After participating in the National Coaches Wrestling Association/Cliff Keen National Duals on Saturday, the road won’t get any easier for the wrestling team.
The Spartans (3-3 overall, 0-0 Big Ten) take on No. 23 Purdue (11-1, 1-0) on Saturday and No. 1 Minnesota (11-0, 0-0) on Sunday at Jenison Field House.
MSU is hoping to start the Big Ten season on a good note after facing a tough nonconference schedule.
“It’s real important to set a tone for the rest of the year,” junior Karl Nadolsky said.
Senior Chris Williams said with the caliber of teams in the Big Ten, the opening weekend is no time for a letdown.
“It’s the toughest conference in the nation year in and year out,” Williams said. “The Big Ten is so tough that we can’t afford to not start off well.”
The Spartans dropped their matches against Purdue and Minnesota last season, falling 18-14 and 32-3, respectively.
“Last year (Purdue) beat us, and they shouldn’t have,” Nadolsky said.
Nadolsky obviously wants the team to win, but has a personal goal in mind as well - starting a new winning streak.
His eight-match winning streak came to an end Saturday against No. 10 Lock Haven.
“I just have to take one match at a time,” Nadolsky said. “Whoever Purdue sends out, I’ve beaten before. I just have to pull it together.”
The Boilermakers are coming to East Lansing riding a 10-meet winning streak, a vast contrast from last year’s team that only won three conference meets.
“They won 11 dual meets, but they haven’t gone against any top flight competition yet, so it’s tough to judge them,”Nadolsky said. “But I think it’s going to be tough.”
Williams agreed with Nadolsky. He said following the Purdue meet, the Spartans should be 4-3.
“A team like Purdue, we should beat them,” Williams said. “We are a better team than them.”
On the other hand, the Golden Gophers have some of the top wrestlers in the nation spread out among several weight classes. As the defending national champion, Minnesota has been ranked No. 1 all season, beating all but one opponent by double digits.
“If we could beat Minnesota, it would be amazing,” Nadolsky said. “It would be something, the highlight of the year.
“Minnesota at this point has been wrestling unstoppable. Every guy on their team could contend for a national title. It’s amazing the star power they have.”
Head coach Tom Minkel said the contest will come down to individual matches.
“For us to beat Minnesota, we are going to have to win the close matches,” Minkel said. “They have seven guys ranked in the top three in their weight class, so obviously there are going to be tough matches.”
Williams said Minnesota’s dominance is nothing new.
“Minnesota is strong as hell every year,” Williams said. “They may be even a better team this year than they were last year. It’d be a huge upset for us to beat them.
“Our goal is to wrestle the best we can. We just want to go as hard as we can and go intense as we can.”
