Hoosiers try to topple Penn State for 1st time

University Park is the next stop for the IU road show, where the grapplers will look to avenge a 37-4 drubbing last January in Bloomington.\nThe Hoosiers, at 12-1 is off to their best start since the 1995-96 season, have never won in six meetings against Penn State.\nCoach Duane Goldman will get an opportunity to reverse that trend Friday. He will have a full lineup to work with for the first time in weeks. Two starters were held out last week because of a bout with the flu.\n"Mike Simpson's over his sickness," Goldman said. "Pat (DeGain)'s doing better -- there's no injuries in particular this week. We have no excuses not to do well."\nThe Hoosiers will need all of their seniors if they hope to escape this weekend unscathed. After the Friday night contest with the Nittany Lions, the team will stop in Columbus Sunday to wrestle Ohio State and Virginia. The Buckeyes have also had an easy time with the Hoosiers in recent years, winning eight straight and leading the all-time series 44-35-2. IU and Virginia have only met twice, with Indiana coming out victorious both times. They haven't met since 1992.\n"I think we have a great opportunity to come away with two Big Ten wins," said junior Joe Dubuque. "We just have to keep doing what we've been doing." \nGoldman also praised his starting freshmen, who are still adapting to the longer college wrestling season.\n"(Brandon) Becker and (Max) Dean have really stepped up," he said. "A lot of time the season starts to feel long. It's a trial by fire, you just got to get used to it."\nBoth will face ranked competition this weekend. Becker, No. 15 in the country, will wrestle Penn State's No. 17 sophomore Nate Galloway, who leads the team in wins with 23. Dean will be wrestling Virginia's lone ranked wrestler, No. 17 senior Will Durkee.\n"There are a lot of areas to improve on as a whole and individually," Dean recently said. "But there's not a hole in our lineup." \n-- Contact Staff Writer Andrew Peterson at andpeter@indiana.edu.