After climbing the rankings during a strong nonconference season, the No. 13 Wisconsin wrestling team prepares for a challenging weekend. The Badgers travel to face No. 12 Minnesota Friday and host No. 6 Penn State Sunday.
Wisconsin earned a convincing victory over unranked Indiana in its conference opener, and Head Coach Barry Davis likes his team's chances.
\I know we have a good team. It's a young team, but I think they did real well in the first half of the season. The young kids are developing well for us,"" Davis said. ''''
Sophomore Ed Gutnik (133 pounds) shares his coach's positive outlook.??
""As a team, we're doing really well and making a lot of moves. We're a better team than people view us as, and we're going to surprise some people this year,"" Gutnik said.
Gutnik has high expectations for his team this weekend.
""I'm looking forward to Minnesota, because I think that we have a really outstanding chance to beat them this year, for our first time. It's going to be a really good dual meet, and also it's going to be on TV, so it'll be really exciting,"" Gutnik said.
""Penn State's real tough right now, but I think if we wrestle to our potential, we can pull it out. We can beat them.""
Wisconsin wrestlers roll into the heart of their conference schedule having won 10 of their last 11 dual meets, but this weekend will mark the beginning of a series of six meets against teams ranked No. 17 or higher. Davis acknowledged that preparation is more complex during brutal Big Ten competition, but is undaunted by the schedule ahead.
""We really don't think too much about the rankings,"" Davis said. ""The key is that the guys get better week in and week out, and everything will take care of itself that way. It's nice to see a team ranked higher, but we take care of ourselves, and the guys can prove it week in and week out. That's the key, right there. Right now, we're doing that.""
At this point in the season, the team's training habits change along with the territory and the stakes, Davis said.
""The training changes this time of year, because we're really honing more of the specific skills, instead of the overall team skills. We take each individual and work on what they really need to do to be successful at the end of the year,"" Davis said. ""Practices are not as long; they're shorter and more intense. We've got two big dual meets coming up, so we're going to work on more timing skills and some combination skills to prepare for the upcoming weekend.""
Junior Ryan Flaherty (184 lbs.) attributed the team's success to his coach. ""Barry's just great at getting us to peak at the right time of the season. Now, having two matches a week, it only gives us three hard training days a week, but he's got us in great shape right now, and three hard days will be good enough to maintain us there,"" Flaherty said.
In one of the strongest conferences in the nation, Davis knows that every advantage is crucial.
""There'll be close matches, no doubt about it. The team that wins the close matches will be successful,"" Davis said. ""Right now, we're working on some timing, putting the guys in situations where they're up by a point or down by a point and they have to score or get away. In the long run, that's what's going to have to happen for us to be successful throughout the rest of the year.""
Davis is optimistic, but his wrestlers are more explicit in their anticipation of success.
""The Big Ten season is the time to see how tough we really are, and I expect to do well. We're a tough team,"" Flaherty said.
Gutnik concurred with confidence.
""We can beat anyone in the Big Ten right now,"" Gutnik said.
