A weekend of ranked rivals

As the regular season winds down, the IU wrestling team will face a weekend of tough competition followed by a 13-day break to prepare for the Big Ten Championships, March 8 and 9 in Madison, Wisc. Tonight the Hoosiers will face the No. 2 Iowa Hawkeyes at 7 p.m. at University Gym. \nFollowing the Iowa meet, IU must prepare to travel to Minnesota to take on the No. 3 Minnesota Golden Gophers. The Gophers currently hold the top spot in the conference standings with Iowa and Michigan State tied at second.\nUpsetting two top five teams in the same weekend will be a difficult task to accomplish. But the Hoosiers, who are coming off their first conference win of the season with a 28-9 victory over Northwestern last Friday, are feeling up to the task.\n"Iowa and Minnesota pose a huge challenge for us, and right now in the Big Ten any win is a good win, and we have to use it to the fullest," said coach Duane Goldman, who wrestled for the Hawkeyes from 1983-86.\n"These next two teams are both ranked in the top five, so we really have to focus," sophomore Pat DeGain said. \nIU's first test will be Iowa. The Hawkeyes enter tonight's meet boasting a 5-1 Big Ten record and have won their last three meets. Iowa's only conference loss came Feb. 7 at Michigan State, when after tying the Spartans at 19-19 after the completion of all ten bouts, the Spartans were awarded the victory because they had more pins in the meet. It was Michigan State's first victory over Iowa in 22 meetings.\nSince then Iowa has defeated three straight ranked opponents: No. 14 Penn State, their arch rival No. 3 Minnesota and No. 17 Purdue.\n"We have to start somewhere, but now we have to focus toward Iowa and Minnesota," senior Ty Matthews said after the Northwestern meet. \nMatthews has been a mainstay for the Hoosiers this year. Matthews, since moving from heavyweight to 184-pounds, has gone undefeated with a record of 17-0 and currently holds the No. 8 ranking in the nation. Tonight Matthews will likely be pitted against Iowa senior Jessman Smith, who holds the No. 1 ranking.\nAfter tonight it is off to St. Paul for the Hoosiers as they conclude the regular season by taking on the Minnesota Golden Gophers at 1 p.m. Sunday. The Gophers hold first place in the Big Ten standings with a 6-1 conference record. A victory over the Hoosiers, who have not beaten Minnesota since 1968, would secure a regular season conference championship for the Gophers.\nMinnesota appears strong throughout their lineup. Seven Gophers are ranked in the top 15, including 133-pound senior Ryan Lewis. But make no mistake about it. This weekend the Hoosiers have upset on their minds.\n"These next two teams are both ranked in the top five, so it would be good to get a win," DeGain said.