Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Ready for Dual Action
12/11/2003 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Joe Dubuque, Coyte Cooper, Any Rios and Pat DeGain captured individual titles at the Northern Iowa Open last weekend. Overall, nine Hoosier wrestlers placed at the event.
Live updates of Sunday's meet will be available on iuhoosiers.com.
PROJECTED LINEUP - DEC. 13 & 14
125 - Joe Dubuque, 8-2 Overall Record
133 - Nick Spatola, 2-2 Overall Record
141 - Coyte Cooper, 12-0 Overall Record
149 - Matt McIntire, 11-4 Overall Record
157 - J.P. Stanley, 10-4 Overall Record; 8-2 at 157
165 - Tim Falls, 3-2 Overall Record; 2-0 at 165
174 - Brady Richardson, 8-3 Overall Record
184 - Andy Rios, 9-1 Overall Record
197 - Pat DeGain, 7-2 Overall Record
HWT - Joel Powers, 6-2 Overall Record
HOOSIER REPORT
The Hoosiers are off to a fast start to the 2003 season. IU wrapped up a solid performance at the Northern Iowa Open last weekend with four wrestlers earning individual titles and nine grapplers finishing in the top six in their respective weight classes.
Senior Coyte Cooper improved to 12-0 on the season after winning six matches and taking the individual title at 141. Sophomore Joe Dubuque (125) and juniors Andy Rios (184) and Pat DeGain (197) joined Cooper in the winner's circle.
Thus far in 2003, the Hoosiers are 2-0 in dual meets. In its home opener, Indiana dominated Manchester, 36-6 and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, 36-9.
HOOSIER OPPONENTS
Missouri: Indiana opens the weekend against the Missouri Tigers, the eighth-ranked team in the country. Mizzou opened its season with an upset of then-No. 1 Oklahoma State, 21-17. The victory over the Cowboys is the only dual meet the Tigers have participated in this season.
Missouri places eight of its 10 wrestlers in the rankings this week, with the other two earning honorable mentions. Junior Paul Collum (133) and redshirt freshman Ben Askren (174) are the highest ranked Tiger wrestlers, peaking at No. 6 in the polls.
Eastern Illinois: Eastern Illinois comes to Bloomington after competing at the Northern Iowa Open, the same event the Hoosiers participated in, last weekend. Heavyweight Pete Ziminski went 4-0 at UNI, bringing home the championship in the division. The junior is an impressive 19-5 on the season, placing in the three other events EIU has competed in.
Along with Ziminski, Pat Dowty is off to a hot start this season. The senior's 11-5 record is highlighted by a fourth-place finish (at 133) at the competitive Missouri Open.
Wabash: Before facing IU, Wabash will host Purdue on Sat., Dec. 13., in its first dual meet of the season. The Little Giants are flying high after a good showing at the Midwest Invitational. The team placed in eight of ten weight classes, including a first-place finish by junior Chris Healy. The Jasper, Ind., native won the title at 174 pounds, running off four consecutive victories earning him Outstanding Wrestler of the Meet Honors. Healy is ranked fifth in the country in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association poll.
Gardner-Webb: The final team participating in the quad meet is Gardner-Webb. GWU wrestled at the Rubbermaid Open last weekend, featuring several ACC and Big Ten opponents. Erik Wince was the only member of the Bulldogs to place, garnering a fifth-place finish at 174. The senior led the team with a 5-1 record. Sophomore Brent Blackwell put forth a positive effort in the 194-pound class. Blackwell just missed placing, picking up four victories. In dual meets this season, Gardner-Webb has an 0-4 record.
Head Coach Duane Goldman
Duane Goldman is entering his 12th season at the helm of Indiana wrestling.
Goldman served as an assistant under former Indiana head coach and current Michigan head coach, Joe McFarland, before being elevated to the top spot in 1992. Prior to arriving in Bloomington, he spent a year as an assistant at the United States Military Academy (Army).
As a collegiate wrestler, he was dominant while under the tutelage of legendary head coach Dan Gable at the University of Iowa. In his four years as a Hawkeye, Goldman accumulated a 132-10 career record, winning four Big Ten Championships, and was a four-time NCAA All-American. After three consecutive second-place finishes, he won the NCAA Championship in his final season at 190 lbs. After winning the NCAAs, Goldman won the gold medal at the Pan-American Championships in 1987 and was a member of the 1987 World Cup Team. In addition, he served as an alternate on the U.S. Olympic team in 1988.
As the head coach for the Hoosiers, Goldman has had 28 different wrestlers named Academic All-Big Ten, 43 qualifiers to the NCAA Championship, highlighted by a school record eight in 1994. Of the 43 qualifiers to the NCAAs, Goldman has had nine wrestlers earn All-America status, including a 1996 Big Ten champion and NCAA finalist, Roger Chandler, and most recently, Viktor Sveda in 1999 and 2001. Kevin Stanley also earned All-America status in 2001 after finishing sixth at 165.
Assistant Coach Mike Mena
Mike Mena is in his fourth season as an assistant coach for the Indiana wrestling program. Mena came to Indiana after spending three years training with the Hawkeye Wrestling Club coached by the legendary Dan Gable. He trained in international freestyle wrestling and operated his own youth wrestling school full-time, where he coached several state and national champions.
Mena graduated from the University of Iowa in 1997 as a four-time All-American with a career record of 118-24. He was a national finalist in 1997 and captured a Big Ten title in 1995. Additionally, Mena was a three-time Big Ten Finalist and won Midlands titles in 1994 and 1995.
Assistant Coach Reggie Wright
Wright is in his second season as an assistant coach for the Hoosiers. Wright's main duties include working with the middle weights on their technique.
The Chicago, Ill., native was a three-time wrestling All-American during his tenure at Oklahoma State. In addition, Wright was a Big 12 champion for three consecutive years, wrestling in the 145-pound class. He also placed fourth in the U.S. Open in 2003, and is currently training for the Olympics.
Four Finish First
IU concluded a successful weekend at the Northern Iowa Open claiming four individual titles and placing a total of nine wrestlers in the top six in their weight classes. Senior Coyte Cooper won his second title of the season at 141 pounds and second-straight championship at the UNI Open, dropping second-seeded Jason Rhoten from Minnesota State in the title match. Joining Cooper in the winner's circle were sophomore Joe Dubuque (125) and juniors Andy Rios (184) and Pat DeGain (197).
Sophomore Brady Richardson finished runner-up at 174, while redshirt freshman Matt McIntire earned a fourth-place finish at 149. Sophomore Joel Powers (HWT) and freshman Brian Dyer (133) both turned out fifth-place performances and junior J.P. Stanley carded a sixth-place finish at 157.
Dubuque Picks Up First Title
By winning the 125-pound class at the Northern Iowa Open, sophomore Joe Dubuque collected his first collegiate victory to add to an already impressive career resume. The Bloomfield, N.J., native swept five consecutive matches, defeating Chris Helegassen of Northern Iowa en route to the championship. Last season, Dubuque compiled a 23-5 record as a redshirt freshman with seven major decisions and three pins.
Freshman Sensation
Brian Dyer, a true freshman out of Naperville, Ill., turned in an impressive performance at last weekend's Northern Iowa Open in the first action of his collegiate career. Despite dropping his first match, Dyer rebounded with five victories before losing his final two matches for a fifth-place finish at 133.
Dominating Dual
Indiana opened its dual meet season at home on Nov. 29 with victories over Southern Illinois-Edwardsville and Manchester. The Hoosiers dominated both clubs, knocking off Manchester, 36-6 and beating SIU-Edwardsville, 36-9. Seven Hoosiers swept a pair of matches including Joe Dubuque, Coyte Cooper, J.P. Stanley, Tim Falls, Brady Richardson, Andy Rios and Joel Powers.
Opener At Mizzou
The Hoosiers opened their season on Nov. 23 with a strong showing at one of the nation's most competitive events, the Missouri Open. Coyte Cooper captured his second collegiate title after rolling off four straight victories to win the championship at 141.
Four other IU wrestlers garnered top-five finishes in their respective weight classes. Matt McIntire placed second (149), Andy Rios netted third (184), junior Cameron Sakon finished fourth (141) and Brady Richardson claimed fourth (174).
All-American Candidate
Coyte Cooper has kicked off his All-American campaign in style. The fifth-ranked wrestler in the nation at 141 pounds has raced off to a perfect 12-0 start, winning individual championships at the season-opening Missouri Open on Nov. 23 and the Northern Iowa Open last weekend. Cooper has six pins and three major decisions in his 12 victories.
Moving Up The Chars
Coyte Cooper and Pat DeGain are climbing up the Indiana career wins and pins lists. With 12 victories this season, Cooper now has 94 in his career, moving into 13th place on IU's all-time career wins list. The senior's six pins have moved him into fifth place on the school's career pins list. Cooper now has 32 for his career, two pins behind former Hoosier standouts Rod Chamberlin and Trevor Elliot.
In addition to compiling a 7-2 record, DeGain netted his 19th career pin against Dan Berry of CMSU at the Northern Iowa Open. The junior now sits in a four-way tie for 11th place on the career list, only two pins behind former All-American Sam Komar.
Brothers In Arms
Last year the Cooper brothers reunited in Bloomington when Matt joined his brother Coyte on the squad. Last season, wrestling as a true freshman, Matt went 17-22 at 149 pounds. Meanwhile Coyte enjoyed an incredible season, compiling a 38-5 record and qualifying for his third consecutive NCAA Championship.
In their second season together, the two enjoy pushing each other and seeing each other succeed. Coyte is off to a 12-0 start to the campaign at 141 pounds, while Matt is 1-2 at 157 pounds.
IU In The Polls
The Hoosiers are ranked No. 23 in W.I.N. Magazine's Top 25 and are receiving votes in the InterMat Top 25 and the NWCA Top 25. In each of the three polls, seven of Indiana's opponents this season are ranked. Overall, seven Big Ten teams are ranked by W.I.N. and six are ranked by InterMat and the NWCA.
