Hoosiers take top seed, undefeated record into weekend Virginia Duals

As the IU wrestling team prepared for practice Wednesday afternoon, its last one before this weekend's Virginia Duals in Norfolk, Va., coach Duane Goldman gathered his team and stressed the need for a focused practice. \nGoldman wasn't just using cliché coach's appeals - he knows the No. 15 Hoosiers will need to be prepared to face a slew of good teams this weekend. \n"It's really a very even field," he said. "All 16 teams there, including ourselves, are actually fairly evenly matched. Every team in the field is good."\nThe 5-0 Hoosiers have earned a No. 1 seed for the tournament, but Goldman said he doesn't see that as a particular advantage.\n"A seed is just a number," he said, "and I think we're deserving of that seed right now as according to last year's nationals. We (have) got to show up and wrestle, and when you're the No. 1 seed, that puts a big target on yourself as well. So I know those other teams will be gunning for us -- we're not going to sneak up on anybody."\nGoldman also said how the Hoosiers respond to the seed will say a lot about his team.\n"If we want to continue to improve as a team, and wrestle as a top team we need to learn to wrestle when we're favored to win," Goldman said. "It sounds simple, but sometimes that takes getting used to as well."\nThe team tournament is in a different format than the other tournaments that IU has competed in this season. Redshirt freshman Andrae Hernandez said he feels this format will be an advantage for the Hoosiers.\n"If someone wins, it's going to feed off to another wrestler," he said. "I think this will help us a lot."\nGoldman agreed the team tournament format is good for the Hoosiers, as they have had success with it in previous seasons, including last year's NCAA Tournament where the Hoosiers finished in ninth place. Despite that success, the coach says his team still has work to do.\n"I think we still need to improve our strength as a dual-meet team," Goldman said. "I think this gives us the opportunity to do just that, to come together as a team, to show our strength and for each individual to step up on their own and contribute."\nThe Hoosiers will kick off the 16-team tournament with a first-round dual meet against Virginia Tech at 9 a.m. Friday. If the Hoosiers get past the Hokies, they will go on to face the winner of the Bloomsburg University-Old Dominion dual. The semifinals and finals will follow Saturday. \nThe Virginia Duals is the last tune up for the Hoosiers before they begin their Big Ten season Jan. 20 against Ohio State, a team IU could face in the Virginia Duals if all the right pieces fall into place. \nThe Hoosiers said the quality of teams will help them prepare to compete in a tough Big Ten conference, which features nine top-25 teams, including No. 2 Minnesota, No. 4 Illinois, No. 5 Michigan, No. 6 Iowa, and No. 10 Penn State. \nSenior captain Brady Richardson, who is ranked No. 6 in the 197-pound division, said he hopes the team can find some success in this weekend's tournament to carry over into the Big Ten season.\n"Hopefully we'll win the Virginia Duals and hopefully that will give some of the younger guys, and the team as a whole, a lot of confidence going into the season," Richardson said.