Indiana University Athletics
Danishek’s Late Surge Sets Up Crucial Weekend
2/5/2016 1:18:00 PM | Wrestling
By Sam Beishuizen | Twitter
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Jake Danishek's breakthrough was coming. He was sure of it.
The redshirt freshman wrestling at 157 pounds felt like he was among the Big Ten's best in his weight class. But feelings don't mean anything to the national rankings—results do.
Danishek needed proof.
He had his first chance against No. 3 Jason Nolf of Penn State but was handed his first loss in four matches. No. 19 Lou Mascola came next but beat Danishek 8-7 in a frustratingly close bout that tested Danishek's own motivation. The second loss in as many matches felt somewhat like a missed opportunity to step into the national spotlight.
Then the streak started.
Danishek has strung together three consecutive Big Ten wins and gone from off the radar to making a late surge at an NCAA Tournament bid. His résumé still needs cleaning up, but he'll have his chances against No. 18 Edwin Cooper at Iowa before taking on Purdue's No. 17 Doug Welch in a crucial weekend where Danishek once again finds himself in a position to prove himself.
"When you start winning, there's just this sense of confidence that you start to build," Danishek said. "I try not to think of it as a streak. I kind of just take it one match at a time, but everyone says that. I'm just really focused on getting these wins and climbing even higher."
Danishek (14-5) is one of a few Hoosiers who have positioned themselves in a spot to potentially make noise in March's tournament season, but he still needs a little help to get there. With just three Big Ten matches remaining before the NCWA National Duals and then the Big Ten Tournament, Danishek's own record book still lacks the marquee wins that could ultimately lead to getting an NCAA Tournament berth.
"He has a big weekend coming up with Iowa and Purdue," head coach Duane Goldman said. "Those are two big matchups because he needs those RPI wins. He's gotten a lot of good victories lately, but these matchups, both those guys this weekend are ranked."
Translation: now would be a good time for Danishek to stay hot.
"These next few matches will be big," Danishek said.
Danishek said he considers himself fortunate to be in the position he's in to begin with after nearly losing his chance to compete early on in the season with a back injury.
The nagging pain forced him to miss a month of Indiana's early schedule when the Hoosiers were mostly competing in tournaments across the country. Being away from the mat cost him valuable time and matches where he could have been picking up wins to prove himself among the nation's top wrestlers in his class.
Instead, Danishek began the Big Ten season with an uphill battle in front of him.
He proceeded to open the conference schedule with a loss at Minnesota in his second match of the year before suffering two more conference losses back-to-back in bouts against Penn State and Maryland.
Three consecutive wins later, he's put those losses behind him and continues to trudge forward in the Big Ten knowing he doesn't have many opportunities left.
As time has passed, Danishek has gotten healthier as evident in the way he's wrestled. He said he feels at 100 percent—or close to it—and is at the point of his rehabilitation where he should be peaking and returning to his true form again.
"I think it was just a matter of time. He just needs more time," Goldman said. "He's feeling like he can move and go through the motions of what he wants to do. It's just an important step of getting him where he was and getting him where he naturally should be."
Where he's going is less clear.
Danishek has reached a crossroads of sorts entering what's shaped up to be the most important college weekend of his career to date. If he can keep his streak alive, he may make a stab at climbing into the national spotlight and back into an NCAA Tournament spot if things go his way.
It would be another breakthrough. There's no denying that.
But he's already gone that route before.
"I'm in a spot where I know I need to do a little bit more to push me over," Danishek said. "But the NCAA's are the goal. That's what you're looking at. To compete at that level, you should expect to be there. So when I go out and compete, I expect that and expect to get the wins."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Jake Danishek's breakthrough was coming. He was sure of it.
The redshirt freshman wrestling at 157 pounds felt like he was among the Big Ten's best in his weight class. But feelings don't mean anything to the national rankings—results do.
Danishek needed proof.
He had his first chance against No. 3 Jason Nolf of Penn State but was handed his first loss in four matches. No. 19 Lou Mascola came next but beat Danishek 8-7 in a frustratingly close bout that tested Danishek's own motivation. The second loss in as many matches felt somewhat like a missed opportunity to step into the national spotlight.
Then the streak started.
Danishek has strung together three consecutive Big Ten wins and gone from off the radar to making a late surge at an NCAA Tournament bid. His résumé still needs cleaning up, but he'll have his chances against No. 18 Edwin Cooper at Iowa before taking on Purdue's No. 17 Doug Welch in a crucial weekend where Danishek once again finds himself in a position to prove himself.
"When you start winning, there's just this sense of confidence that you start to build," Danishek said. "I try not to think of it as a streak. I kind of just take it one match at a time, but everyone says that. I'm just really focused on getting these wins and climbing even higher."
Danishek (14-5) is one of a few Hoosiers who have positioned themselves in a spot to potentially make noise in March's tournament season, but he still needs a little help to get there. With just three Big Ten matches remaining before the NCWA National Duals and then the Big Ten Tournament, Danishek's own record book still lacks the marquee wins that could ultimately lead to getting an NCAA Tournament berth.
"He has a big weekend coming up with Iowa and Purdue," head coach Duane Goldman said. "Those are two big matchups because he needs those RPI wins. He's gotten a lot of good victories lately, but these matchups, both those guys this weekend are ranked."
Translation: now would be a good time for Danishek to stay hot.
"These next few matches will be big," Danishek said.
Danishek said he considers himself fortunate to be in the position he's in to begin with after nearly losing his chance to compete early on in the season with a back injury.
The nagging pain forced him to miss a month of Indiana's early schedule when the Hoosiers were mostly competing in tournaments across the country. Being away from the mat cost him valuable time and matches where he could have been picking up wins to prove himself among the nation's top wrestlers in his class.
Instead, Danishek began the Big Ten season with an uphill battle in front of him.
He proceeded to open the conference schedule with a loss at Minnesota in his second match of the year before suffering two more conference losses back-to-back in bouts against Penn State and Maryland.
Three consecutive wins later, he's put those losses behind him and continues to trudge forward in the Big Ten knowing he doesn't have many opportunities left.
As time has passed, Danishek has gotten healthier as evident in the way he's wrestled. He said he feels at 100 percent—or close to it—and is at the point of his rehabilitation where he should be peaking and returning to his true form again.
"I think it was just a matter of time. He just needs more time," Goldman said. "He's feeling like he can move and go through the motions of what he wants to do. It's just an important step of getting him where he was and getting him where he naturally should be."
Where he's going is less clear.
Danishek has reached a crossroads of sorts entering what's shaped up to be the most important college weekend of his career to date. If he can keep his streak alive, he may make a stab at climbing into the national spotlight and back into an NCAA Tournament spot if things go his way.
It would be another breakthrough. There's no denying that.
But he's already gone that route before.
"I'm in a spot where I know I need to do a little bit more to push me over," Danishek said. "But the NCAA's are the goal. That's what you're looking at. To compete at that level, you should expect to be there. So when I go out and compete, I expect that and expect to get the wins."
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