No. 18 Indiana wrestling’s hot start to the season was cooled off by No. 11 Minnesota on Friday night as the Gophers took eight of ten matches to soundly defeat the Hoosiers in Wilkinson Hall. The Gophers put up three bonus point victories against the Hoosiers to propel them to a 28-6 victory.
Throughout the dual Minnesota was able to get to its offense much more consistently as it outscored the Hoosiers 68-23 in total match points.
“Understanding what we’re really good at,” head coach Angel Escobedo said when asked what specific adjustments his team should make in the future. “What's our go to attack? How do we take guys down? And then doing that in those moments when it's crunch time.”
Hoosier point-scorers included No. 31 Henry Porter at 133 lbs. and senior No. 22 Jacob Bullock at Heavyweight. Porter sealed a tight 3-1 decision over Gopher redshirt -senior Jake Gliva. Bullock got an important win over Gopher redshirt -senior No. 27 Garrett Joles via a 5-3 decision after a couple big wins.
“Staying in good position and really staying calm,” Porter said when asked what the key was to be winning close matches. “Just stay focused on what you’re trying to do.”
Escobedo notes winning close matches would have made all the difference.
“The dual meet was a lot closer than the score,” Escobedo said. “We lost a lot of close ones. For us to close that gap to get into the top ten we’ve got to win those matches.”
Escobedo mentioned that the rest of the season will not get any easier as mostly nationally ranked opponents remain on the dual schedule. Although not ranked in the nation, Indiana will have to fend off a very scrappy Purdue team next week in West Lafayette.
“It’s about building up from this last match here against Minnesota,” Escobedo said. “Improving the little things, we did wrong and then capitalizing," Escobedo said.
The Hoosiers look to bounce back against Purdue in West Lafayette next week on Jan. 29.
“We got Purdue, in-state rival, we really gotta get hyped for it,” Escobedo said.
