Indiana University Athletics
News From the Mat
1/23/2003 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
The Hoosiers look for their first win against the Nittany Lions in seven tries. Penn State is currently 7-3 on the year and enter the match after a 28-6 victory over Drexel in Philadelphia, Pa, 28-6.
Penn State boasts seven wrestlers who are ranked in at least one poll. The projected match-ups between the Hoosiers and Nittany Lions are as follows:
125 pounds -No. 12 Joe Dubuque (19-3) vs Adam Smith (PSU, 17-13)
133 pounds - Greg Schaefer (18-4) vs No. 8 Josh Moore (PSU, 25-3)
141 pounds - No. 5 Coyte Cooper (24-1) vs No. 10 Scott Moore (PSU, 38-6)
149 pounds - Matt Cooper (13-10) vs No. 18 Nathan Galloway (PSU, 24-9)
157 pounds - J.P. Stanley (3-7)/Isaac Knable (5-2) vs No. 9 Nate Wachter (PSU, 24-9)
165 pounds - Alex LaPointe (8-16) vs No. 14 Doc Vecchio (PSU, 19-11)
174 pounds - Andrew Wolf (10-8) vs Dan Waters (PSU, 3-6)
184 pounds - No. 9 Ty Matthews (16-4)/Andy Rios (9-5) vs No. 4 Mark Becks (PSU, 28-2)
197 pounds - No. 5 Pat DeGain (IU, 22-2) vs Ryan Cummins (PSU, 18-12)
Heavyweight - Joel Powers (12-6) vs No. 5 Pat Cummins (PSU, 22-3)
The spotlight match will come in the 141 pound bout when No. 5 Coyte Cooper and No. 10 Scott Moore face off. Cooper has not lost a match since the championship bout of the Missouri Open on Nov. 24, 2002, going 24-1 on the season and a perfect 15-0 in dual meets. Cooper also moved into ninth on the all-time pins list with 21 in his career and 11 on the season. Cooper is the highest ranked 141 pound Big Ten wrestler.
Pat DeGain is also the highest ranked 197 pound wrestler from the Big Ten Conference, though Michigan State's Nik Fekete, Ohio State's Anton Talamantes and Minnesota's Damion Hahm are in the sixth, seventh and eighth spots, respectively.
For full results of the Big Ten opener, check iuhoosiers.com Friday evening. Results from Saturday's competition at the University of Indianapolis will be posted as soon as the host school makes it available and will be on iuhoosiers.com.
Breaking It Down - Pins
Cooper has 11 pins on the season, beccoming one of just 12 Hoosier grapplers to gain more than ten pins in a season. He is tied for ninth on the all-time pins list with 21 in his career at IU.
Here is a look at individuals pins on the season and in their respective careers:
Coyte Cooper 11 21
Pat DeGain 7 15
Joel Powers 7 7
Greg Schaefer 5 17
Hoosiers Climbing The Charts
For the third straight week, the Hoosiers continue to recieve votes in at least one wrestling outlet. IU continues to receive votes in the InterMat Wrestling poll.
Pat DeGain is currently the highest ranked Hoosier grappler, ranked sixth by both InterMat and The Wrestling Mall (TWM) and 11th by Amateur Wrestling News (AWN). He was ranked a season-high fifth by InterMat last week and drops one spot after a 4-0 weekend.
Coyte Cooper is ranked eighth by InterMat, TWM and AWN. His season-high ranking came last week as InterMat ranked him fifth in the country at 141 pounds.
Redshirt freshman Joe Dubuque is ranked in two polls that did not previously have the 125-pound Hoosier ranked, despite the fact that he sat out the weekend with injury. He is ranked 14th by both TWM and AWN and 13th by InterMat.
Senior Ty Matthews is ranked ninth by InterMat after barely being ranked in the top 20 by InterMat last week. TWM has still not added Matthews to its top 20 rankings and AWN moved Matthews into the top 20, placing him in the No. 20 spot.
Undefeated on the Season
Coyte Cooper is a perfect 15-0 in the dual meet season. Cooper has lost only once this year, dating back to the championship match of the Missouri Open on Nov. 24.
Since moving from heavyweight to 184 pounds, Ty Matthews has been a pillar of strength and scoring for Indiana. He is 13-0 in dual meets at 184 while Pat DeGain has lost only once in dual meets and just twice all season, boasting a dual meet record of 14-1.
Cooper Having Stellar Season
Coyte Cooper has already won more matches this season than in either of his previous two seasons as a Hoosier. In both 2000 and 2001 he won a total 22 matches while he has already bested that number by winning 24. His unblemished dual meet record of 15-0 is the most dual victories he has had in his IU career.
In 13 dual meets he has won by pin eight times and by major decision four times.
Coyte Not The Only Cooper
True freshman Matt, younger brother to Coyte, has found his niche in the Hoosier program. The 149 pound grappler has won his last six bouts. He started the six-win streak with two pins. The streak began on Jan. 12 at the Wendy's Duals.
About Pat DeGain
He has already won more dual meet bouts this season than he previously had in his career. He is 14-1 on the season while he finished 12-4 in 2002.
Knable Making His Mark
True freshman Isaac Knable, originally expected to redshirt the 2002-03 season, made his debut on the mat for Indiana when he faced Missouri Valley's Pat Giangrosso. Though he didn't grab his first collegiate victory then, the next match he won convincingly, pinning SIU-Edwardsville's Matt Oliva in 1:48. The pin marks the first win by fall at 157 pounds for the Hoosiers this year.
