Following a 1-4 start in Big Ten dual meets, University of Wisconsin wrestling needed to find a way to get back on track.
A weekend homestand was the solution.
The 18th-ranked Badgers upset No. 11 Minnesota on Friday and got past 25th-ranked Purdue on Sunday — both by margins of 19-15 — at the UW Field House.
“When you’re in front of this crowd, the fans get into it,” UW head coach Barry Davis said of the 1,871 who attended the two matches. “We’ve got some great fans. When you’re home here in Wisconsin, it’s great.”
Wisconsin overcame early deficits in both meets, as they trailed 9-0 to Minnesota and 6-0 to Purdue after the first two matches.
But rattling off six of seven match victories in a row against the Gophers and earning wins over three ranked opponents against the Boilermakers propelled the Badgers to two dual wins.
“(Getting two wins) is huge for our team,” said senior Dallas Herbst, who won both matches at 197 pounds to extend his winning streak to nine. “We’ve got a lot of old guys and we’ve got a lot of young guys on the team, so to start out like that was kind of rough. But to get these wins is big for going into the Big Ten (Tournament) and giving some guys some confidence.”
Top-ranked Zach Tanelli’s 7-5 decision over No. 8 Mike Thorn at 141 pounds sparked the rally for Wisconsin over Minnesota, which entered the contest with a 4-1 record in conference dual meets.
Fifth-ranked Kyle Ruschell’s 12-4 major decision over Grygelko at the 149-pound flight followed Tanelli’s win, and victories for No. 8 Andrew Howe at 165 pounds, Travis Rutt at 174, Eric Bugenhagen at 184 and No. 3 Herbst at 197 followed the Badger loss at 157 pounds.
“We wrestled once before (with Minnesota),” Davis said. “I knew we had a shot, I knew we could win, but we just had to put some things together, and we did that. That kind of kicked things off for (Sunday), too.”
Tanelli, who extended his winning streak to 16 matches, helped Wisconsin dig itself out of the 6-0 hole with his 8-4 decision over Purdue’s Juan Archuleta. But the real spark for the Badgers came during the next match when Ruschell made quick work of eighth-ranked Jake Patacsil — pinning him in one minute and 54 seconds and sending the announced crowd of 821 into frenzy.
“I had wrestled him twice before, and I knew what he had in his arsenal,” said Ruschell, who split with Patacsil in the first two matches. “The coach talked about being more offensive during my matches, so I just did that and I knew what I had to do.”
Ruschell’s win ignited two more Wisconsin wins over ranked opponents.
Howe, a freshman, powered past No. 16 Luke Manuel with a 9-3 decision, and Herbst later followed with a 2-0 decision over 13th-ranked Logan Brown, in which he used an escape and riding time late in the third period to fuel the win.
“The last couple of matches I’ve had — Friday and last Sunday — I didn’t really feel that good,” Herbst said. “I got victories, but just coming off the mat, I didn’t give it my all. Today, I felt a lot better. This is the second time I’ve wrestled this guy, so I knew what to expect — a good, straight on, tough wrestler.”
With the match score tied at 15, No. 8 Kyle Massey earned a 10-2 major decision over the Boilermakers’ Chris Kasten to seal the Badger victory.
With the win over Minnesota on Friday, Wisconsin avenged a 22-15 loss against the Gophers in a Jan. 10 dual meet at the National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Badgers are now 36-55-1 in the all-time series in dual meets.
A victory over Purdue on Sunday extended Wisconsin’s winning streak in dual meets over the Boilermakers to four games. The Badgers lead the all-time series 42-11-2.
Despite the two wins over the weekend, Davis still isn’t satisfied with his team’s performance and feels Wisconsin must improve to fair well down the stretch.
“There’s some things we’ve got to work on at 57 and 74 yet,” Davis said. “We’re a little too straight on — not enough offense there. It’s better to win and motivate that way, but there’s just things we’ve got to work on.”
