After starting the season with an 11-2-1 mark, the UW wrestling squad (11-4-1) has fallen upon tough times, losing each of its last two conference duals. Most recently, the Badgers were beaten 24-13 by Illinois, dropping the Badgers to 2-3 in the Big Ten conference.
The Badgers started the dual very slowly and Illinois capitalized, jumping out to an early 9-0 advantage. However, on the heels of freshman Kendall Vogel's second pin of the season, the Badgers clawed back within striking distance, trimming the Illini's lead to 9-6.
The ensuing 157-pound match pitted UW's No. 3 ranked senior Craig Henning against Illinois' No. 1 ranked Mike Poeta in their second meeting of the season. Both wrestlers were scoreless entering the final frame. Poeta broke the scoreless tie by notching two minutes of riding time in the third period that eventually gave him the one and only point needed to claim victory over Henning. The win put Illinois up 12-6.
Following that match, only two Badgers notched match wins during the remainder of the dual. Badger junior Justin Peterson defeated Illinois wrestler Ben Friedl in the 184-pound class, and UW's No. 4 ranked junior Kyle Massey shutout the Illini's John Wise 9-0 in the heavyweight division.
Putting last weekend's loss behind them, the Badgers return home this weekend where they host No. 6 Michigan at the Field House. With only three dual meets remaining in the regular season, the Badgers hope to find a groove that will give them momentum heading into the Big Ten Championships.
In the 157-pound division, Henning, UW's highest ranked wrestler, will put his 20-2 record on the line when he meets Aaron Hynes. Both of Henning's two losses have come against Illinois' Poeta.
In the 125-pound class, UW's No. 18 senior Collin Cudd will look to improve his 16-6 record when he matches up with the Wolverines' Jason Lara or Zach Jones.
UW junior and No. 4 ranked Dallas Herbst, with a record of 23-2, will host Michigan's Anthony Biondo in the 197-pound class. Before his loss last weekend, Herbst had won his previous 10 matches.
The Wolverines will send either Chad Bleske or Matt Guhn to the mats to face the Badgers Massey (22-5) in the heavyweight division. Massey will enter the match with an eight match winning streak, the longest current winning streak of any Badger.
Finally, Kyle Ruschell, who had his 11-match winning streak snapped last weekend, will face off against 23-5 Wolverine Kellen Russell.
The match will begin at 7:00 p.m. Friday at the UW Field House.
- uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.
