"He is just a champion," head coach Duane Goldman said. "He epitomizes everything that a champion stands for, from the hard work and preparation to the success on and off the mat. He has been a blessing to coach and overall is the type of athlete every coach dreams about coaching."
"I am his biggest fan," assistant coach Mike Mena said after the victory. "He has been a pleasure coaching since the first day he came to Indiana."
Dubuque opened the match with a quick takedown in the opening period and never looked back. The three-time All-American allowed only three escapes by Nickerson, one in the first and two in the third, and registered a takedown in the second and third period en route to his 8-3 victory with riding time. Despite three escapes, Nickerson never managed a legitimate shot at the two-time champion in the loss.
"I just had fun out there," Dubuque said after his second national-title victory. "Last year, the pressure was on. Today, I was just relaxed the whole time. I could not have gone out any better way, a champion."
Dubuque concludes his illustrious season with his second consecutive national title, a third-place finish at Big Tens, his first regular-season title at the Mat Town Invitational, won 28 straight matches from March 6, 2005 to March 4, 2006 and became a three-time All-American (2004, 8th; 2005, 1st; 2006, 1st). During his career at Indiana, Dubuque is the fourth Hoosier grappler to earn three All-American honors in his career.
"The first championship was for me," Dubuque said. "The second one was more for my coaches, my family and my grandfather (Louis DeRogatis) who recently passed away. I would not have traded this experience for anything in the world. The coaches at Indiana, the school and the pride of being a Hoosier, I would not have wanted to go anywhere else but IU."
Indiana finished tied for 18th with 35.0 points. The is the 15th time IU has finished in the top 20 at NCAAs, and the fourth time under Goldman's leadership.
The Hoosiers conclude the 2006 NCAA Championships with two All-Americans and one national champion.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now