Hoosier wrestlers prepare for two top 10 opponents

As the IU wrestling team enters its practice facility everyday, a quote on the wall stares down at them, reminding the members of the need to work hard.\n"Unless you have prepared and deserve to emerge victorious, do not expect to win or be disappointed when you lose," the saying reads.\nFinding someone who knows the origin of this quote is a difficult task.\n"I think it was Dan Gable," guessed senior Joe Dubuque, referring to the legendary Olympic wrestler.\n"It's been up there as long as I've been here," said the team's head trainer, Kip Smith. \nHe suggested IU's own head coach Duane Goldman. He was correct. \n"It's a Goldman original," the coach said.\nIt's not hard to find other signs in the room that display the value the team places on hard work. Above pictures of past IU NCAA Champions and All-Americans are the words "Work Develops Champions." The wall across from that reads "There is no substitute for hard work." \nThe team is hoping its dedication to hard work will pay off this weekend as the No. 15 Hoosiers (11-0, 2-0 Big Ten) play host to two top 10 teams this weekend in Bloomington. Friday night the team faces No. 3 Illinois (5-0, 1-0 Big Ten) and then it will meet No. 7 Iowa (7-4, 1-1 Big Ten) Sunday.\n"This is by far the toughest weekend so far this year," Goldman said. "We have some other tough weekends coming up, but as far as two teams in the same weekend, this is probably our biggest test."\nBoth Iowa and Illinois bring in ranked wrestlers. In the 149-pound division the Hawkeyes bring in No. 2-ranked Ty Eustice, who had been ranked No. 1 in that division until he suffered a loss last weekend. Facing Eustice for the Hoosiers will be junior Matt Cooper, who was injured last weekend but was still able to wrestle in IU's 24-13 win over Purdue. Goldman said he is now healthy and will be ready for this weekend.\nPerhaps the toughest individual test of the weekend will be for sophomore Brandon Becker, who is ranked No. 6 in the 157-pound division. Against Illinois, Becker will be matched against No. 1 Alex Tirapelle who had the No. 1 seed entering last season's NCAA Tournament. In the Iowa match, Becker will face No. 8 Joe Johnston, who was the runner-up in the NCAAs. Becker said he hopes to use this weekend to improve his ranking.\n"Whenever you wrestle someone who's ranked ahead of you, it's a chance to move up, get some good Big Ten wins in, and helps your seeding for the end of the year," Becker said.\nBut the most intriguing match-up of the weekend might be Dubuque's match against the Illini's Kyle Ott. In last year's NCAA finals, Dubuque defeated Ott 2-0.\n"I know he's going to be fired up," the No. 1-ranked Dubuque said. "He's going to try to get some revenge for the NCAA finals. He's probably been looking forward to this match since last March."\nDubuque is 14-0 on the season and is trying to extend his 21-match winning streak. He is also trying to even up the series against No. 3 Ott, who currently owns a 2-1 advantage over Dubuque.\n"It's a pretty big rivalry," said Dubuque, who earned his 100th career victory Sunday against Purdue. "We're both returning All-Americans. We're both the top lightweights. It's always a good match when we wrestle"