The Hoosiers (12-4, 3-3 Big Ten) came fast out of the gate, with No. 7 Angel Escobedo and No. 20 Andrae Hernandez scoring victories at 125 and 133, respectively. Escobedo scored a takedown with 13 seconds remaining in the match to earn a 4-2 victory over No. 20 Brandon Precin, moving to 28-4 on the year. Hernandez was trailing 3-2 late in his match, but scored a takedown with 20 seconds left and a three-point near fall as time expired to post a 7-3 victory.
Sophomore Scott Kelly faced a monumental task, as he went head-to-head with top-ranked and undefeated Ryan Lang at 141. Kelly put forth a solid effort and scored a third-period takedown, but Lang emerged victorious by a score of 8-4. Matt Coughlin followed by posting his first Big Ten win of the year at 149, topping Marty Gould 5-3.
At 157, No. 7 Brandon Becker scored three near falls, two late in the first period, to post an 18-8 major decision over Dominic Marella. Max Dean followed with his third straight solid match, posting a 12-3 major decision over Greg Hagel at 165.
Then Perry faced Hayes in the pivotal matchup of the day. Hayes came toward Perry right off the opening whistle, and the Davison, Mich., native immediately put Hayes in a headlock and dropped him to the mat. Just 22 seconds in, he managed to fall the junior for his seventh consecutive victory, making him 6-0 in Big Ten action. The six points gave IU a 23-3 lead and clinched the match for the home squad.
At 184, junior Marc Bennett was pinned by top-ranked Jake Herbert at the 1:32 mark, but Northwestern (11-8, 1-5) was penalized a team point for unsportsmanlike conduct after the match, making the score 23-8.
Nathan Everhart then squared off with Carl Howe at 197 and jumped out to a 7-0 lead after the first period. The freshman extended his lead to 13-1 after the second period, and Everhart scored a reversal and a two-point near fall in the first minute of the third to notch a 17-1 technical fall. Senior Josh Buuck followed at heavyweight, and in his final home dual the Fort Wayne, Ind., native nearly upset No. 4 Dustin Fox. Buuck and Fox were tied 2-2 late in the third, but Buuck was unable to score a takedown in the closing seconds, and Fox took a 3-2 victory after earning a point for riding time.
Indiana returns to action on Friday, Feb. 16, when it travels to East Lansing, Mich., to face No. 20 Michigan State at 7 p.m. The Hoosiers will then wrap up the regular season on Sunday, Feb. 18, at No. 7 Wisconsin at 2 p.m. in Madison, Wis.
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