Trip to NCAAs on the line in Iowa City tourney

This is the time of year that senior Pat DeGain looks forwards to most. The regular season is finished -- a success by all accounts. He was just the third Hoosier ever to take first at the Midlands Championships, and the 11th to notch 100 career victories. But this Saturday, those accolades will be meaningless when the whistle blows on the opening of the Big Ten Championships in Iowa City. \n"This is my opportunity to step it up and do what I'm capable of," the heavyweight said. "At this point, there is no getting upset."\nRankings are virtually meaningless at this point as the top seven from each weight class move on to the NCAA Championships later in the month in St. Louis. Twice DeGain has wrestled his way through to the tourney, and with his collegiate career winding down, he will have one last shot at achieving All-American status.\nJoining DeGain in the quest to return to the NCAAs will be senior Mike Simpson, who qualified as a sophomore at Arizona State before transferring to IU; junior Joe Dubuque, 6-1 in the Big Ten this season and a third-place finisher at last years tournament; and junior Brady Richardson, who placed fifth at last years tournament and finished 2005 by winning 10 of his last 11.\n"I feel pretty good and I'm ready to go," Richardson said. "It's a freaking hard tournament - almost everybody's ranked, and you're going to be banged up a lot."\nDeGain and Richardson also thought that the freshmen were doing well going into the tournament. When pressed for their picks on who would be the biggest surprise at the Big Tens, both mentioned 157-pounder Brandon Becker. The redshirt-freshman finished the season with 25 wins, including an upset of Iowa's then-No.8 Joe Johnston.\n"Becker has had a good year," DeGain said. "He's had his ups and downs, but I think he's going to have a good tournament and turn some heads."\nWith time winding down on one of the most successful years in team history, IU coaches feel that the team is in good shape. The Hoosiers 16 dual wins were second most in school history, and their four Big Ten victories were the most since the 1995-96 season. In addition, IU became the 19th school in NCAA Division I-A history to 600 dual wins with their 23-13 defeat of Kent State Dec. 21. \nIU coach Duane Goldman said he was ready to see his team go out and get it done.\n"As coaches we've done the best we can to prepare them," Goldman said. "Now it's just about ten individuals trying to do their best."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Andrew Petersen at andpeter@indiana.edu.