Last year's Mat Town winner, Minnesota, is not returning to defend its invitational title, leaving the door open for the Hoosiers, who come into the event as the highest ranked team.
The nine-team field includes Indiana, University of Buffalo, Clarion University, Lock Haven University, University of Maryland, Ohio University, University of Oregon, Old Dominion University, and Rider University. The Mat Town Invitational is in its 30th year and will begin on Saturday at 9 a.m. EST.
"Mat Town is an excellent tournament," head coach Duane Goldman said. "We were third in it last year, and we want to improve on that finish this year. We want to use this opportunity to improve as a team, and we have inspiration to build team unity in our first event with a team score. "
•MISSOURI OPEN RECAP•
With Indiana's best finish at the tournament, senior Brady Richardson took the 197-pound crown, going 3-0 in Columbia. Richardson dethroned two ranked opponents and posted one fall on his way to the gold finish, with his best bout coming against No. 2-seeded Tyrone Byrd (Illinois). Byrd, ranked 12th nationally, kept the match close but fell 3-1 in the end to the determined Richardson.
Redshirt freshman Jose Escobedo started Indiana off in the 125-pound division, finishing third for his first top-five outing of the year. At 133, redshirt freshman Andrae Hernandez grappled to a bronze finish. Hernandez fell early in a tight 3-1 decision to No. 4-seeded Gabe Flores (Illinois), but rattled off five consecutive wins thereafter to take home the top-three finish.
At 141, senior Nick Spatola grappled to a sixth-place finish at the open, going 3-3 en route to the top performance. At 149, sophomore Matt Cooper posted a sixth-place finish, going 3-1 at the event. Sophomore Max Dean had a tough weekend, going 1-2 at 165 pounds. Dean claimed his win in commanding fashion with a major decision over Andrew Tsensee (UNA), 13-2. Sophomore Marc Bennett (174) recorded a 2-2 performance at the Open with a pin (2:43) against Sean McAleney (Chattanooga).
At 184, junior Justin Curran looked impressive, going 4-1 on the day, with his sole loss coming against 11th-ranked Alex Clemson (Edinboro) in the semifinals, 8-3. Curran posted two pins, with his first coming against the No. 4-seeded Corey Johnson (Lindenwood), en route to the third-place finish. Sophomore Heath Vandeventer went 0-2 at the Open with both of his losses coming against fierce competition.
Sophomore Dave Herman wrapped up the Hoosier contingent finishing second. The unseeded Herman almost completed his sweep of the top-three seeds, taking down No. 2-seeded Austin David (Missouri), 8-3, Koel Davia (Edinboro), 7-2, in his quarterfinal match up and No. 3-seeded Chase Gormley (Lindenwood), 8-7, in the semifinals. Herman's sole loss came at the hands of No. 1-seeded and 5th-ranked Jake Hager (Oklahoma) in the finals.
•MAT TOWN PREVIEW•
The Indiana wrestling team travels to the Mat Town Invitational Saturday, Nov. 26 for its second team event of the season. After a successful outing at the Missouri Open, head coach Duane Goldman looks to take home the team title in Lock Haven, Pa., while also garnering extended experience for his young Hoosier grapplers.
The Hoosiers are the highest-ranked team at the invitational, but will not take that for granted as the nine-team field boasts a handful of talented wrestlers. The event also marks the first tournament for the Hoosiers where a team score and place is being recorded.
•THE "RICH" GET RICHER•
Senior Brady Richardson won his second career title at the Missouri Open, defeating two ranked opponents en route to the title. Richardson's title is his first of the season and extended the two-time NCAA qualifier's winning streak to five. The Vincennes, Ind., native's streak began at the Michigan State Open, where he finished third, and will be tested this weekend in Lock Haven, Pa. Overall, Richardson is 7-1 on the season.
•HERMAN OR HE-MAN•
First year starter Dave Herman is looking impressive in his first three tournaments, tabbing three top-five finishes, two of which were just one win short of the title. At the Missouri Open, Herman's sole loss came against the nation's fifth-ranked grappler in Jake Hager (Okla.). Herman has posted an overall record of 10-3, tallying two pins, one technical fall and one major in the process.
Herman is a returning letterwinner from last year's team that finished ninth at NCAAs and had seven starts for the Hoosiers behind senior All-American Pat DeGain. With DeGain's graduation, Herman looks to dominate the heavyweight starting position in 2006.
•"JUST" IN TIME•
Sophomore Justin Curran had a solid weekend at the Missouri Open, going 3-1 and finishing third at the event at 184. Curran's sole loss came against 11th-ranked Alex Clemson of Lindenwood while pins decided two of his three wins.
Curran wrestles at a weight that has three individuals vying for the position, as Curran, junior Josh Buuck and redshirt freshman Heath Vandeventer are grappling for the starting spot. Buuck has the most college experience between the three, but all three Hoosiers have shown promise throughout their careers. Curran's early success only forecasts a good future for the weight class at Indiana, showing no matter who takes the spot in the lineup, it will be a Hoosier who knows how to win.
•NATIONAL EXPOSURE•
The Indiana Wrestling team opens the season ranked in all four preseason polls, with Amateur Wrestling News tabbing the Hoosiers 10th. The Wrestling Mall and W.I.N. Magazine polls both notched IU in the 11th-place spot, while the NWCA-InterMat preseason poll ranked the Hoosiers 16th.
The Hoosiers garnered the preseason rankings after finishing ninth last year at the NCAA Championships (58.5). Indiana returns one national champion, two All-Americans and five NCAA qualifiers overall from last year's top-10 squad.
•REPEAT PERFORMANCE•
Indiana 125-pound national champion Joe Dubuque returns for his senior season and looks to defend his national championship from a year ago.
The Bloomfield, N.J., native became the first Indiana national champion since Brian Dolph grappled to the title in 1991 and looks to be the first Hoosier to achieve back-to-back titles in a career.
Charlie McDaniel (1935-38) is the only Hoosier to win two NCAA crowns (1935 and 1938) during his stint at IU, and one of only three Hoosiers to garner All-American status three times (Millard Duffy, 1935-36,38; Brian Dolph, 1987-90).
Dubuque looks to join the ranks of some of the best Hoosier grapplers ever to don the Cream and Crimson.
•HOOSIERS IN THE RANKINGS•
Four Hoosier grapplers enter the 2005-06 season ranked among the nation's elite. Leading all Hoosiers is two-time All-American Joe Dubuque, who ranks first in all four preseason polls (TWM, AWN. W.I.N., NWCA). The senior also looks to defend his national title from a year ago.
At 157, sophomore All-American Brandon Becker (3/5/5/5) received top-five nods from all four preseason audiences, with his highest of third coming in TWM preseason poll. The feat marks the first time Becker has received preseason recognition after grappling in his first year of competition as a redshirt freshman in 2004-05.
Sophomore NCAA qualifier Max Dean entered the polls at 15/16/16/14 for the first preseason rankings of his career. The 165-pound Dean looks to make another run at the NCAA Championships in 2006, this time with the goal of All-American status on his mind.
Rounding out the preseason accolades is senior Brady Richardson at 197. Richardson makes the move from 174 and garnered a 20th- and 11th-place ranking in the TWM and NWCA polls, respectively. Richardson, who wrestled at 174 in 2004 and 2005 and qualified for the NCAA Championships in both seasons, is looking to make his mark at his new and stronger weight division.
•TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER•
Head coach Duane Goldman named seniors Joe Dubuque and Brady Richardson as the 2005-06 team captains.
Both Hoosiers enter the senior campaign with high goals for not only the team, but have individual expectations.
Dubuque looks to become the first Hoosier to garner back-to-back NCAA titles, the second (Charlie McDaniel, 1935 and 1938) Hoosier to garner two national crowns in a career and only the fifth IU grappler to receive All-American honors three-times during their stint at IU.
Richardson looks to garner his first All-American accolade after qualifying for the postseason the last two years at 174. Goldman says the Vincennes, Ind., native looks stronger and more comfortable in his new weight class and has all the potential to achieve his 2006 goals.
•RECORDS WILL "FALL"•
Seniors Joe Dubuque and Brady Richardson are looking to etch their names in the Hoosier record book this coming season. Dubuque stands just nine falls away from entering the all-time Indiana list for most pins in a career, while Richardson is 15 away from an appearance in the history book. Dubuque and Richardson currently stand at 15 and nine falls , respectively, their careers. Viktor Sveda (1998-2002), one of the program's most decorated wrestlers, owns the record with 47.
The seniors look to be the fourth and fifth graduating seniors in five years to etch their name in the IU career pins record book. Sveda took the top spot in 2002 (47), current IU volunteer coach Coyte Cooper tabbed third on the list in 2004 (37) and last year's All-American Pat DeGain finished in fourth in 2005 (35).
•LOOKING FOR THE "W"•
Senior national champion Joe Dubuque currently stands at an 86-17 career record. Dubuque falls just 19 wins outside of the top 10 all-time most wins in a career record book. Should Dubuque garner 19 wins in his senior campaign, the Hoosier will tie current 10th-ranked IU grapplers Mark Galyan (1978-1982) and Scott Holman (1986-1990) on the list at 105.
Also looking to end his career in record-setting fashion is two-time All-American Brady Richardson. Richardson currently stands at 76 wins in his career, 29 wins out of the top-10 record book. Viktor Sveda (1997-2002) currently holds the all-time record with 149.
•A TALL MOUNTAIN TO CLIMB•
Indiana wrestling is looking at one of its toughest schedules under Duane Goldman's leadership. The Hoosiers, once the Big Ten season starts, open the campaign against currently unranked Ohio State (Jan. 20) and Purdue (Jan. 22). The Hoosiers then take on six straight ranked opponents in No. 6/4/4/4 Illinois (Jan. 27), No. 4/6/3/5 Iowa (Jan. 29), No. 5/5/6/6 Minnesota (Feb. 5), No. 12/13/12/12 Penn State (Feb. 10), No. 13/12/13/11 Northwestern (Feb. 17) and No. 3/3/5/3 Michigan (Feb. 19) to close out the regular season.
•BIG SHOES TO FILL•
Indiana's starting lineup has a few key changes from last year's roster, which leaves the young Hoosier grapplers with some big shoes to fill.
At 133, 2004 starter Brian Dyer left the IU program and has now left the spot open for either another redshirt freshman Andrae Hernandez.
At 141, both seniors Mike Simpson and Cameron Sakon graduated to leave the weight class vacant. Looking to fill the opening will be either junior Ian Campbell or senior Nick Spatola, who is the only one of the two with collegiate experience.
At 174, a weight usually filled by current senior Brady Richardson who moved to 197, is now open for sophomore Marc Bennett, who will be looked upon to carry the load for the Hoosiers.
After an early graduation, Andy Rios vacated the 184-pound starting spot, leaving room for either junior Josh Buuck, sophomore Justin Curran or redshirt freshman Heath Vandeventer.
The final opening poses the greatest to fill in not only talent, but leadership. Senior Pat DeGain, who filled the heavyweight division and achieved All-American status in his senior season, leaves the weight class open for sophomore Dave Herman. Herman had seven starts in 2004-05 behind DeGain, going 6-1 in his appearances on the mat.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now