Rivalry week not just for basketball teams

IU has historically dominated Purdue on the mats, leading the career series 51-30-3. But this year, IU coach Duane Goldman knows the No. 17 Hoosiers won’t be able to coast to a victory.\n“Purdue is always a big match,” Goldman said. “Yeah, it’s the in-state rivalry, but aside from that they have a good team this year.”\nFresh off their first conference win of the season, IU (12-5, 1-3) will prepare for a weekend against two of their biggest rivals. The Hoosiers face the Boilermakers (9-4, 1-2) Friday night in West Lafayette before returning home to do battle against No. 9 Illinois (9-2, 1-1).\n“Even though Purdue hasn’t been ranked as of yet, they match up well,” Goldman said. “They’ve had a lot of close matches against really good teams, and being on the road we know it will be a huge challenge.”\nSunday’s home meet will swing the all-time series between the Hoosiers and the Illini to favor the victor. The series is tied at 37-37-1.\n“Illinois just beat Penn State, who delivered us our worst loss of the season,” Goldman said, “so they obviously have a very strong team.”\nSunday will also serve as senior day for the Hoosiers, who will honor Brandon Becker (15-3, 3-1), ranked No. 8 in the nation in the 157-pound weight class, and Marc Bennett (9-6, 2-2), who last week fell out of the rankings in the 184-pound weight class.\nThe Purdue match is special for many of IU’s in-state products, including sophomore Angel Escobedo (22-0, 4-0), No. 2 in the 125-pound weight class and freshman Kurt Kinser (27-7, 2-2), who represents the Hoosiers in the 149-pound weight class.\n“For me, Purdue was an option along with IU,” Escobedo said of his college decision. “The rivalry has always been preached: basketball, football, wrestling, everything. We try to take it like every other match, but we know since it’s a rivalry we are going to have close matches and it’s going to be a harder fought dual than any other team because we are in state and we know we will wrestle each other well.”\nKinser echoed Escobedo’s thoughts.\n“Its going to big because the crowd will be into it,” Kinser said, “and it will be a lot louder and more energetic. We’re going to be able to notice the crowd when we wrestle.”\nEscobedo will look to keep his perfect season alive when he goes against Purdue’s Akif Eren (12-12). The sophomore has received high accolades from his coach throughout the entire season.\n“Angel is a great student of the sport,” Goldman said. “He not only works hard in the aspects of wrestling and in all phases of what it takes to be a student athlete, he’s also very committed and sets very high goals for himself. Angel’s an individual who knows what it takes to win a national championship.”\nKinser’s total of 27 pins is second-highest in the Big Ten, and the freshman is tied for first in Division I with 17 pins.\n“Kurt, being a freshman, has started off well,” Goldman said. “But there are a lot of challenges out there for him. His weight, 149 pounds, is a very tough weight in the Big Ten.”