A year removed from a season in which it finished 11-5-1, the Wisconsin wrestling team has seemingly picked up where it left off. The Badgers, currently ranked 17th in the nation by both TheWrestlingMall.com and InterMat, will be heading into conference action with a flawless 6-0 overall record and an air of confidence.
However, the team will have that confidence tested when it travels to Iowa Jan. 24 to battle the Hawkeyes. Iowa (6-1, 0-0), a perennial wrestling powerhouse, has won six of the last eight NCAA wrestling titles and is currently ranked No. 2 in the nation.
Senior captain Kevin Black is well aware of the Hawkeyes’ previous accomplishments but believes he and his fellow Badgers are capable of defeating anyone in the country, including Iowa.
“I think we’re good enough to beat every team in the Big Ten, I really do,” Black said. “I don’t know yet how many people on our team believe that; I know there are a handful of guys that do and that are putting in the extra work to make it possible. I think as soon as everyone believes that, it’ll happen. There are some teams that are ranked ahead of us in the Big Ten that I think it would be disappointing to us as a team if we didn’t beat those guys.”
Kevin Black’s teammate and brother, Tony Black, also wrestling in his final season as a Badger, shared similar sentiments with Kevin when asked about his expectations for the season.
“I think that our team is good enough to beat any team in the country as soon as everyone believes that they are wrestling individuals and not the team, not their legacy, and not their ranking,” Tony Black said.
Despite the team’s lack of experience, head coach Barry Davis, like the Blacks, also expects great things from this year’s squad.
“I expect that when they step onto the mat they compete with an attitude of winning. They’ve got to approach it like the mat is their territory … no matter who they are competing against, it doesn’t really matter,” coach Davis said.
With so many young wrestlers on this year’s team, Davis expects the Black brothers, Ralph DeNisco and the other Badger veterans to step up as leaders and show the less experienced members of the team how things need to be done.
“I think that the seniors we have show great leadership,” coach Davis said. “They have taken some of the younger guys under their wing and shown them, hey, this is the way you’ve got to work, this is the way you’ve got to compete and these are things you’ve got to do to be successful. I’ve seen the young guys grow throughout the year because of that.”
Both Kevin and Tony Black realize the importance of demonstrating a strong work ethic to the younger wrestlers and are two of the guys who have had an impact on the growth of the less experienced Badgers so far this season.
“I think [Davis] expects me to work hard and lead by example … just by the way I work and practice on and off the mat,” Kevin Black said. “Any time you’re intense in the wrestling room, it shows more on the mat. You get in here and work hard, and hopefully people will follow.”
“I think that actions speak louder than words. So if you’re leading by example, that’s better than just telling people how to do stuff,” added Tony Black.
Junior captain Ralph DeNisco, like the Blacks, knows how important it is to work hard but was also quick to point out the significance of leading by example in the classroom as well.
“On the mat I think it’s pretty simple what [Davis] expects from us … just compete and wrestle hard.” DeNisco said. “Off the mat I think he just wants us to represent the team. Just simple things that you have to do so the younger guys see it, like going to class and taking care of all your schoolwork, stuff like that.”
With a host of young, talented wrestlers and veteran leaders like DeNisco and the Black brothers, this year’s Wisconsin wrestling team should be a force to be reckoned with in the Big Ten. The Badgers will see their first Big Ten action of the season and will have their unblemished record tested when they square off Jan. 24 against the favored Iowa Hawkeyes.
