Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Host #13 Huskers Friday Night
1/19/2012 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Jan. 19, 2012
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Indiana University wrestling team (6-4) begins the second half of their Big Ten schedule with yet another top-25 team coming to town. The 13th-ranked and newest conference brethren Nebraska Cornhuskers enter with an overall record of 10-1.
Dan Karell and David Obajtek are set to call the call the action being streamed live by BigTenNetwork.com (fee). Additional match coverage can be found, free of charge, via the IUHoosiers.com Live Blog.
PROBABLE LINE-UPS
125 lbs - Zach Zimmer, r-Fr. (8-9) vs. Shawn Nagel, So. (5-12)
133 lbs - Joe Duca, r-Fr. (6-13) vs. #19 Ridge Kiley, Jr. (11-7)
141 lbs - Matt Ortega, r-Sr. (19-9) vs. #6 Jake Sueflohn, Fr. (16-4)
149 lbs - #20 Taylor Walsh, r-Fr. (20-7) vs. Brandon Wilbourn, r-Fr. (9-6)
157 lbs - Sawyer Morris, r-Fr. (4-8) vs. #9 James Green, Fr. (21-3)
165 lbs - Preston Keiffer, r-Fr. (5-6) vs. #7 Robert Kokesh, r-Fr. (18-3)
174 lbs - Ryan LeBlanc, r-So. (21-7) vs. #20 Tyler Koehn, Jr. (13-6)
184 lbs - Luke Sheridan, Fr. (11-9) vs. #7 Josh Ihnen, Jr. (14-2)
197 lbs - #3 Matt Powless, r-Sr. (23-3) vs. James Nakashima, Sr. (12-6)
285 lbs - Adam Chalfant, r-So. (8-6) vs. #8 Tucker Lane, Sr. (17-2)
national rankings listed above come from Intermat
ALUMNI/FRATERNITY NIGHT
It's Alumni/Fraternity Night this Friday evening inside University Gym. Former IU Wrestling Head Coach Doug Blubaugh, along with all alumni, will be honored throughout the night. In addition, members of the greek community will take to the mat and battled it out in a few fraternity bouts.
HAVEN'T I SEEN YOU BEFORE?
Nebraska may be new to the Big Ten Conference this season, but the Cornhuskers and Hoosiers are familiar foes on the wrestling mat. The last meeting came in 2005 and the first way back in 1929. In total, the two teams have faced off in 15 dual matches with Nebraska leading the all-time series, 10-5.
GOLDMAN SEEKING WIN #250
Duane Goldman, the all-time winningest coach in school history, will reach a milestone with IU's next dual victory. It will be the 250th of his career. His career coaching record is 249-131-5 (.653).
POWLESS CRACKS TOP-10
With 112 career wins, Matt Powless has etched his name into the school's all-time record books, cracking the top-10 for career wins. By season's end, Powless has a legitimate shot at entering the top-five and is also in range of surpassing assistant coaches Pat DeGain (115) and Joe Dubuque (114); and volunteer coach Brandon Becker (119) on the all-time wins list.
Matt Ortega and Taylor Walsh are within striking distance of the record books as well. Ortega's 24 career pins place him seven away from cracking the top-10 while 10 falls for Walsh are three shy of the single-season top-10.
WALSH BUILDING A SOLID RESUME
Redshirt freshman Taylor Walsh has picked up some impressive wins this season and Intermat has noticed in their latest national rankings, slotting Walsh at #20 in the 149-pound division.
In addition to a 13-match winning streak, Walsh has wins over #5 Eric Grajales (Michigan), #11 Dan Kelly (Iowa) and a pair over #18 Dan Osterman (Michigan State), including a first-period fall in the most recent meeting this past Sunday.
NATIONAL NUMBERS
A year after Matt Powless led the country with 13 major decisions in 2010-11, Taylor Walsh is making a run to finish in the NCAA top-10 for pins this season. Walsh's 10 falls slot him sixth nationally and are tied for most in the Big Ten.
Several Hoosiers are also amongst the Big Ten's leaders in conference statistical rankings:
• Big Ten Wins: Powless - 23 wins, 3rd; LeBlanc - 21 wins, 4th; Walsh - 20 wins, t-5th; Ortega - 19 wins, t-9th
• Big Ten Major Decisions: Ortega/Powless - 7 MDs, t-4th; LeBlanc - 6 MDs, t-8th
Players Mentioned
