Simpson, DeGain finish off IU careers with home win

The Hoosiers had plenty of motivation Friday.\nIt was Senior Night, the last chance for Hoosier fans to see Mike Simpson and Pat DeGain wrestle in Bloomington. If that wasn't motivation enough, Purdue was the team staring back across the mat.\nIn the kind of hard-fought duel that has marked this rivalry, IU overcame the upset of junior All-American Joe Dubuque to post an 18-12 victory in front of the largest home crowd of the season. Unfortunately, the Hoosiers weren't able to end the season with a victory, as they lost at Iowa Sunday.\nStarting at 125 pounds, Purdue's Brandon Tucker took the early 2-0 lead by scoring just the second takedown all season against Dubuque. Dubuque rallied to tie it with a reversal. The two traded escapes in the second period before Tucker gained the upper-hand with another escape at 1:11 left in the third, and staved off Dubuque's attacks for the rest of the match, snapping his 17-match win streak. \nStunned, IU rebounded to take a 6-3 lead. Redshirt freshman Brian Dyer tied the score at three with a 4-2 decision, and Simpson finished his home career a winner by defeating Purdue's Ben Sprunger 7-6.\n"I could have wrestled better," Simpson said. "I was a little nervous going into it." \nAfter a loss at 149 pounds, the Hoosiers won the next three matches to go ahead 15-6. Yet the Boilermakers would not go away. They won the next two matches to get within striking distance at 15-12. But DeGain, wrestling for the first time since Jan. 30, would not be denied. His 4-2 victory clinched the match for Indiana, their first in three attempts against Purdue.\nSunday, the Hoosiers traveled to the unfriendly confines of Carver-Hawkeye Arena to take on No. 9 Iowa. Redshirt freshman Justin Curran, wrestling in his first Big Ten match in place of sophomore Josh Buuck, notched a 5-2 win.\n"Curran did a great job," DeGain said. "Being on call, he wrestled phenomenal. It's a mental game, and he had no time to prepare."\nAfter grabbing the nine-point lead, things began to unravel for IU the final matches. The Hoosiers are winless in the series since 1967.\n"Anytime you have an opportunity to win and you don't get it done, it's disappointing," said coach Duane Goldman. \n-- Contact Staff Writer Andrew Petersen at eduandpeter@indiana.edu.