Upset-minded Hoosiers pummel No. 10 Wildcats

In surprising fashion, the No. 21 Hoosiers (13-8, 2-6) shocked host No. 10 Northwestern (8-9, 3-5) to finish out the season. \nIU had previously dropped its last three Big Ten contests to slip towards the cellar of the conference. Much credit for the thrilling victory went to seniors Brandon Becker and Marc Bennett, who pushed the Hoosiers over the edge by pinning their \nopponents.\nIU came out firing, winning the first three matches of the day starting in the 125-pound weight class when No. 3 sophomore Angel Escobedo held on for a 3-1 decision over No. 5 Brandon Precin. Escobedo improved his record to 25-1 on the season and dispelled any doubts about him belonging near the top of the rankings.\nNo. 12 junior Andrae Hernandez was next for IU. Hernandedz sustained a wave of early attacks from opponent Eric Metzler to earn a takedown and two points for the Hoosiers. Hernandez maintained his intensity on the mat and won 7-1 to give IU a 6-0 advantage.\nFollowing Hernandez was junior Scott Kelly’s 4-1 decision over the Wildcats’ James Kohlberg. Kohlberg got the nod over No. 14 Keith Sulzer, and Kelly capitalized on the switch, earning a hard-fought victory and another three points for the Hoosiers, who took a 9-0 lead.\nA loss from freshman Kurt Kinser at the 149-pound level was the only setback for IU, but Becker and Bennett picked wins next along with several other Hoosiers soon after.\nBecker was first. He overcame an early takedown and wore down Northwestern’s Andrew Nadhir in the third period and picked up an important six points for the Hoosiers, pinning the Wildcat and extending the IU lead to 15-3.\nNo. 14 sophomore Matt Coughlin earned a difficult victory for the Hoosiers with a 3-1 decision over Dominic Marella at 165-pounds to make the score 18-3 for the visitors. After a loss at 174-pounds, Bennett, the second senior, stepped up to close out his regular season career.\nBennett battled for position in the first period and finally got his opponent down to the mat and never let go, leaving it all in his final match. He gave the Hoosiers a 24-6 lead they never \nrelinquished.\nThe Wildcats picked up two tech falls in the heavyweight matches and earned eight points to make the final score 24-14. But in the end, it was over before the final bell rang and the Hoosiers picked up momentum going into the post-season.