IU wins tourney in lopsided fashion

IU wrestlers combined for individual records of 18-2 in Saturday's Hoosier Duals at Assembly Hall to help IU to a 36-3 victory over Eastern Illinois University and a 37-3 win over Gardner Webb University. The duals were the first for the No. 16 Hoosiers.\nIU coach Duane Goldman was happy with his team's effort, which came off of a bye week.\n"We wrestled well, obviously you want to win every match," he said. "Gardner Webb and Eastern Illinois came out ready to wrestle. It was a good challenge for our guys after a week off and I think it should help us out in upcoming competitions."\nWhile the Hoosiers dominated the event as a team, a number of the individual match-ups came down to the final period, including a pair of sudden victory wins by sophomore Justin Curran and junior Matt Cooper.\nRedshirt freshman Andrae Hernandez was another wrestler who pulled out a hard fought victory, holding off a late push in the final 30 seconds of the match by Brendan Couture of Gardner Webb to come away with a 5-4 decision.\n"I really didn't prepare for that match too well this weekend," said No. 20-ranked Hernandez. "I was cutting weight, so going into that match I was a little tired. Towards the end I was dancing around just trying to avoid getting taken down."\nIn his second match, Hernandez left no room for question, taking a 23-6 technical fall win over EIU's Tony Metzger to improve his individual record to 10-2. Hernandez said he felt more energized for that match and was able to wrestle better.\n"My body adjusted to my weight," he said. "The coaches wanted me to wrestle hard that last match and I just wanted to show them I could do it, so I went out hard and wrestled hard."\nAnother Hoosier who came away with a win at the last second was sophomore Dave Herman, who led 3-2 in his match with EIU's Daniel Perez before he scored a two-point takedown with seven seconds left to seal a 5-2 decision.\n"I was pleased to see them win those close matches," Goldman said. "When it comes down to those types of situations, a lot of times it's just a gut check. I was glad that we came through and showed the intensity and drive to win those."\nWhile many Hoosiers won close decisions, sophomore Max Dean made a statement with two impressive wins. In his first match, Dean took a 22-9 major decision, and followed that by pinning Gardner Webb's Dave Pelsang five minutes into the match. Dean credited his two wins to help from his teammates.\n"I'm just really happy with all of our work," said Dean, who improved to a 7-3 record. "It's not just me but all my teammates pushing me paid off in those two victories."\nSenior Joe Dubuque and sophomore Brandon Becker both kept undefeated seasons going. No. 1-ranked Dubuque pinned Gardner Webb's Cortney Roberts 2:54 into the match and scored a forfeit win against EIU to improve to 6-0. No 4 Becker (5-0) started out with a 6-0 decision and then disposed of EIU's Tyler Williams by pinning him just 32 seconds into the match.\nThe Hoosiers will compete in a couple of events during winter break, starting with the FITE Duals in Park Forest, Ill., Sunday, and then they travel to Evanston, Ill., to compete in the Midlands Dec. 29 and 30.