IU stumbles out of Big Ten gate

A lack of execution led to two hard-fought losses for the Hoosiers this weekend when they opened conference play.\n“We wrestled hard and we wrestled aggressively,” IU coach Duane Goldman said. “But we just did not execute.”\nFriday night, IU dropped a close contest to No. 13 Wisconsin by a score of 20-15. In a match televised on the Big Ten Network, the Hoosiers jumped out to an early 3-0 lead when senior Brandon Becker pulled off a gigantic upset in the 157-pound weight class over Wisconsin’s Craig Henning, the second-best wrestler in his weight class in the nation.\n“Injuries are injuries and everybody gets them,” Becker said. “You can’t really let them affect you; you just make your treatments and wrestle through them. But the other guy doesn’t care; he’s going to wrestle you just as hard and maybe even harder.”\nBecker injured his ankle in Jan. 19’s Hoosier Quad tournament, but still came out victorious in two of his matches. Becker’s return for Friday’s match looked doubtful during warm-ups when he was not announced in the lineup. But the senior ran out from the locker room area to a thunderous ovation and proceeded to put on an inspired display versus Henning. \n“I really wanted to beat these guys badly,” Becker said.\nThe Badgers upset IU on two occasions. IU sophomore Trevor Perry lost a tough match to Wisconsin’s Dan Clum in the 174-pound weight class. Clum came into the match with a 4-5 record on the season, and won by decision with a score of 6-3. In the 133-pound weight class, junior Andrae Hernandez was taken down in a 5-2 decision over the Badgers’ Zach Tanelli, which made the overall score 17-12 in favor of Wisconsin.\n“We didn’t do enough to make up for a couple of close calls,” Goldman said.\nThe Badgers closed things out, splitting the last two matches and taking home the victory.\nOn Sunday, the Hoosiers fell to Penn State 25-9. In a match filled with disappointment for the Hoosiers, one highlight for IU was sophomore Angel Escobedo winning his match, improving to 20-0 on the season.\nLooking to improve his practices’ efficiency, Goldman has decided to split practice time between the lighter weights and the heavier weights. \n“I think we were hesitant on some of our attacks and on some of our defenses just because we are developing bad habits,” Goldman said, “so we are opening up the mats a little bit by giving the guys more time.”