Hoosiers gear up for Wolverines

Entering the home stretch of the regular season, the pressure is on for Indiana wrestling as they gear up for Friday’s match against No. 17 Michigan.

The Wolverines will enter University Gym with an arsenal of six nationally ranked wrestlers as opposed to Indiana’s three. 

Putting this aside, however, IU Coach Duane Goldman said as he has in previous matches that his goal right now is getting his wrestlers healthy for Friday’s match. This, he noted, will be the key to a successful end to the regular season and the beginning of post season.

Coming off of a difficult weekend on the road, Goldman expressed that while the Hoosiers did not attain the victories they were looking for, they were right in it against Wisconsin and Illinois. 

“In our match against Wisconsin without Roach and LeBlanc, we still had a couple of tight matches,” Goldman said. “Not disappointing losses, but close matches.”

Even with the tough performances of such wrestlers as senior Ryan Konz, filling in for injured junior Ryan LeBlanc, and sophomore Luke Sheridan, Goldman said that it has been hard to wrestle in full force because of the many injuries suffered over the season. 

“Luke Sheridan had a great match and Ryan Konz had another really good match, so we had some good performances, but we are still really working on trying to get healthy”, said Goldman.

In addition to entering the Michigan match with the injuries that have plagued the Hoosiers throughout the season, Indiana will be forced to forfeit the 197 pound weight class, not only for Friday’s match, but for the rest of the season. With the early injury of starting redshirt Garret Goldman, Goldman said he did not want to push replacement senior Tarek Alaruri. 

All of these factors in play, Goldman expressed that he expects another demanding match from the Wolverines, but is hopeful with the performances that he has seen in his wrestlers.

“That puts a lot of weight on Ryan, and Adam and Taylor, but Luke is coming on and hopefully some of the other guys can do something,” Goldman said.

The Hoosiers will enter Friday’s dual against Michigan with no wins in the Big Ten, as opposed to Michigan’s single win against Northwestern. 

While both teams are close in record, Goldman and his staff cannot help but notice the close matches Michigan has had against the teams that Indiana was shut down by. Expecting a close match, Goldman articulated that the home crowd will aid in gaining the first Big Ten win of the season.

To make the home crowd as loud and forceful as possible, Friday’s match will mark high school night in University Gym. 

With the younger wrestlers there, Goldman said that it will be an exciting atmosphere for both the younger boys and the Indiana wrestlers and will make the Hoosiers give Michigan their best performance.