Road trip closes with losses

After hitting the road for back-to-back meets against top 10 opponents on Thursday and Friday, the IU wrestling team will return home 0-2.\nThe Hoosiers were handily defeated 37-4 by Penn State in their conference opener on Jan. 24. But the next day, IU swept Carson-Newman, Truman State, and the University of Indianapolis, earning momentum heading into the road trip.\n"We need the tough competition," coach Duane Goldman said before the trip. It turns out that the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes and the No. 10 Michigan Wolverines were just too tough.\nThursday night was difficult for the Hoosiers as they could not hold an early 9-0 lead and ended up losing to OSU 34-12. Things were not going to get easier for the Hoosiers as they left Columbus, Ohio, for a Friday night meet against the No. 10 Wolverines in Ann Arbor, Mich.\nThere would be no early lead for the Hoosiers this time. Michigan won five of the first six meets. Junior Coyte Cooper defeated Wolverine junior Clark Forward 5-3 in a 141-pound bout that had to be decided in overtime. This was IU's only lightweight victory at Michigan.\nIU tried to mount a late comeback behind wins by 174-pound freshman Brady Richardson, 197-pound sophomore Pat DeGain and 184-pound senior Ty Matthews.\nOnce again, IU received strong performances from Cooper, DeGain, and Matthews but shaky middle weight performances cost them. The Wolverines defeated the Hoosiers in the 149, 157, and 165-pound weight classes. \nOne of the few highlights for the Hoosiers on this trip was the fact that their health improved. Richardson's victory over Michigan freshman R.J. Boudro was his first victory since Jan. 4. Richardson has been troubled by injuries this year, and Goldman said it was good to have him back.\n"We're looking forward to Richardson coming back, he's been out for a while," Goldman said.\nMatthew's return was also a welcome sight for the Hoosiers, as he won both of his matches on the road trip.\nBut even with the return of Matthews and Richardson IU was not as healthy as it wanted to be. Freshman Joe Dubuque, the team's only 125-pounder, missed both meets, forcing the Hoosiers to forfeit a costly six points each to OSU and Michigan.\nDubuque has been one of the Hoosiers' strongest performers all year, being ranked in the top 20 in the nation, but a bad right knee has troubled him lately. There has been no word if the same injury kept him out of Thursday and Friday's dual meets.\nIU's next meet will be 7 p.m. Friday at home against Purdue.