INSIDE
WRESTLING
BY ANNA POULTER-HENDRICKSON
@BADGERWRESTLING
SCHEDULE
COMING UP
Dec. 29-30 Midlands Championships
Evanston, Ill.
All Day
Badgers roll into winter
with pair of Big Ten wins
UW upset No. 7 Illinois, down Michigan State
isconsin had fallen
out of the rankings,
their early-season
schedule featuring a pair of
tightly-contested losses and a
disappointing defeat to a tough
Northern Iowa team. The Badgers needed a boost heading
into winter break and they got
just that last weekend.
The Badgers were up
against a tough Illinois squad
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on Friday night and pulled off
a tight 19-18 victory over the
No. 7-ranked Illini. UW then
loaded a bus and traveled to
Michigan State for a Sunday
dual, where they rolled over
the Spartans 30-7.
UW took advantage of a
changes to Illinois' lineup to
pull off the upset. With a pair
of ranked Illini wrestlers out of
the lineup, Wisconsin entered
the 157 lbs. match down by two, 15-13.
Isaac Jordan put together a dominating
performance against Zac Brunson that
resulted in Brunson being disqualified
for stalling, giving UW six team points
and a 19-15 lead with one match remaining. The Badgers held on to their lead to
claim the upset.
"We really bounced back well Friday
against Illinois," said head coach Barry
Davis. "After the UNI dual we had a little
talk with the team about the approach of
certain things. We had a great workout
that week and they were ready to go Friday and they stepped up. It was a good
win for the team.
Wisconsin then boarded a bus bound
for East Lansing, Mich., where they posted a dominating win over Michigan State.
"We regrouped Saturday morning
and traveled to Michigan State and had
a great dual meet on Sunday," Davis said.
"Overall, great weekend, good intensity,
good bounce back, and now we get ready
for the second half of the season."
With a three-week break before their
next competition, the Badgers will use
the time to start preparations for March.
"We will tighten things up and get ready
for March. A lot of people start training
for March in February, but I think right
now, as a coach, we have to put a game
plan together for each individual, look at
the guys they will be competing against,
get film, and move forward from there.
"This is what we have to do to do what
we want to do in order to be successful in
March. We've got to do things right now."
