Hoosiers drop Big Ten opener, but win next three

Friday night belonged to Penn State. The Nittany Lions came to Bloomington and took advantage of an IU squad bitten by the injury bug. Penn State won nine of 10 bouts to beat the Hoosiers by a final score of 37-4. It was the Penn State wrestling program's largest margin of victory since they joined the Big Ten Conference.\nBut the Hoosiers rebounded with a 3-0 performance only a day later, beating the University of Indianapolis, Carson-Newman and Truman State.\nThe Hoosiers missed the presence of junior 184-pounder Ty Matthews all weekend. The No.19 wrestler in his weight class in the nation injured his knee earlier in the week at practice and did not compete in the weekend's competitions. \nReplacing Matthews in the lineup was freshman Andy Rios. Rios drew a tough assignment, having to face Penn State senior Mark Becks who held the No. 4 ranking in the nation. Rios eventually lost 9-3.\n"I felt I was ready to go," Rios said. "You always have to be ready because injuries can happen at anytime."\nFreshman 125-pounder Joe Dubuque returned from his own knee injury on Friday night but was limping noticeably by the end of competition. Dubuque wrestled Penn State sophomore Adam Smith, but lost 10-5.\nThe only Hoosier victorious on Friday was 197-pound sophomore Pat DeGain, who defeated Penn State senior Ryan Cummins 19-5. In spite of Friday night's disappointment, DeGain did his best to keep a positive outlook.\n"We have a six week grind ahead of us," DeGain said. "We have to stay on the right track."\nCoach Duane Goldman said he was disappointed in Friday night's performance, but still tried to help his young team use the loss as a learning experience.\n"We have a lot of young guys who were wrestling up one or two weight classes against All-Americans," Goldman said. "It's a tough way to start the season, but we just have to learn and move on. We can't get down on ourselves."\nThe Hoosiers did not take long to get back on the right track. Saturday, IU traveled to Indianapolis for a three way dual meet against Carson-Newman, Truman State, and the University of Indianapolis.\nDubuque quickly dispersed further doubts of his health after going 3-0 with one pin on Saturday and most of the Hoosiers' squad followed suit as IU also went 3-0, earning blowout victories over each opponent, as IU wrestlers totaled ten pins on the day.\nIU's first opponent Saturday was the Carson-Newman Eagles. The Hoosiers made quick work of the Eagles, defeating them by a score of 42-3. Truman State and the University of Indianapolis fared only slightly better. \nThe Truman State Bulldogs were only able to win three bouts as IU won by a score of 39-9. Indianapolis also won only three bouts as IU defeated the Greyhounds 34-12. \nThe Hoosiers will resume the Big Ten season when they will travel to Columbus, Ohio, on Jan. 30 to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Hoosiers will then travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., to take on the Michigan Wolverines the next day.