Wrestling Falls to #11 Wisconsin, 20-19, on Tiebreaker Criteria

Friday, December 9

Bloomington, IN

7 PM

Indiana University

Wisconsin

Wrestling Falls to #11 Wisconsin, 20-19, on Tiebreaker Criteria

12/9/2016 10:12:00 PM | Wrestling

Dual Results (PDF)Photo Gallery TrackWrestling

Perez upends #18 Crone in the final bout

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Indiana wrestling team fell one point short of an upset against #11 Wisconsin in their first Big Ten dual and first home dual meet of the season. The Badgers (2-0, 1-0) won the meet, 20-19, on the total match points tiebreaker criteria by a 69-64 margin. The Hoosiers (4-2, 0-1) came close to a repeat of last season's Big Ten opener, a 19-18 win on tiebreaker criteria at #12 Minnesota.

"In general, we wrestled really well," said Indiana head coach Duane Goldman. "When I look back at the match, I felt like we were the better team but we had seven guys score 63 points; we had three weights where we scored only one point between the three of them. That doomed us in the team score."

Jake Danishek (9-4) got the night going with a 9-4 decision, but Wisconsin gained a lead with a major decision from #3 Isaac Jordan (12-1) and a tight decision win by #20 Ryan Christensen. At 184 lbs., #6 Nate Jackson (11-0) maintained an unblemished record with an 11-2 major decision against Hunter Ritter (13-6), his 11th bonus point win of the season.

The Badgers extended their lead to 16-7, the largest deficit of the meet, before #13 Elijah Oliver (9-1) poured on an 18-2 technical fall with help from an 11-0 second period. Garrett Pepple (8-3) followed in the 133 lbs. bout with a 14-3 major decision, tying the dual at 16-16.

The dual came down to the final two matches with an even team score. Wisconsin took the lead with #14 Cole Martin's (13-4) decision win against Cole Weaver (3-4), putting the Hoosiers' hopes in the hands of redshirt senior Chris Perez. Perez (2-1) was resilient in the final two periods, picking up a 5-4 decision win against #18 Andrew Crone (13-3) and tying the meet at 19-19.

"It felt good to get back out there," Perez said after his win. "That's the best guy I've wrestled so far this year, and it was great to get back to that high level of competition. I know I can compete with those guys, it's just something I need to build on every match."

It's the third time this season that the Hoosiers have settled a dual meet in the tiebreaker criteria, and they're 1-2 in meets ending in a tie.

"We've had everybody on the team wrestle really well at different times," Goldman said. "We need everybody to come together at the same time in order to beat a team like Wisconsin."

Up Next: Indiana (4-2) vs. Cleveland State (1-0) / at Eastern Michigan (2-0)
Sunday, December 11 • Live Stats: IU vs. CSU • Live Stats: IU at EMU
Bowen Field House • Ypsilanti, Mich.

The Hoosiers will head to Ypsilanti for a tri dual against the Cleveland State Vikings and the hosting Eastern Michigan Eagles. The meet will begin at 9:00 a.m. ET with the Eagles taking on the Vikings. Indiana and Cleveland State will follow at around 10:30 a.m., and the Hoosiers will close the day against Eastern Michigan at noon. The event is Indiana's third tri dual meet this season; they are 3-1 in that format so far this year.

"Everybody has a sour taste in their mouths, but we need to be resilient and come back this weekend because Eastern Michigan is a really physical, well-conditioned, tough team," said Goldman. "If we go in with our heads hanging, it'll be really difficult. The good thing is that everybody is pretty upset, and they should be, but we also have to rest and recover to be competitive on Sunday."