Indiana University Athletics
IU’s Confidence Growing Through Big Tens
1/16/2016 6:20:00 PM | Wrestling
By: Sam Beishuizen | Twitter
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Measuring momentum in college wrestling gets tricky.
There's a popular debate among wrestlers asking, "Is wrestling a team or an individual sport?" Indiana head coach Duane Goldman regularly calls it an individual sport, and he's not alone. Yet the Hoosiers' wrestlers regularly credit their teammates for their success.
Truth be told, both answers appear just as right as they are wrong. At its core, wrestling is an individual sport manipulated to fill the aspects of a team. Come match day, no single wrestler has an impact on anything a teammate does during a bout, but the team aspect is key for training and support when the Hoosiers aren't competing.
The latter is where No. 22 Indiana appears to be clicking as it enters the heart of Big Ten competition.
The Hoosiers bounced back from a loss to No. 1 Penn State with a runaway win against Maryland on Friday night. After the win, momentum was on the mind with six Big Ten dual matches over the next four weeks.
"These guys go through blood, sweat and tears together, and they're close. They're a close unit," Goldman said. "And I think they compete hard, not just to win, but I think they compete hard for their teammates…They believe in each other. It makes a big difference."
That belief stems back to early December when Indiana upset then-No. 20 Minnesota on the road, freshman Elijah Oliver said. The Hoosiers, who regularly wrestle eight underclassmen in their 10-man lineup, jumped into the national spotlight and started gaining confidence in themselves.
"After we beat a team that we weren't supposed to beat, that really kind of made us feel we can beat anybody," Oliver said.
The momentum from Minnesota carried into this month's dual against top-ranked Penn State, where the Hoosiers were beat 34-8. Oliver called it an eye-opening match because it was the first time Indiana was knocked down this year in a dual.
Though it's not something he wants to do over again, Oliver said it was a valuable learning experience.
"It was huge. It definitely kept us hungry," he said. "It gave us a reality check that, hey, we have to keep training hard. We can't take days off and kind of slack in areas that are really important."
Penn State was the kind of loss Goldman expected to happen eventually. In the Big Ten, where nine teams are ranked in the top-25, predicting match outcomes can become guesswork.
That made Friday's win against the Terrapins all the more important, Goldman said, because it helped bring confidence back heading into next weekend's double-header which includes a road match against Michigan State on Friday before a trip to Michigan on Sunday.
Though Indiana doubled Maryland's point total, the match was closer than the score suggests. Goldman called it a "dogfight" that included a sudden-victory win from Jake Masengale and Bryce Martin, a tiebreaker victory by Luke Blanton and a come-from-behind win by Cole Weaver.
Goldman said the rally after losing to Penn State was a testament to Indiana's character up and down the lineup.
"There might be a time we take it on the chin, and we're going to have to bounce back," Goldman said. "One thing is, as I've said, I know I've got a group of guys that's going to battle and really do their best to win. Really, ultimately, that's all you can ask for."
As for what's next, Oliver said his team's ready for anything.
"This is the time of the season that everybody's talking about," Oliver said. "We're definitely building, and we're definitely ready for the best teams."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Measuring momentum in college wrestling gets tricky.
There's a popular debate among wrestlers asking, "Is wrestling a team or an individual sport?" Indiana head coach Duane Goldman regularly calls it an individual sport, and he's not alone. Yet the Hoosiers' wrestlers regularly credit their teammates for their success.
Truth be told, both answers appear just as right as they are wrong. At its core, wrestling is an individual sport manipulated to fill the aspects of a team. Come match day, no single wrestler has an impact on anything a teammate does during a bout, but the team aspect is key for training and support when the Hoosiers aren't competing.
The latter is where No. 22 Indiana appears to be clicking as it enters the heart of Big Ten competition.
The Hoosiers bounced back from a loss to No. 1 Penn State with a runaway win against Maryland on Friday night. After the win, momentum was on the mind with six Big Ten dual matches over the next four weeks.
"These guys go through blood, sweat and tears together, and they're close. They're a close unit," Goldman said. "And I think they compete hard, not just to win, but I think they compete hard for their teammates…They believe in each other. It makes a big difference."
That belief stems back to early December when Indiana upset then-No. 20 Minnesota on the road, freshman Elijah Oliver said. The Hoosiers, who regularly wrestle eight underclassmen in their 10-man lineup, jumped into the national spotlight and started gaining confidence in themselves.
"After we beat a team that we weren't supposed to beat, that really kind of made us feel we can beat anybody," Oliver said.
The momentum from Minnesota carried into this month's dual against top-ranked Penn State, where the Hoosiers were beat 34-8. Oliver called it an eye-opening match because it was the first time Indiana was knocked down this year in a dual.
Though it's not something he wants to do over again, Oliver said it was a valuable learning experience.
"It was huge. It definitely kept us hungry," he said. "It gave us a reality check that, hey, we have to keep training hard. We can't take days off and kind of slack in areas that are really important."
Penn State was the kind of loss Goldman expected to happen eventually. In the Big Ten, where nine teams are ranked in the top-25, predicting match outcomes can become guesswork.
That made Friday's win against the Terrapins all the more important, Goldman said, because it helped bring confidence back heading into next weekend's double-header which includes a road match against Michigan State on Friday before a trip to Michigan on Sunday.
Though Indiana doubled Maryland's point total, the match was closer than the score suggests. Goldman called it a "dogfight" that included a sudden-victory win from Jake Masengale and Bryce Martin, a tiebreaker victory by Luke Blanton and a come-from-behind win by Cole Weaver.
Goldman said the rally after losing to Penn State was a testament to Indiana's character up and down the lineup.
"There might be a time we take it on the chin, and we're going to have to bounce back," Goldman said. "One thing is, as I've said, I know I've got a group of guys that's going to battle and really do their best to win. Really, ultimately, that's all you can ask for."
As for what's next, Oliver said his team's ready for anything.
"This is the time of the season that everybody's talking about," Oliver said. "We're definitely building, and we're definitely ready for the best teams."
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