Hoosiers Set for Final Big Ten Dual, Against #4 Nebraska

Sunday, February 9

Bloomington, Ind.

1:00 PM

Indiana University

#4 Nebraska

BLOOMINGTON, IN - FEBRUARY 02, 2020 - Fernando Silva of the Indiana Hoosiers during the match between the Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Indiana Hoosiers at Wilkinson Hall in Bloomington, IN. Photo By Andrew Mascharka/Indiana Athletics

Hoosiers Set for Final Big Ten Dual, Against #4 Nebraska

2/7/2020 12:42:00 PM | Wrestling

BLOOMINGTON, Ind.– The Indiana wrestling team will compete in their final Big Ten dual match of the season on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. at Wilkinson Hall.

Sunday February 9
Indiana vs. No. 4 Nebraska
1:00 PM ET | Bloomington, Ind.

Wilkinson Hall (1151 E 17^th Street)
Free admission

The Series
Nebraska leads the all-time series 15-5 and have won the last 10 matches. The most recent match was in 2017 in Lincoln with the Huskers edging the Hoosiers, 23-18. The Huskers are coming off a win against No. 3 Ohio State on Sunday.

Rooks Earns Big Ten Wrestler of the Week Again
On January 21, redshirt freshman Graham Rooks was named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week. Rooks had taken down ranked opponents in his last two Big Ten matches and is currently ranked No. 14 by InterMat and No. 15 by FloWrestling. This was the second Big Ten weekly honor for Rooks this season.

Cronin Comes up Big
Redshirt junior Liam Cronin has won his last five matches, including two against ranked opponents. In the Hoosiers dual against Purdue, Cronin took down No. 5 ranked Devin Schroder. Cronin has since jumped into the top-25 ranking and is ranked as high as 20 in some polls.

The Lineups
Indiana
125: #23 Liam Cronin (11-11)
133: Cayden Rooks (19-10) or Jonathan Moran (5-13)
141: Eddie Bolivar (6-10)
149: #15 Graham Rooks (11-6)
157: Fernando Silva (8-16) or Joey Sanchez (14-10)
165: Davey Tunon (6-14) or Dillon Hoey (4-10)
174: Jacob Covaciu (14-9) or Diego Lemley (0-3)
184: Jacob Hinz (6-17)
197: Nick WIllham (15-16) or Spencer Irick (3-7)
285: Rudy Streck (3-15) or Jake Kleimola (10-12)

Nebraska
125: Alex Thomsen RFr. • Neola, Iowa (9-9)
133: #13 Ridge Lovett Fr. • Post Falls, Idaho (10-6) -OR- Zak Hensley RSr. • Olathe, Kan. (4-2)
141: #8 Chad Red Jr. Jr. • Indianapolis, Ind. (12-6)
149: #14 Collin Purinton Sr. • Banks, Ore. (12-6) -OR- Caleb Licking Jr. • Norfolk, Neb. (16-5)
157: #16 Peyton Robb RFr. • Owatonna, Minn. (14-4)
165: #4 Isaiah White Sr. • Chicago, Ill. (13-3) -OR- Jake Silverstein RFr. • Smithtown, N.Y. (8-7)
174: #6 Mikey Labriola So. • Easton, Pa. (15-5)
184: #8 Taylor Venz Jr. • Farmington, Minn. (12-7)
197: #6 Eric Schultz Jr. • Tinley Park, Ill. (17-3) -OR- Cade Svoboda Jr. • Ord, Neb. (5-5)
285: #15 Christian Lance Sr. • Nixa, Mo. (9-6) -OR- David Jensen Sr. • Mobridge, S.D. (12-3)

Success at Midlands Championships
The Hoosiers had three wrestlers earn spots on the podium at the Midlands Championships. Brock Hudkins, despite an injury in the semifinal match finished in sixth-place at 125 pounds. Indiana had two on the podium at 174 with Jacob Covaciu finishing in fifth-place and freshman Donnell Washington finishing in sixth-place.

Early Season Success for Indiana
Brock Hudkins (125) and Nick Willham (197) both won titles for the Hoosiers at MSU Open. The Hoosiers have five wrestlers finish in the top-three at the MSU Open. At the Journeyman Classic eight wrestlers finishined in the top-three, with Kyle Luigs, Joey Sanchez and Dillon Hoey each winning first-place in their respective weight classes.

Hoosiers Open Wilkinson Hall
Wilkinson Hall was dedicated on January 16, 2019. Wilkinson Hall is a multi-use training and performance center that is the new home venue for the Indiana Wrestling and Volleyball programs. The 3,000-seat venue is used as a competition facility for both Indiana Volleyball and Indiana Wrestling. Wilkinson Hall is named after IU alumnus Jay Wilkinson and his family, who have an incredible history of support for IU Athletics and its student-athletes. Last season, the Hoosiers first year in Wilkinson Hall, they ranked 21^st in the country in attendance at 1,286 fans per match. This included a program record 1,962 fans when they hosted No. 1 Penn State.

Hoosiers Sign Elite Recruiting Class
IU head coach Angel Escobedo announced the Hoosiers 2020 class, which includes four wrestlers. Jacob Moran, Derek Gilcher, Nico Bolivar and Santos Cantu will be joining the Hoosiers in the 2020 class. Cantu chose Indiana over Ohio State and is a three-time OSAA 6A Champion at 195 lbs. Gilcher chose Indiana over Virginia, Maryland, Michigan State and Wisconsin and is ranked No. 6 nationally and part of a team that is ranked No. 5 nationally. Bolivar is the brother of current Hoosier Eddie Bolivar was the 2018 Illinois Freestyle Champion. Moran is the brother of current Hoosiers Jonathan Moran and was the 2018 Indiana State Champion and is ranked No. 6 on FloWrestling. Moran is spending this year training at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado.