Wrestlers look to shoot down No. 8 Nebraska

After traveling to Michigan for the third time this season, the IU wrestling team will wrestle at home tonight against Nebraska.

Coming off of two losses against Michigan and Michigan State this past weekend, the Hoosiers are looking to break their losing streak.

“We have our work cut out for us again,” IU Coach Duane Goldman said. “Nebraska is a top 10 team. They’re a great, athletic squad.”

According to NCAA rankings, Nebraska is currently tied for No. 7 with Ohio State, having only suffered one loss thus far this season against the  Iowa Hawkeyes.

“We’re not so much focusing on Nebraska but focusing on ourselves and working on the weaknesses we’ve shown in the past few weeks,” redshirt sophomore Ryan LeBlanc said.

The Hoosiers came to a tie with the Spartans Sunday, with a score of 20-20. With the new tie-breaking rules, the Hoosiers ended the meet with a 20-21 loss.

“Michigan State wrestled pretty well, but we gave up too many close matches and close decisions,” Goldman said. “Turn any of those around, and we would have won  the dual.”

The team said it’s moving forward this week by reviewing its past performances and working on its positioning and attention to detail.

“We’re really focusing on the basics of position and making sure what we’re doing, we’re doing correctly,” Goldman said.

“The team is not paying enough attention to detail. They’re going into it just wrestling and kind of scrapping. While I appreciate the attitude, it’s leading to a lot of mistakes.”

After the loss against Michigan State, the team said it’s working to be more cognizant of the scoreboard both as a team as well as individually.

“I’m definitely focusing on getting on the board first, scoring early and not getting behind,” LeBlanc said. “It’s about staying on my offense and making sure I score the points I need.”

After wrestling the Cornhuskers on Friday, the Hoosiers will continue to wrestle on a competitive schedule for the remainder of the season.

“The rest of the year is going to be difficult with teams like No. 6 Illinois, Purdue and Northwestern,” Goldman said. “Our guys will really have to raise the level.”

But for now, the team is solely concentrating on its next meet.

If IU proves victorious, its team record will improve to 7-4 for the season.

“Nebraska has a really athletic, solid team,” Goldman said. “We’re going to have to be at our best to stay with them.”

The meet will take place at 7 p.m. Friday in the University Gym. Coverage of the meet can be found on BigTenNetwork.com and will be re-aired on the Big Ten Network at 2 p.m. Monday.