Team loses close match

The men's wrestling team remained winless in conference matches after dropping a close match against Purdue on Thursday and a second match Sunday to Illinois at home.\nThe Hoosiers headed into Evansville to face Purdue riding a two match win streak against the Boilermakers but fell 18-17. No. 15 Purdue (13-3, 3-2) won six of the ten matches including two matches in overtime.\nLeading the way for the Hoosiers (8-10, 0-5) was senior Viktor Sveda who recorded a pin. Sophomore Coyte Cooper and freshman Pat DeGain had major decisions, and sophomore Steve Amy also had a win. Senior D.J. Radnovich made his return to the Hoosier line-up but is still not at 100 percent and lost a tough match.\n"We were looking pretty good," Cooper said. "We lost a couple tough matches. We wrestled good enough to win."\nDespite the setback, head coach Duane Goldman was pleased with the way his team performed. He said a lot of people stepped up and wrestled well.\n"We wrestled extremely well," Goldman said. "The Purdue coach told me that we deserved to win, but unfortunately we didn't. As a team as a whole, we competed really well."\nSveda said it was a couple of mistakes that allowed Purdue to claim the match.\n"We went out to get the victory but came up short," he said. "A few mess-ups cost us the match."\nOn Sunday, the Hoosiers took on No. 13 Illinois. The Illini (10-2, 3-1) won all but two matches on the day on their way to a 29-9 victory. \nCooper and Sveda set the pace for the Hoosiers again. Cooper started the day off with a pin. Sveda recorded a win five matches later to finish out the IU scoring. Cooper struggled with a knee injury earlier this season, but he said he is getting more comfortable on the mat.\n"I feel real good," Cooper said. "I'm just now getting my confidence back. The more matches that I have, the more confidence I will pick up."\nThe Hoosiers will be in action again next Sunday as they take on Iowa.