University Gym came alive as parents and fans packed in to watch the No. 14 Indiana Hoosiers in Big Ten competition.

As it has been all season long, nationally ranked No. 1 Angel Escobedo got the Hoosiers off to a fast start Friday night, winning his match by a pin fall.  Escobedo’s efforts this season have been crucial as he moves to an unblemished 28-0 record. His labors have given the Hoosiers an early lead in team points each match this year.

Angel was able to elaborate on his senior night win and said, “I wanted to show the fans what I had.  Give them something exciting, and to leave off on that note.  This is the last time they’ll be able to see me here in this gym, and I wanted to lead off with a spectacular move.”  Angel did just that as he executed a takedown, which put Michigan freshmen Sean Boyle flat on his back.

Each Indiana senior; Escobedo (28-0), 149-lb. Matt Coughlin (16-12), and HWT Nate Everhart (30-0) walked away with victories Friday night. Senior Trevor Perry (174-lbs.) was unable to compete due to injury, but was honored just the same.

The Hoosiers were able to produce strong matches from the underclassmen as well, moving the team to 14-3, 3-3 for the year.

“The guys throughout the lineup fought hard for the seniors, and the seniors came through.  I thought we wrestled very well tonight,” commented Escobedo.

Indiana felt pressure from Michigan as they lost matches at 133-lbs. and 141-lbs., but thanks to wins by juniors Kurt Kinser (No. 6) and Paul Young (No.12),  IU pulled away and did not look back.

“The meet was hard fought. Michigan is rebuilding a little bit, but they came really ready to wrestle.  They had us on our heels a little bit. Even though we came away with a win, we got pushed pretty hard,” remarked Coach Duane Goldman.

The Hoosiers close out the 2009-2010 regular season with meets at Purdue and at Michigan State, both of which will be duals that IU must be prepared for.

“We need to wrestle a lot better come Sunday.  Purdue is a really good team, and even though we are ranked ahead of them, they are favored at six weights.  It’s going to be a tough match, but you know it is the rivalry and we have to get up for it,” said Goldman.

In an exhilarating match, the Hoosiers fell short to the talented Buckeyes by a team score of 22-13.

“Ohio St. is a good team, and I think they were able to take advantage of us today.  They controlled their positioning very well and beat us to the punch,” IU head coach Duane Goldman explained following the loss.

IU moves to 13-2, 1-2 on the year with this conference loss.

125-lb. Hoosier Angel Escobedo came away with another extraordinary win on Sunday moving to 26-0 on the year.  As the top ranked 125-lb. wrestler in the nation, Escobedo was put to the test as he wrestled a nationally ranked Buckeye in No. 18 Nikko Triggas.

“In the first period I didn’t do as well as I wanted to, started off slow.  Then I started to pick it up and score more points.  That’s the match I wanted, I wanted to open things up, get after it and get as many team points as possible,” commented Escobedo after the match.

Escobedo continues to impress the fans, and is enjoying the top spot in the country.”Its fun, I like having No. 1.  I like people coming after me, trying to beat me.  I really like it and I want to continue to have No. 1 until I graduate.  A national title again, that’s what I’m looking for.”

The Hoosiers wrestled strong, but found themselves behind with losses in the 133-lbs., 141-lbs., and 149-lbs. weight classes making the team score 11-4.  Each IU wrestler had a competitive match, but the talented Buckeyes would come out on top.

IU was able to pick up some momentum with No. 6 in the nation Kurt Kinser winning his match at 157-lbs.  Kinser controlled the tempo throughout the match, forcing OSU sophomore Sean Nemec to be cautioned for stalling, nearly resulting in a point for Kinser.

Ohio St. would take final control of the match with wins at 165-lbs., 174-lbs. and 197-lbs. putting the match out of reach for the Hoosiers by making the team score 22-10.

No. 2 Nate Everhart also continued his undefeated season on Sunday moving to an astonishing 28-0 record at heavyweight.  Everhart won a close bout against Buckeye heavyweight Corey Morrison.  The match came down to the wire and Everhart came away with a 2-0 victory.

The Hoosiers will need to rebound quickly as the University of Minnesota is coming to Bloomington Feb. 6.

“Minnesota is one of the most physical teams we’ll wrestle this year.  They’ve adjusted their lineup to what they think can win the nationals.  They fight for position and go after their opportunities very hard,” said Goldman on looking past this loss.

“We need to do a better job of controlling the matches.  We need to be more proactive rather than reactive.”

IU improved its record of 13-1 overall and 2-1 in Big Ten competition.

The Hoosiers set the tone of the match early by taking an eight to nothing lead in the team points against Illinois on Friday night at University Gym.

Undefeated 125-lb. Angel Escobedo continued his perfect season, moving to 25-0 on the year.  Escobedo dominated his match, exercising full control on the mat.  The redshirt senior proved again that he deserves his No. 1 ranking in the country as he won his match by a technical fall, giving his team an important 5-0 lead.

“It’s always nice to get a good start, with Angel we’ve been able to start quick most of the year.  Matt Ortega came through with a big win and kind of got us rolling through the next few matches,” said IU head coach Duane Goldman after the match.

Ortega won a hard fought match by a score of 7-4.  He was able to come away with a couple key takedowns, putting himself in a position to play defense.

U of I got their first team points off a win by 141-lb. junior Ryan Prater who came into Friday night holding the No. 15th ranking in the nation.

The Hoosiers took an 11-6 lead off of wins by 157-lb. Kurt Kinser and 165-lb. Paul Young.  Both of these wrestlers hold a national ranking as well, with Kinser at No. 6 and Young at No. 13.

IU was able to maintain a lead despite losses at the 141-lb. and 149-lb. weight classes.  The Hoosiers avoided losing by major decisions, and kept the lead throughout the meet.

“We talked about a team effort before the match not only in winning.  If they were in a situation where they might get beat, they need to save those points as best they can and not give up those majors.  Guys can contribute even in an effort where they don’t win the match,” commented Goldman on his team’s performance.

The 174-lbs., 184-lbs. and 197-lbs. matches would prove to carry the most importance in the meet.  U of I has nationally ranked wrestlers at each of those weights.  Illini wrestlers, No. 14 Jordan Blanton and No. 2 John Dergo, won close matches, putting pressure on the Hoosiers by making the team score 15-13 entering the 197-lbs. match.

The 197-lbs. match proved to be an exciting event. Ranked No. 9 in the nation, Illini wrestler Patrick Bond went up against redshirt sophomore Matt Powless.

The match was tied at two, and with time expiring Powless gained position and got a takedown.  Powless’ upset would seal the win for the Hoosiers.

No. 2 ranked heavyweight Nate Everhart kept his undefeated season alive, moving to 27-0.

The Hoosiers have an even bigger test ahead of them as they play host to the No. 4 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes on Sunday afternoon at University Gym.

“We need to come off this victory and look ahead.  We are going to have to put forth a great effort not only to achieve a victory but to be competitive as well.  Those are the kind of matches that make us stronger,” said Coach Goldman on the Buckeyes.

The scrimmage was designed as a “wrestle off”, where teammates of the same weight class wrestled against one another to establish who the starters will be in each weight division. The Hoosiers are ranked 13th in the nation heading into this season, so each and every weight matters and each class must be held by a proven wrestler.

Tuesday’s scrimmage gave head coach Duane Goldman a better understanding of what the staring lineup will be entering the season.

“This wrestle off gave us a good idea of a lot of situations and these matches have some consequences,” said Goldman.

This scrimmage provided the team with the element of competition for the first time this year, despite the fact that the wrestlers face one another in practice. Goldman described the wrestle off as, “An opportunity to weigh-in, get in front of a crowd, and just compete.”

This intrasquad scrimmage gave the team a chance to establish themselves amongst their teammates and the crowd in attendance at BHSN. The majority of the weight classes this year will be occupied by upperclassmen; however, they were required to earn that spot like the rest of the team.

The middle weights, such as 141-157 lbs., are areas that are up for grabs on the team. The wrestle off settled some of the disputes.

The 157 lbs match was one of the most meaningful of the night. Redshirt junior Kurt Kinser and redshirt senior Matt Coughlin have been vying for the spot throughout the off-season. The junior Kinser bested Coughlin 7-1, in one of the more competitive matches of the evening.

As the night’s marquee match, this gave Coach Goldman an opportunity to see who he will need to move down a class. “We need both those guys in the lineup and we still have a lot of things to work out for this season.”

Another great match-up on Tuesday was in the 165 lb. weight, between redshirt junior Paul Young and freshman Ryan LeBlanc. The match was close, ending with a score of 4-3, as the talented Young proved to be too much for the freshman. Young enters the season ranked 15th in the nation.

“It’s definitely an honor to be ranked up there but 15th doesn’t get me on the stand so I’m not looking too much into it,” said Young, who is looking for a national championship this year and has a great feeling for himself and others on the team. “I expect that out of myself, I expect that out of a few people on the team. I think that we have the potential and the capabilities to finish extremely high.”

The Hoosier grapplers have a good team heading into the season, but realize that this will be a tough road in the upcoming months, “Its a good night to showcase what we have this year, but definitely not the best that you’ll see in any of the wrestlers,” said Paul Young.

The Hoosiers have time to prepare before their next event which will be the Michigan State Open on Sunday Nov. 15. This will be an open tournament, as IU plans to bring all of their wrestlers to compete.