B1G Home Opener Friday Night vs. #1 Penn State

Jan. 15, 2014

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - It's a top-20 match-up Friday night inside Universty Gym as #19 Indiana hosts three-time defending national champion and top-ranked Penn State (8-0, 2-0) in a 7 pm ET dual match. After starting the Big Ten slate with three consecutive road trips, the Hoosiers (7-4, 0-3) open up a three-match homestand. The entire B1G schedule will be streamed live online by the Big Ten Digital Network on HoosiersTV at IUHoosiers.com.

MATCH COVERAGE
• BTDN Live Stream
• Live Blog
• Twitter: @IUWrestling1

Complete Match Notes

FRIENDLY CONFINES OF U-GYM
• IU is 7-1 in home dual matches
• IU's 46-0 blanking of VMI is its first D-I shutout since besting Clarion 49-0 on Jan. 18, 2009
• IU's 52-0 win over Manchester is its largest margin of victory since topping Manchester 58-0 during the 2008-09 season
• Walsh, LeBlanc, Sheridan and Chalfant have yet to lose at home this season

PROBABLE MATCH-UPS
125 lbs. - Joe Duca, r-Jr. (8-6) vs. #2 Nico Megaludis, Jr. (17-2)
133 lbs. - Chris Caton, Fr. (11-12) or Kyle Springer, Fr. (4-4) vs. #13 Jimmy Gulibon, r-Fr. (9-8)
141 lbs. - #20 Ethan Raley, r-So. (24-8) vs. #2 Zain Retherford, Fr. (18-0)
149 lbs. - #32 Eric Roach, r-So. (14-9) vs. #7 Andrew Alton, r-Jr. (4-0) or Zack Beitz, r-Fr. (9-6)
157 lbs. - #4 Taylor Walsh, r-Jr. (27-2) vs. #4 Dylan Alton, r-Jr. (7-0) or James Vollrath, r-Sr. (10-6)
165 lbs. - #20 Ryan LeBlanc, r-Sr. (28-8) vs. #1 David Taylor, r-Sr. (18-0)
174 lbs. - Nate Jackson, r-Fr. (7-9) or Matt Irick, r-Fr. (7-10) vs. #3 Matt Brown, r-Jr. (18-1)
184 lbs. - #18 Luke Sheridan, Jr. (23-7) vs. #1 Ed Ruth, r-Sr. (17-1)
197 lbs. - Garret Goldman, r-So. (10-13) vs. #6 Morgan McIntosh, r-So. (17-2)
285 lbs. - #4 Adam Chalfant, r-Sr. (17-2) vs. #10 Jimmy Lawson, Jr. (16-2)

CENTURY CLUB 
Ryan LeBlanc is quickly approaching admittance into the 100-win club as an owner of 93 career victories. In addition, he needs 11 more W's this season to crack IU's all-time top-10 for wins in a season.

PIN KING - Taylor Walsh
• Has already set the all-time IU record with 23 pins (previous record: 19 by Rod Chambelin in 1981)
• 23 pins lead the nation 
• Ranks 2nd in school history with 44 career falls (47, Viktor Sveda; 1998-2002)
• Pinned at least four foes in all four tournaments
• Recorded a 15-bout consecutive pinning streak

NATIONALLY-RANKED HOOSIERS
Six Hoosiers are ranked amongst the country's elite this week:
#4 Taylor Walsh (157 lbs)
#4 Adam Chalfant (285 lbs)
#18 Luke Sheridan (184 lbs)
#20 Ryan LeBlanc (165 lbs)
#20 Ethan Raley (141 lbs)
#32 Eric Roach (149 lbs)

The six projected NCAA Qualifiers would be the most at IU since sending a half dozen in 2010.

KIND OF A B1G DEAL
Hoosier heavyeight Adam Chalfant picked up Big Ten Wrestler of the Week honors last week after dominating 2nd-ranked Mike McMullan with three takedowns and three near-fall points while limiting the Wildcat to four escape points. He is the second Hoosier to earn the conference recognition this season after 157-pounderTaylor Walsh got the nod following his four-pin championship performance during the season-opening Clarion Open.

BIG TEN DOING BIG THINGS
As a conference, the Big Ten is a combined 63-11 in 74 non-conference duals during the 2013-14 campaign, good for a 85.1 winning percentage. Ten B1G schools can be found in the most recent USA Today Coaches Poll Top-25 and Intermat's Top-25 this week.

STOCKPILING WINS
The first three slots of the Big Ten's overall wins list are filled by Hoosiers. Ryan LeBlanc not only leads the conference with 28 wins, but also paces all of Division-I wrestling (his 10 major decisions are second nationally). LeBlanc is followed in the B1G overall wins rankings by teammates Taylor Walsh (27, 2nd nationally), Ethan Raley (24, t-11th). Luke Sheridan is also in the league's top-5 with 23 victories.