Golden Gophers overpower IU

The IU wrestling team ran into a buzz saw Saturday night in the form of the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Fresh off a Friday night victory over No. 3 Illinois, the No. 12 neighbors from the north were victorious over the Hoosiers 32-7. \nThe loss was IU's second straight in Big Ten play and moved its record to 17-6 on the year and 1-3 in conference action. The Hoosiers were winners in two of the matches. Sophomore Joe Dubuque at 125 pounds and senior Coyte Cooper in the 141-pound division notched the only two victories for IU. \nIU coach Duane Goldman said he knows there's a lot more work to do to prevail in the close matches the Hoosiers are losing.\n"We have to have the guts to win the close matches," he said. "There were really only two matches that were blowouts. It's just a question of courage."\nDubuque, ranked No. 10 in the country at 125 pounds, easily beat an overmatched Andrew Domingues 15-4, earning IU its first four points of the meet. Dubuque now moves to 24-4 on the year and evens his Big Ten record to 2-2.\n"I'm pretty happy with the way I wrestled," Dubuque said. "Everybody wants to win the match as a team but when it comes to it, you have to go out there and do your job."\nCooper closed the night's wrestling action with a heart-thumping 4-2 win over Minnesota's Tommy Owen in sudden death. After grappling to a 2-2 regulation tie, Cooper got the advantage and leverage to pick Owen up and slam him down to the mat for the two-point takedown and victory. Cooper, ranked No. 5 in the nation, improves to 31-1 on the year and a perfect 4-0 in Big Ten play.\n"Anytime you go into sudden death it's tough because if you make one mistake, you give up the match," Cooper said. "I've been holding back a little bit and kind of unhappy about my energy level in the match. If there's a problem, I'm going to address it right now."\nGoldman said he is aware of Cooper's dedication and work ethic and knows it helps him prepare for every match he competes in.\nIU was down from the start as they lost the first seven matches of the meet. Cameron Sakon lost a close match 4-3 to Minnesota's Jeremy Anderson as the Golden Gopher had an escape move at the end for the one-point win. \nTwo more losses at 157 pounds and 165 put Minnesota up a commanding 13-0. Sophomore Brady Richardson, the No.12 wrestler in the nation at 174 pounds, was beat 8-4 as Gopher Jon Duncombe scored two critical takedowns late in the match for the four-point margin of victory. \nAnother late escape move was the difference in junior Andy Rios' 6-5 loss at 184 pounds as Rios moved to 23-8 on the year.\nJunior Pat DeGain suffered a medical forfeit in the 197-pound division to No.1 ranked Damion Hahn. DeGain's leg was in the air and in the arms of Hahn when the Hoosier wrestler sustained the injury. Goldman said he knows losing DeGain would be a blow to the team.\n"They're still assessing the injury but it looks pretty serious," he said. "We don't know yet, but hopefully we have him back by the Big Ten Tournament. He's ranked 10th in the nation. Team wise, dual meet wise, it's devastating. It's real unfortunate."\nThe Hoosiers will try to rebound next Friday with another home meet versus a top-ranked opponent. The second-ranked Michigan Wolverines will come calling to University Gym as IU will try to stop a mini slide. Matches start at 7 p.m. and will be the last at home for the two seniors on the team, Cooper and Andrew Wolf. \n-- Contact staff writer Colin Burns at coaburns@indiana.edu.