Despite Thanksgiving meals, Hoosiers prepare for Hoosier Duals

Last Time:
The IU wrestling team won all three of its matches, earning a score of 121-18 at the IU Quad meet on Nov. 18. Redshirt freshman Zach Zimmer (125 pounds), sophomore Ryan Leblanc (174 pounds), senior Matt Powless (197 pounds) and the tandems of redshirt freshman Sawyer Morris and sophomore Anthony Fretwell (165 pounds) and sophomore Jowan Gill and junior Tarek Alaruri (285) all went undefeated.

The Setup:
The team will wrestle at 9 a.m. Saturday in the University Gym.

The Context:
The team will compete in the Hoosier Duals at home. This will be the second dual meet of the season. Players will be wrestling against Northern Illinois, Campbell and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Last season, the team won all three rounds of the Hoosier Duals for a combined total of 78 points. This year, it looks to better its performance as they prepare for the upcoming meet.

“The Hoosier Duals is going to be a step up in the quality of our opponents, and so we need to step up our quality as well,” IU Coach Duane Goldman said.

Saturday will also be Middle School Day. All middle school students are invited to come and watch the meet, per IU Athletics website. Following the meet, there will be a free clinic given by the IU wrestlers and coaches.

Quote of Note:
“With this week being Thanksgiving, weight is going to be a challenge,” Goldman said. “But we’re going to close ties this week and have a good week of practice.”

Notable Number:
Six — The number of weight classes the Hoosiers went undefeated in at the IU Quad.