DeGain leads Hoosiers to 2nd place in Virginia Duals

Senior heavyweight Pat DeGain became the 11th wrestler in IU history to notch 100 wins as the Hoosiers rolled to a runner-up finish at the Virginia Duals over the weekend.\n"I thought we had a great tournament," head coach Duane Goldman said. "We beat the third seed to get to the semis and went up against Nebraska, a top-four or -five team. It's the first time IU's ever made it to the finals at Virginia."\nThe sixth-seeded Hoosiers started the tournament with a 32-4 walloping of Lock Haven Friday. DeGain led the way with a pin, and junior Brady Richardson scored a 10-0 major decision in his return to action from injuries that kept him out for a month.\nIU followed that victory with a 26-10 win over Edinboro to move into the semifinals against Tennessee-Chattanooga Saturday. Featuring four wrestlers ranked in the latest W.I.N. polls, the Mocs were up to the challenge. Junior All-American Joe Dubuque gave IU a 10-6 decision over 19th-ranked Matt Pitts, but the scoring went back and forth until IU took three of the last four contests to put the match away. Richardson scored a pin, and after a loss by junior Andy Rios, sophomore Josh Buuck and DeGain closed out the scoring with back-to-back victories. \nDeGain, IU's senior heavyweight, needed just 29 seconds to pin the Mocs' Wes Taylor to reach his victory milestone. The pin was the fastest of the season for DeGain. \n"I feel good," DeGain said. "Not a lot of people get to do something like that. It was great to have the team there with me."\nWith the win, the Hoosiers advanced to the finals against the fifth-ranked and tournament No. 1 seed Nebraska, which scored a decisive 25-9 victory and dropped IU to their first loss of the season. Dubuque won by disqualification, and Richardson took a 6-2 decision to total the scoring.\n"We're not disappointed with our finish, just disappointed with the finals," Richardson said. "It was probably my worst match of the tournament."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Andrew Petersen at andpeter@indiana.edu.