Wrestling loses in weekend duals

With its second consecutive loss on the road, the IU wrestling team moved to a 6-7 record this weekend.

After dropping the first dual to No. 20 Wisconsin on Friday 26-9, IU was on the move to Champaign, Ill., to compete against No. 6 Illinois.

The Hoosiers did not come out of Illini country with a “W.”

Having won only three of ten weight classes, IU dropped its fifth Big Ten conference dual, losing 30-9 to the Illini.

The Hoosiers were out-wrestled in the lower weight classes early in the day, only gaining a few points in each bout.

Between three matches lost by major decision and one technical fall against freshman Alonzo Shepard at the 133-pound position, the Illini found themselves with an early lead against the Hoosiers.

Moving into the middle weight classes, the Hoosiers found themselves in the same bind as in the earlier weight classes, only putting up points in the single digits. 

The first IU win of the day came from sophomore Taylor Walsh at the 157-pound weight class.

Taking a 3-0 victory against the Fighting Illini’s Matt Nora, Walsh, as in past matches, put up the first points of the day for the Hoosiers.

However, Walsh’s points did not do much, as the next two wrestlers lost their bouts.  
As in the dual against Wisconsin, the next points put on the board by IU came at the 184 weight class by sophomore Luke Sheridan.

In a close match, Sheridan was able to pull a 10-5 victory against Illinois’ Tony Dallago, who is ranked twelfth in the nation.

Sheridan’s victory edged the Hoosiers closer to the Fighting Illini. However, the Illini remained the dominant team.

IU tried to battle back within the remaining weight classes, but Illinois did not falter.
As in previous matches, IU was forced to forfeit the 197-pound position.

IU Coach Duane Goldman noted this weight class has been up in the air since the beginning of the season after the starter redshirt freshman Garrett Goldman was injured in the match against Manchester University.

Not wanting to push senior Tarek Alaruri, Goldman said, this class forfeited the last three matches. 

At the last match of the day, the Hoosiers came to a final total of nine points.
Junior Adam Chalfant was victorious in his heavyweight bout against Illinois’ Chris Lopez, winning 7-2.

Though Chalfant was personally successful, it was not be enough to catch the Illini.
On Friday, the Hoosiers fell to Wisconsin in a dual in Madison, Wis.

In addition to Walsh and Sheridan’s victories, sophomore Joe Duca came away with a 7-3 win against Matt Cavallaris in a 125-pound weight class bout.  No other Hoosiers would win, however.

Moving to 0-5 in the Big Ten, IU is only four matches away from the Big Ten Championships.

Big Ten action will continue for the Hoosiers this Friday against No. 18 Michigan in University Gym.