

[RollTide]

Super disappointed that I'm not going to be there.  I've watched many of these guys since they were just little fellas.  Of course Evan K. was never really a little guy.

I saw at least 4 on the NDSU roster that my son has wrestled.  I can't believe Hayden Zillmer is 174 pounder.  He was smaller than the 103# weight class as a a freshman in high school. Talk about a late bloomer.

[TomM]

The Bison and Badgers have met just once before in wrestling, with Wisconsin claiming a 24-18 victory on Nov. 20, 1993.

Probable Matchups

125: Hunter Weber (RFr.), 10-7, 5-4 duals vs. No. 10 Ryan Taylor (RFr.), 12-2
133: Justin LaValle (Sr.), 10-6, 6-2 duals vs. No. 6 Tyler Graff (Sr.), 22-3
141: Clay Cathey (RFr.), 14-11, 4-5 duals vs. Jesse Thielke (So.), 14-11
149: Tyler Diamond (Sr.), 8-11, 3-7 duals vs. TJ Ruschell (RFr.), 14-10 or Rylan Lubeck (RFr.), 5-5
157: Nick Olejnik (Fr.), 7-12, 2-4 duals vs. No. 6 Isaac Jordan (RFr.), 21-4
165: No. 3 Steven Monk (Sr.), 21-1, 10-0 duals vs. Frank Cousins (Jr.), 11-10 or Ben Cox (Jr.), 4-5
174: No. 9 Hayden Zillmer (So.), 20-4, 9-1 duals vs. Scott Liegel (Sr.), 15-8
184: No. 27 Kurtis Julson (Jr.), 13-7, 6-4 duals vs. Jackson Hein (Sr.), 12-5 or Dylan Iczkowski (Jr.), 4-5
197: No. 30 Tyler Lehmann (RFr.), 8-2, 4-1 duals vs. Timmy McCall (Jr.), 12-10
285: No. 28 Evan Knutson (Jr.), 12-7, 6-2 duals OR John Gusewelle (Jr.), 9-9, 0-2 duals vs. No. 10 Connor Medbery (So.), 18-6

[billymurphy]

UNI is still unbeaten for a reason.  The UNI kid that beat Graff
is quite tough.

125: Hunter Weber (RFr.),  vs. No. 10 Ryan Taylor (RFr.),  Taylor wins by decision 3-0 Badgers
133: Justin LaValle (Sr.),   vs. No. 6 Tyler Graff (Sr.),        Graff wins by decision 6-0 Badgers
141: Clay Cathey (RFr.),  vs. Jesse Thielke (So.),              Thielke wins by decision 9-0 Badgers
149: Tyler Diamond (Sr.),  vs.  Rylan Lubeck (RFr.),          Lubeck wins by decision 12-0
157: Nick Olejnik (Fr.),   vs. No. 6 Isaac Jordan (RFr.),       Jordan wins by pin   18-0
165: No. 3 Steven Monk (Sr.),  vs. Frank Cousins (Jr.),       Monk wins by major decision 18-4
174: No. 9 Hayden Zillmer (So.),  vs. Scott Liegel (Sr.),     Zillmer wins in the best match of the meet 18-7
184: No. 27 Kurtis Julson (Jr.),  vs. Iczkowski                   Julson wins by decision  18-10     
197: No. 30 Tyler Lehmann (RFr.), vs. Timmy McCall (Jr.),   Lehmann wins by decision  18-13
285: No. 28 Evan Knutson (Jr.),  vs   vs. No. 10 Connor Medbery (So.),  Medbery wins by decision 21-13

If there are any surprises, like Taylor not wrestling, then suddenly this becomes an extremely close match.

[hammen]

I would be surprised of we didn't get bonus points in both of the first 2 matches.

[MNbadger]

WI/NDSU
125 4-0
133 7-0
141 10-0
149 10-3 (I was assuming Ruschel was wrestling)
157 14-3
165 14-9
174 14-12
184 14-15
197 14-18
285 17-18

[TomM]

NDSU Wrestling Dominates Air Force Academy
http://www.ndsuspectrum.com/sports/ndsu-wrestling-dominates-air-force-academy-1.3133250#.UuxWTjZ3u00

No. 23 Bison post convincing wrestling win over Air Force
http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/424607/

[billymurphy]

Are we wrong to be listing Thielke as a sophomore on here? Shouldn't we correct that to accurately list him as redshirt freshman?
I watched Hein wrestle last year and he looked like he was knocking on the door.  I sure hope he is at full strength by Big Ten Tournament time as we need him.
It has occurred to me that after Penn State, Iowa, and Minnesota, the Badgers have shown they certainly are capable of at least competing with
teams like Michigan, Nebraska, and Illinois. Even if we finish slightly behind those teams we are looking at 7th place Big Ten Tournament finish, worst case scenario.
The Badgers certainly should be able to finish ahead of Ohio State and Northwestern as they are down this year, but
seeing who Ohio State and Northwestern have recruited, you can bet those teams will become much tougher in a year or two.