Blue wrestling ready to tackle Big Ten foes

After months of tournaments on the West Coast and dual meets against non-conference teams, the Michigan wrestling team is facing familiar foes again.

The Wolverines play out the bulk of their Big Ten schedule in the upcoming weeks. They will travel to Evanston today to face Northwestern and to Champaign to face Illinois tomorrow.

The 10th-ranked Wolverines (0-1 Big Ten, 3-6 overall) will have their hands full with both opponents. The 22nd-ranked Wildcats have six wrestlers ranked in the top 20 of their weight classes, and the eighth-ranked Illini are undefeated in dual meet competition.

The Wolverines, on the other hand, have lost five of their past six meets and are suffering from a lack of consistent training. They have not been able to find a groove.

"We've continued to practice hard this past week to get everyone to feel more confident about their wrestling," Michigan assistant coach Kirk Trost said.

After the death of teammate Jeff Reese, the Wolverines didn't hold practice for several weeks. Trost said the losses to lower-caliber teams have caused some Michigan wrestlers to question their abilities.

"We want to improve their attitudes going into the match," he said.

Last weekend at the National Team Duals, the Wolverines were on the wrong end of many tight matches. Most of the matches at the lower weights were decided by just one or two points.

"We lost a lot of close ones," Trost said. "We don't want to pass up any scoring opportunities this weekend, and we have been trying to get more intensity on the mat."

The Wolverines should have the edge against the Wildcats. The Wolverines are 0-1-1 in their last two meetings at Evanston, but the Wildcats are weak in the middle of their line-up. Chris Viola, Michigan's 118-pound wrestler, will have a key match against Dominic Caruso. Michigan's Damion Logan will also be challenged, wrestling at 134 pounds. Logan will face Northwestern's top wrestler, fifth-ranked Scott Schatsman.

The Illini will pose more of a challenge. They are 2-0 in Big Ten competition and have five wrestlers ranked in the top 12 of their weight classes.

Bill Lacure, who has not wrestled in the past few weeks due to injury, may face Illinois' Eric Seibert, who is ranked No. 1 at 150 pounds. If Lacure is not cleared to wrestle, freshman Jason Rawls will take his place.

The Wolverines will need wins at the front of their line-up if they want to overtake Illinois.

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