"I told T.J. to look at other places,
but I knew he was coming here. He
always pictured himself in a Wisconsin singlet," Kyle said of his brother.
Badger brotherhood: Siblings bolster lineup
Three sets of brothers bring family atmosphere to wrestling room at Wisconsin
BY ANNA POULTER-HENDRICKSON
UW ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
ou have no choice of the family you are
born into. Fate decides your siblings. For
six members of Wisconsin's wrestling
team, fate played out favorably, and those six have
made the choice to be brothers on the mat at Wisconsin, as well.
"Having a sibling on the team just adds to the
brotherhood of the sport," says longtime UW head
coach Barry Davis. "When things are tough, it is
great to have that extra support beside you on the
mat.
"It is great to have that additional support in
the good times and the bad. Besides your teammates and coaches, your brother is always there
for you."
Brothers Kyle and T.J. Ruschell, Scott and Seth
Leigel and Brandon and Justin Weber found the
ultimate teammate in a sibling and are now pur-
Y
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VARSITY October 10, 2013
suing their collegiate wrestling goals with a family member in their circle.
For assistant coach Kyle Ruschell, having
younger brother T.J. in the room has only added
to their relationship as siblings.
"Having T.J. on the team has definitely helped
our relationship," Kyle said. "Being seven years
older and being gone out of the house, we kind of
drifted apart because of our ages. When he came
up here we became closer. He had a lot of questions that I was able to help answer and, because
of that, we became a lot closer."
Kyle, a two-time All-American for the Badgers
in 2009 and 2010, was already an assistant coach
at UW when T.J. committed.
"I stayed out of the recruiting. I wanted to make
sure this was the right place for him," Kyle said.
"I told T.J. to look at other places, but I knew he