Feb. 2, 2007
Complete Results | Photo Gallery 
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue University wrestling team suffered a 27-12 defeat at the hands of ninth-ranked Big Ten opponent Wisconsin on Friday night at Purdue's Intercollegiate Athletic Facility. A trio of Boilermakers picked up wins on the day, including 12th-ranked sophomore Jake Patacsil, who recorded the squad's first pin of the conference schedule.
Also securing victories for the Old Gold and Black were junior Brandon Tucker and freshman Justin Fraga. Tucker earned his first Big Ten win of the season at 125 pounds, topping junior Collin Cudd, 6-3, while Fraga pushed his conference mark above .500 at 165 pounds with a 9-7 come-from-behind victory over junior Jake Donar.
Tucker put the crowd on their feet to start the match as he used takedowns in the second and third period to lock up his victory. Neither grappler could get on the board in the first frame, but Cudd broke the stalemate by scrambling to his feet to start the second. Tucker sent him back to the mat with his first takedown, but couldn't keep his hold of Cudd, who tied the match at 2-2 before the buzzer. It was all Tucker in the final session as he scored a one-point escape and a two-point takedown to open the period and he never looked back.
The Badgers vaulted themselves into a 9-3 advantage as 14th-ranked sophomore Zach Tanelli recorded a 5:46 pin on Purdue junior Sean Schmaltz at 133 pounds, and 15th-ranked Wisconsin freshman Kyle Ruschell scored a 9-4 decision over Purdue freshman Nick Bertucci at 141 pounds. The lead, however, would be short-lived as Patacsil managed to secure a cradle on seventh-ranked 149-pound senior Tyler Turner, and worked his shoulders to the mat for the 1:46 pinfall. The pin is Patacsil's ninth of the season, tying him for 13th in single-season school history, and the 13th of his career, good for a tie at 16th all-time.
Sixth-ranked junior Craig Henning put Wisconsin back on top, 12-9, working out a 7-3 decision over Purdue sophomore Jake Murphy at 157-pounds, but Fraga would reknot the score after his win over Donar. Fraga took an early lead, securing Donar's ankle and working behind him for a takedown, however Donar would gain the upper hand, reversing Fraga and stretching him to his back for the three-point nearfall and the 5-2 lead. Fraga managed the only points of the second, scoring a takedown and riding his opponent out to leave himself trailing 5-4 heading into the final session. He quickly took the lead in the third, posting his team-leading 13th reversal of the season, but Donar evened the count with just under a minute remaining, 6-6. Fraga locked up the victory just 18 seconds later as he again shot in and grabbed one of Donar's ankles and wrangled him to the mat for the takedown.
This, however, would be the last of the Boilers run at the highly-ranked Badgers as Wisconsin won the final four matches of the night and ran away with the win. Sophomore Mike Felling topped Purdue freshman Jason Martin at 174 pounds, 8-5, and sophomore Justin Peterson won at 184 pounds 7-4 over Purdue senior Nick Skinner. At 197 pounds, 12th-ranked Wisconsin sophomore Dallas Herbst dealt 13th-ranked Purdue senior Nathan Moore his first Big Ten loss of the season, snapping a seven-match win streak. Badger sophomore Kyle Massey closed out the match with an exclamation point, pinning Purdue freshman David Pisarcik in 1:59.
The Boilermakers fall to 10-5 on the season and 0-5 in conference action, while Wisconsin improves to 17-1 (3-1 Big Ten).
Purdue returns to action this Sunday at 1 p.m. as the Boilers host 19th-ranked Michigan State University.