IU wrestling will take on Southern Illinois University Edwardsville at 7 p.m. Friday in its second dual competition of the season.
The Cougars finished with a record of 6-14 last season and will be looking to right the ship this year with their new batch of freshman wrestlers.
Despite dropping the first dual competition at Virginia last Saturday, IU senior Bryce Martin said he thinks the team picked up plenty of momentum at Sunday’s Hokie Open to carry the team into this weekend.
“It was a good day with plenty of competition to go around,” Martin said. “We made some good adjustments over the weekend, and now we’re ready to get into it.”
With the team warmed up after its first weekend of competition, the Hoosiers are looking to come out strong in Southern Illinois this weekend.
IU has been dominant in its matchups with SIU Edwardsville in recent years, winning its last 10 bouts. Even with IU’s historical success against the Cougars, first-year Coach Angel Escobedo said he isn’t cutting any corners when it comes to the team’s preparation.
“The team was solid against them last year, but we can’t count them out this season,” Escobedo said. “They had a really great recruiting class this year, and they’re coming with a strong lineup.”
Citing some things he saw in close matchups against Virginia as a point of improvement, he has had the team focusing on little, fixable things to get everyone ready for Friday. He said he hopes the focus he has placed on these technical aspects will round out his squad’s performance and help avoid repeating the simple mistakes that cost the Hoosiers their first bout of the season.
The Hoosiers are planning on adding to the momentum they built Sunday as they inch closer to Big Ten action. Following Friday at SIU, IU will make an appearance at the Navy Classic on Nov. 9.
