The No. 22 Wisconsin men's wrestling team (1-0 Big Ten, 4-1 overall) is set to square off against the No. 7 Iowa Hawkeyes (0-0, 6-3) tonight in the Badgers' Big Ten home-opener. The dual meet is highly anticipated, after last year's meeting included two overtime matches, both lost by the Badgers, and the Hawkeye's escaping with a five-point win.
The Badgers are going up against a solid Hawkeye squad featuring five wrestlers in the top 10 nationally in their respective weight classes, including the No.1 wrestler in the 149 lb. weight class, senior Ty Eustice. Going up against Eustice for the Badgers is senior tri-captain Tyler Turner, who is ranked fifth in the 149-lb. weight class, making this the marquee match-up in the meet.
Wisconsin head coach Barry Davis agrees.
'It's going to be a big match this weekend with Ty Eustice,' Davis said. 'Not only in the dual meet, but for later on in the Big Ten Championships and the NCAAs.'
Turner dropped down from the 157 lb. to the 149 lb. this season while sophomore Craig Henning, who is now the ninth-ranked 157 lb. wrestler, moved up from the 149 lb.
'[Turner]'s beat three top-10 guys this year, and with him going down a weight, actually I think it's helped him,' Davis said. 'He wasn't quite a big 157-pounder where Henning was a big 149-pounder, so they switched weights this year. I think it's made him more focused.'
Other top-10 match-ups include No. 9 Henning against No. 5 Iowa senior Joe Johnston in the 157-lb. division, and ninth-ranked Badger senior tri-captain Kelly Flaherty against fourth-ranked Hawkeye sophomore Mark Perry in the 174 lb. division.
'It's going to be another tight dual meet,' Davis said. 'But who wins the close matches and who gets upset here or there. So it's going to come down to bonus points.'
Senior Badger tri-captain Tom Clum, the No.1-ranked wrestler in the 133 lb. weight class, could be the deciding factor in the meet if he can dominate his opponent like he has others this season. If Clum can win convincingly and quickly, he could provide the deciding points to lift the Badgers to their second victory in the Big Ten.
'You take a guy like Clum that's heavily favored this year again, he might score some bonus points for us,' Davis said. 'The same thing at 197 [lbs.]. That's one of those toss-up matches. But you have to come out and win the close matches, and the guy who scores the most bonus points is going to win.'
