Indiana University Athletics
W.I.N. Ranks Hoosiers in Top 25
10/26/2006 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Oct. 26, 2006
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Indiana wrestling team has garnered national recognition in the preseason once again, being rated 24th in the nation in Wrestling International Magazine's team rankings. Additionally, five individual wrestlers have been ranked in the top 20 of their individual weight classes, led by two-time All-American Brandon Becker, who is projected third in the 157-pound division.
Returning NCAA qualifiers Dave Herman (12th, heavyweight), Max Dean (14th, 165 pounds) and Andrae Hernandez (18th, 133 pounds) were ranked in the top 20, while redshirt freshman Matt Coughlin (18th, 149 pounds) also gained recognition.
The Hoosiers were one of nine Big Ten teams ranked in the top 25, led by preseason favorite Minnesota, which has been ranked No. 1 by a number of publications heading into the 2006-07 season. Iowa (fourth), Michigan (seventh), Ohio State (10th), Northwestern (11th), Michigan State (16th) and Illinois (20th) were also ranked by the publication.
Becker brought home his second straight All-America selection in 2006, finishing in seventh place at the NCAA Tournament. He posted a 28-9 record overall and a 13-4 record in dual meets for the Hoosiers a year ago.
Herman qualified for his first NCAA championship in 2006 after turning in a seventh-place finish for the Hoosiers at Big Tens. The junior went 28-16 on the season for IU, with a 10-6 dual meet record and a 3-5 mark in Big Ten duals.
Dean earned his second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament a year ago after going 26-16 in his sophomore campaign. He turned in his second straight fifth-place finish at Big Tens after posting a 10-6 dual mark on the season.
Hernandez followed up a brilliant redshirt campaign by blasting onto the scene as a redshirt freshman in 2005-06. Hernandez finished the season with a 28-11 record, including a 7-1 mark in the Big Ten. He finished seventh at the Big Ten Championship.
Coughlin was one of the top high school wrestlers in the country before coming to IU a season ago. In his redshirt campaign, the Evansville, Ind., native went 19-7 for the year, including a first-place finish at the Cleveland State Open.
Indiana will begin its 2005-06 campaign on Saturday, Nov. 5, with intra-squad wrestle-offs at Brown County High School in Nashville, Ind. The Hoosiers begin intercollegiate competition the following week in East Lansing, Mich., at the Michigan State Open.
