Hoosiers To Face Purdue

2/3/2003 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling

Bloomington, Ind.- After dropping two matches to top 10 opponents on the road, the Indiana Hoosiers (15-6, 0-3 Big Ten) will return to the friendly confines of University Gymnasium to host archrival and No. 22 Purdue (11-3, 0-2 Big Ten) on Friday at 7:00 p.m. Both the Hoosiers and the Boilers come in on the heals of two match losing streaks to ranked opponents. Last week, the Hoosier fell at No. 3 Ohio State (34-12) and at No. 8 Michigan (25-13), while Purdue lost to No. 16 Penn State (21-15) and No. 10 Illinois (20-15) over the last two weeks. Each team is still in search of its first Big Ten win this season.

Not only will they be battling for their first Big Ten victory respectively, but they will be looking to pick up an all important Titan Series point. The Titan Series was founded last season and is a yearly all sports battle between the two rivals. Each team is award points for regular season victories. IU captured the title last season, 10-9. This season Indiana also has the early edge at 4.5-3.0. This season's Titan Series is pasted on 20 points and the winner will be the first to be awarded 10.5 points.

Indiana's wrestling team holds the all-time advantage over the Boilermakers at 48-29-3. The Hoosiers also own a 21-10-2 mark in Bloomington against Purdue. Last season, the Boilers won a hotly contested match, 18-17, in Evansville, Ind.

For complete notes in PDF format click HERE

Breaking It Down - Pins

Cooper has 15 pins on the season, becoming one of just five Hoosier grapplers to gain 15 or more pins in a season. He is tied for sixth on the all-time pins list with 25 in his career at IU.

Here is a look at individuals' pins on the season and in their respective careers:
Coyte Cooper -15- 25
Pat DeGain- 8- 16
Joel Powers- 9- 9
Greg Schaefer- 7- 19

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 29.Despite dropping his first Big Ten dual meet to Penn State's No. 10 Scott Moore, Cooper is 29-2 on the season with 15 pins to his credit.

About Pat DeGain

He has already won more dual meet bouts this season than he previously had in his career. He is 19-2 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.

Injury Update

Redshirt freshman Joe Dubuque has missed the past two Big Ten duals due to a nagging knee injury. He is listed as day-to-day.

Two Days Against the Top Ten

The Indiana wrestling team dropped its second straight match to a top 10 opponent with a 25-13 loss to No. 8 Michigan in Ann Arbor. Indiana dropped to 15-6 overall and 0-3 in the Big Ten, while the Wolverines improved to 7-4 and 2-0 in the Big Ten.

The Wolverines jumped out to a 9-0 advantage, thanks in part to the Hoosier forfeit at 125. At 133, seventh-ranked Foley Dowd decisioned senior Greg Schaefer, 6-2, for the early nine-point margin.

Junior Coyte Cooper picked up the Hoosiers first win of the night with a 5-3 overtime decision over UM's Clark Forward. Locked at three entering the overtime period, Cooper registered a takedown to pick up the win. The win was Cooper's 20th in dual meets as he improved to 29-2 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten.

The Wolverines reeled off three straight wins, two by technical fall to all but seal the win. The Wolverines held a commanding 22-3 lead at that point. The Hoosiers picked up three of their own at 174, 184 and 197 to narrow the gap to 22-13 before U of M won the final match.

At 174, Freshman Brady Richardson picked up his first win since Jan. 4 with a 7-4 win over R.J. Boudro of Michigan. Richardson returned to the lineup last night against Ohio State after missing part of the year with an injury. He improved to 16-6 overall and picked up his first career Big Ten victory.

Senior Ty Matthews continued his winning streak with his 15th straight victory win, a major decision over Willie Breyer, 10-0. The win improved Matthews' record to 18-4 overall and a perfect 2-0 in the Big Ten conference.

After having his 18-match winning streak snapped in overtime Friday night, sophomore Pat DeGain returned to his winning ways with a 6-3 victory over 16th-ranked Kyle Smith of Michigan. The win was DeGain's 27th of the season as opposed to only two losses. He is 19-2 in dual matches and 2-1 in the Big Ten.

Against the Buckeyes

For the second straight week, the Indiana wrestling team dropped a conference dual meet to ranked opponent, this time in the form of No. 3 ranked Ohio State. The Hoosiers fell to the Buckeyes in Columbus, 34-12.

Things looked bright for the Hoosiers in the early going as they jumped out to an early 9-0 lead after winning the first two matches of the night. Senior Greg Schaefer pinned Ohio State's Rob Rosenfield in 2:04 at 133 lbs. The pin moved the Evansville, Ind., native into a tie for 10th on the Hoosiers career pins list with 19. He has seven pins this season.

Junior 141-pounder Coyte Cooper downed Ohio State's Rob Rosenfield, 11-8. Rosenfield entered the match ranked 16th according to InterMat Wrestling, while Cooper was sixth.

The third-ranked Buckeyes responded to the Indiana run with one of their own. Ohio State's 16th-ranked 149-pounder Josh Daugherty picked up a pin. Third-ranked 157-pounder Keaton Anderson and fifth-ranked 165-pounder John Clark followed Daughtery up with back-to-back technical falls to put the Buckeyes up for good at 16-9.

Indiana's Ty Matthews picked up his 75th career victory as a Hoosiers with a 10-7 win over Casey Kaputska at 184.

The feature bout of the night between top 10 ranked Pat DeGain of Indiana and Anton Talamantes of Ohio State. The match was a fight to the end as the match was knotted up at three going into the final period and at five with sudden death overtime looming. Talamantes had a 5-4 lead with seconds left in the match, but DeGain was able to even it at five with a 1-point escape. It didn't take the seventh-ranked Talamantes long to gain the upper advantage and the win with a takedown in overtime. The loss snapped DeGain's 18-match winning streak and dropped him to 26-3 overall.

Triple Duals

The Indiana wrestling team rebounded from Friday night's loss to No. 16 Penn State by picking up three victories at the University of Indianapolis Triple Dual Meet. Indiana downed Carson-Newman (42-3), Truman State (39-9) and the host Indianapolis (34-12). Indiana improved to 15-4 on the season.

The Hoosiers began the day with a dominating 42-3 victory over Carson-Newman. Indiana won nine of the ten matches, including four by fall. Indiana then downed Truman State 39-9, including three pins. In the final match of the day, IU downed the ninth-ranked team in Division II, Indianapolis, 34-12. Indiana picked up three wins by pin against Indianapolis and one by technical fall.

Dubuque downed Chonci Houston of Carson-Newman, 6-2. Against Truman State's Steve Cox, Dubuque turned in a major decision victory, 19-3. In his final match of the day, he picked up a pin of Indianapolis' Wiley Craft at the 1:12 mark of the first period.

Senior Greg Schaefer followed suit at 133 as he also picked up three victories on the day. Schaefer picked up two major decisions and one pin on the day.

Junior Coyte Cooper rebounded from his second loss of the season at 141 by picking up three victories on Saturday, all by pin.

Sophomore Pat DeGain continued his winning streak in picking up three victories at 197. DeGain is currently riding an 18-match winning streak.

Freshman heavyweight Joel Powers also went 3-0 on the afternoon, including two by fall. Powers started the day off by pinning Tommy O'Neil of Carson-Newman. Powers would need everything he could get against Indianapolis' Evan Love as he downed Love 4-2 in overtime.

Redshirt freshman Andy Rios went 2-0 on the day at 184 for Indiana picking up wins over Carson-Newman's Andrey Sharapov and Indianapolis' Mike Jackson. Rios win over Sharapov came by pin, while his win over Jackson was a technical fall, 21-6, win.

Freshmen Matt Cooper and Isaac Knable each went 2-1 on the day for Indiana. Cooper's loss came to the 5th ranked 149-pounder in Division II, Indianapolis' Mitch Napier, by pin.

The Big Ten Opener

The Hoosiers came into Friday nights Big Ten opener with No. 17 Penn State riding a six-match winning streak. The Nittany Lions put an end to the Hoosiers streak with a dominating 37-4 victory at University Gymnasium.

Things didn't go the Hoosiers' way early as they dropped the first seven matches of the night. Included in that run was the marquee match-up at 141 between Indiana's #5 Coyte Cooper and Penn State's #10 Scott Moore.

Cooper and Moore split last season with Moore picking up the pin in the dual meet and Cooper picking up the pin in the conference meet. Moore snapped Cooper's 21-match winning streak by pinning the Anacortes, Wash., native 2:48 into the match. Moore improved to 39-6 on the season, while Cooper fell to 24-2.

Sophomore Pat DeGain picked up the Hoosiers' only victory of the night as he dominated Ryan Cummins, 19-5. The win improved fifth-ranked DeGain's record to 23-2.

Freshman Matt Cooper lost a tough match to #18 Nathan Galloway at 149 lbs. Cooper got a take down late in the match, but couldn't over-come a four-point deficit and lost 5-3. Cooper is now 13-11 on the season.

Redshirt freshman Andy Rios looked to pick-up where senior and No. 9 Ty Matthews left off. Matthews sat out with a knee injury. Rios struck with fourth-ranked Mark Becks at 184, but couldn't pull off the upset with a 9-3 loss. Rios fell to 9-6 on the season.

To Lead Into the Big Ten Season...

Indiana wrestling started a long weekend of competition off right, defeating Eastern Illinois by a team score of 35-15.

Starting at 133 pounds, senior Greg Schaefer set the standard as he defeated EIU's Mike Stanley by major decision, 17-5.

Ranked fifth in the nation at 141 pounds, junior Coyte Cooper kept his undefeated streak alive as he pinned Brian Sbertoli in 2:43.

True freshman Matt Cooper gained his third-straight victory over EIU's Chris Jordan convincingly as he got the 13-2, major decision in the 149 pound bout.

Indiana sophomore Andrew Wolf decisioned Tom Tovello in the 174 pound matchup as senior Ty Matthews, ranked 12th in the country, won by pin over Josh Lepper, gaining the victory in 2:37.

Indiana continued their winning ways as they picked up three victories on Saturday. IU downed Missouri Valley (32-12), Southern Illinois-Edwardsville (43-3) and Eastern Michigan (33-12).

Senior Greg Schaefer (133 lbs.), junior Coyte Cooper (141 lbs), freshman Matt Cooper (149 lbs), senior Ty Matthews (184 lbs), sophomore Pat DeGain (197 lbs) and freshman Joel Powers (Hwt) all went a perfect 3-0 on Saturday. Coyte Cooper, DeGain and Powers eached picked up two pins as well.

Freshman Issac Knable picked up his first dual meet victory and pin against Matt Olvia of Southern Illinois-Edwardsville at 157 lbs. Knable went 4-1 earlier in the season at 149 lbs. in Opens.

The Wendy's Duals

The IU wrestling team improved its record with two wins, despite dropping a close battle to Cleveland State, 21-15.

The Hoosiers faced UT-Chattanooga for the first match of the day and pulled out the 30-14 win in the final three bouts.

The Hoosiers then faced Cleveland State and the match came down to the final, heavyweight bout. They lost their first dual meet in seven tries although IU jumped out to an early lead. Matthews decisioned his Cleveland State counterpart, No. 4 Gerald Harris, 3-2 to pull back to within three points as the Hoosiers were down, 12-15. With Pat DeGain's 6-4 decision, the match was even, 15-15. True freshman Powers could not give the Hoosiers the scoring they needed as he lost by fall and IU lost the match, 21-15.

IU took on host Ashland University and came away with a 37-3 win, losing only one match.

Beyond the Wendy's Duals

Indiana took on Gardner-Webb, a participant at the Wendy's Duals, in Ashland, Ohio, on Sun., Jan. 12 and came away with yet another team win, 37-7.

In Other News

While the Hoosier starters were battling at the Wendy's Duals on Jan. 12 in Ashland, Ohio, a host of other IU grapplers participated in the Roger Denker Open. At 133 pounds, Cameron Sakon finished 3rd at 133 pounds, going 5-1 for the tournament. Two Indiana wrestlers placed in the 184 pound bracket as Andy Rios took home second place with a 2-1 record and Jack Barnhisel came in fourth with a 3-2 record. Rounding out the placewinners was freshman Josh Buuck who finished second at 197 pounds, going 3-1. William Campbell and Chad Watson also competed in the Open.

Success at the Buckeye Duals

The Hoosiers won four straight dual meets to finish as the best team in the Duals on Jan. 4.

Five IU grapplers went undefeated individually. Joe Dubuque at 125 pounds, Coyte Cooper at 141 pounds, Andrew Wolf (1-0) at 174, Ty Matthews at 184 pounds and Pat DeGain at 197 pounds defeated each of their opponents en route to extending their team dual meet record to 5-2 on the season.

In the first series IU won 41-3 over the Duke Blue Devils and went on to defeat Buffalo, 19-16, Clarion, 26-12, and Northern Illinois, 18-11.

Big Ten Wrestler of the Week

Indiana's 141-pound Coyte Cooper got an early Christmas gift when he was named the Big Ten's Wrestler of the Week on Dec. 23.

Cooper was instrumental in the Hoosiers' upset of then-No. 9 Missouri in their dual meet home-opener on Dec. 21. Cooper defeated J.P. Reese of Missouri in a 9-2 decision. The win marked the second over Reese this season and extends Cooper's dual meet record to 3-0 on the year.

Cooper also won his first collegiate individual title at the Northern Iowa Open on Dec. 7 and finished second at the Missouri Open.

Cooper was ranked in the top 10 by all polling outlets and boasted a perfect 11-0 record in dual meets at the time.

Upsetting the Top Ten

Christmas came early for the Hoosiers Saturday, Dec. 21 afternoon as they upset the then-ninth-ranked Missouri Tigers in dramatic fashion, 20-18, improving to 1-2 in dual meet competition.