Indiana University Athletics
#24 Hoosiers Travel to #5 Minnesota
1/13/2011 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Jan. 13, 2011
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The #24 Indiana University wrestling team (10-2, 0-1) jump back in conference action on Friday, Jan. 14, heading north to take on the #5 Minnesota Golden Gophers (8-3, 0-0) inside the Sports Pavillion. BigTenNetwork.com will be in the house, streaming the match live online (a subscription is required to view).
Four Hoosiers are ranked nationally while Minnesota is expected to send six nationally-ranked wrestlers onto the mat Friday night.
PROBABLE LINE-UPS
#24 INDIANA vs. #5 MINNESOTA
125 lbs.- Justin Brooks, r-Fr. (12-11) vs. #5 Zach Sanders, r-Jr. (17-2)
133 lbs.- Matt Ortega, r-Jr. (14-9) vs. David Thorn, r-Fr. (7-5)
141 lbs.- Mitchell Richey, Fr. (13-12) vs. #5 Mike Thorn, r-Sr. (25-1)
149 lbs.- #15 Kurt Kinser, r-Sr. (19-6) vs. Danny Zilverberg, r-Fr. (12-7)
157 lbs.- #6 Paul Young, r-Sr. (20-6) -or- Alex Warren, r-Sr. (2-4) vs. Joe Grygelko, r-Jr. (3-4)
165 lbs.- Ryan LeBlanc, r-Fr. (7-5) vs. #7 Cody Yohn, r-So. (19-6)
174 lbs.- Nick Avery, r-Sr. (9-11) vs. #8 Scott Glasser, r-Sr. (21-5)
184 lbs.- Eric Cameron, r-Sr. (12-12) vs. #8 Kevin Steinhaus, r-Fr. (21-6)
197 lbs.- #6 Matt Powless, r-Jr. (27-2) vs. Joe Nord, r-Sr. (8-4)
285 lbs.- #19 Ricky Alcala, Grad. (21-6) vs. #7 Tony Nelson, r-Fr. (18-2)
Fans can get updates through Twitter by following @gopherwrestling and/or @iuwrestling1.
NUMBERS DON'T LIE
Matt Powless leads all of Division-I wrestling with 11 major decisions and is tied for third nationally with 27 victories overall (most in the Big Ten). Kurt Kinser can also be found in the national statistical rankings, slotted 13th with his nine pins (T-2nd in the Big Ten).
AMONGST NATION'S ELITE
Four of Indiana's 10 regular starters are ranked in the latest Intermat national rankings. Five different IU grapplers have cracked the top-20 at some point this season. Those currently ranked are:
Paul Young- #6 at 157 lbs.
Matt Powless- #6 at 197 lbs.
Kurt Kinser- #15 at 149 lbs.
Ricky Alcala- #19 at 285 lbs.
As a team, Indiana is ranked 24th nationally.
FLAT TO THE MAT
High school classmates Kurt Kinser and Paul Young each rank in the top-10 for most career pins in school history.
Kinser is sticking opponents at record-breaking pace, already ranking third all-time with 40 pins and just eight falls shy of surpassing Viktor Sveda (1998-2002) for the top slot. Young owns 31 career pins, pulling him even with former teammate Trevor Perry (2007-10) for eighth place all-time.
AIMING FOR THE CENTURY MARK
Kinser and Young are also racking up wins at an impressive pace and are closing in on 100 career wins. Kinser has 99 victories while Young has had his hand raised 97 times. The redshirt seniors need to reach 112 win to crack IU's all-time top-10.
YOUNG SHINES AT THE SCUFFLE
Paul Young made a run to the 157-pound championship match at the Southern Scuffle, defeating five adversaries in the process. His most impressive victory came in the semifinals when he avenged an earlier season loss, this time beating out seventh-ranked Bryce Saddoris of the Naval Academy. Young finished off a single-leg trip late in the second period for a takedown to grab the 4-2 lead. He then rode out Saddoris for the entire third frame, erasing his riding time deficit and securing his spot in the finals.
VIVA LAS VEGAS
Kurt Kinser and Matt Powless each garnered third-place finishes at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Kinser defeated three nationally-ranked wrestlers while Powless had to down a pair of ranked grapplers to earn third place.
FAST START AT THE MSU OPEN
Indiana Wrestling began the 2010-11 season at the Michigan State Open. Head Coach Duane Goldman saw nine of his wrestlers place in the tournament, including 197-lbs. champion Matt Powless and four additional finalists.
NO BIG TEN, NO PROBLEM
Indiana dominated their non-conference slate once again, going 10-1 in dual matches. IU swept the Disney Duals, Hoosier Duals and IU Quad with the lone defeat coming to Missouri. The Hoosiers out-scored the IU Quad opposition by a combined score of 130-9.
Players Mentioned
