Wrestlers ready for Northern Iowa

After two disappointing losses last weekend in New Jersey, the IU wrestling team is looking to recover this Saturday at the Northern Iowa Open. This will be IU's second open tournament of the season. IU's first open tournament of the year, the Missouri Open, had over 500 wrestlers and nearly 25 schools participated. The 52nd annual UNI Open will be only slightly smaller with 300 wrestlers spanning Divisions I, II and III competing. Among them will be the University of Illinois. The Hoosiers encountered the Fighting Illini at the Missouri Open where the team seemed unstoppable, taking four of 10 weight class titles. \nBut the Hoosiers are finding plenty of positives to build on in preparation for Saturday and the rest of the season. Junior Coyte Cooper has been one of the biggest contributors to the team so far. Cooper holds the No. 8 ranking in the 141-pound weight class and earned second place in his weight class at the Missouri Open. \n"We just have to make sure we do what we do in practice," Cooper said.\nOne of the few bright spots for IU on the New Jersey trip was freshman Joe Dubuque. Dubuque went 2-0 on the trip including a pin at Rider on Nov. 30. Dubuque's breakout performance earned him the No. 18 ranking at 125-pounds this week. \n"We were pretty successful out at Missouri," Dubuque said. "We just have to get in a winning mindset."\nCoach Duane Goldman said he was disappointed with what happened in New Jersey. \n"We had hoped for a little better turnout. We definitely did not get any breaks or calls out there," Goldman said.\nBut as disappointed as Goldman was, he said he still believes his team can improve at Northern Iowa and for the rest of the year if they try to learn from the trip. \n"Hopefully, it was a learning experience," he said. \nGoldman said he knows that his team is young, but he pointed out that Dubuque and sophomore Pat DeGain, who won the 197-pound weight class at the Missouri Open and is ranked ninth at 197, have been performing well even though they have relatively little experience. \nGoldman said he thinks learning from what happened in New Jersey and using it as a foundation at Northern Iowa and for the rest of the year will get the team back on track and back in the win column. \n"It's never a positive thing as far as the win-loss column goes, but if we can learn something and become a better team from it then it will be worth it," Goldman said.