No. 15 Hoosiers drop weekend series to Illini, Hawkeyes

With No. 3 Illinois and No. 7 Iowa coming into Bloomington during the weekend, the IU wrestling team knew it was going to face some tough wrestlers. The No. 15 Hoosiers hoped to exploit some of the individual match-ups, but in the end those match-ups caused their first two losses of the season.\nThe Hoosiers began the weekend falling to the Illini 26-6 Friday, then dropped their match against the Hawkeyes Sunday 30-12. In both dual meets, the Hoosiers took early advantages with wins by senior Joe Dubuque.\nThe No. 1-ranked Dubuque started the Hoosiers (11-2, 2-2 Big Ten) off in the right direction with a 4-0 decision over No. 3 Kyle Ott in a rematch of last year's NCAA Finals, which Dubuque won.\n"I had a really good week of preparation for Ott," Dubuque said, "I was real confident. I just went out and really stuck to the plan and came out victorious."\nDubuque again started the Hoosiers off against Iowa with a 15-6 major decision over Lucas Magnani to improve his record on the season to 16-0, extending his winning streak to 23 straight.\nIn the Illinois meet, freshman Andrae Hernandez followed Dubuque with a 4-0 win over Gabe Flores, avenging a 3-1 loss in the Missouri Open. The decision gave IU a 6-0 lead, but that would be the last match of the night the Hoosiers would win. Luck never seemed to bounce in the Hoosiers' direction, as three of the last eight matches were decided by one point, and a fourth went into overtime.\nAgainst Iowa, Hernandez posed an 11-0 major decision against No. 21 Daniel Dennis to give IU an 8-0 lead, but once again luck just wouldn't side with the Hoosiers.\nSenior Nick Spatola was pinned by No. 15 Alex Tsirtsis, followed by junior Matt Cooper's disqualification for an illegal hold. The Hawkeyes took over the lead, 12-8.\nEven when the Hoosiers showed signs of life, crucial mistakes kept them from capitalizing. Against No. 4 Mark Perry, IU sophomore Marc Bennett had a 5-4 lead and tried to score another two points on a takedown. When Bennett wasn't able to complete the takedown, he tried to finish the match without allowing Perry to score. But Perry saw an opportunity and turned the tables, pinning \nBennett.\n"I thought I'd just hang there, kill some time," Bennett said. "That's where I messed up. I just hung around there and he slapped me with a move that he's kind of known for."\nEven though he was disappointed with the results from the weekend, IU coach Duane Goldman said he realized the quality of the teams that IU faced.\n"Obviously we want a better result from these matches, but they're all top-10 teams," the coach said. "It's not like they're patsies. We've beaten everyone who's ranked behind us and now we're trying to climb the ladder."\nThe Hoosiers attempt to continue that climb Sunday when they travel to Minneapolis to take on No. 1 Minnesota.