Wrestlers face tourney

With the 1998 Big Ten Wrestling Championships geared for lift-off tomorrow morning at The Bryce Jordan Center, one question seems to be lingering a little longer than usual.

Can anybody beat Iowa this year?

The indestructible Hawkeyes, winners of 24 consecutive Big Ten titles, seek to establish a quarter-century of conference domination this weekend after closing out a highly atypical dual-meet season.

The Hawkeyes fell to Penn State 25-17 on Jan. 3 and bowed to Minnesota 18-17 at the National Duals two weeks later. Then they lost to Oklahoma State 22-18 in a highly publicized one-versus-two matchup on Valentine's Day.

Before this season, Iowa had not lost at home since 1988 -- all of which suggests an uncharacteristically vulnerable Hawkeye squad heading into this weekend's action.

"I think the pressure's on them," Minnesota coach J Robinson said. "It's all going to come down to who's giving them respect. If people give them too much respect, they're going to win again. You have to wrestle them like you would anybody else."

Iowa's 24 consecutive Big Ten championships is the longest Div. I conference title string in any sport in NCAA history. Maybe that's why most league coaches aren't banking on an upset.

"They've gotten beat a few times this year, but until somebody knocks them off at Big Tens, they're going to be the defending champs and the favorites," Northwestern coach Tim Cysewski said. "They got beat in dual meets. Dual meets are very different from tournaments."

Michigan coach Dale Bahr put it a bit more figuratively.

"I'm sticking with Iowa this year," Bahr said. "I'm not picking an upset until the emperor's dead."

Besides the Hawkeyes' surprisingly topsy-turvy dual-meet season, critics have cited the absence of Gable as a possible reason for Iowa's seemingly diminished stature this year.

While most coaches have avoided the issue -- claiming Gable wasn't entirely responsible for Iowa's success -- Bahr said it was more of a factor than people thought.

"To me, Iowa's more susceptible this year because Gable's not there," Bahr said. "Nothing against Zalesky at all, but Gable is by far the greatest coach I've ever seen, in any sport -- whether it's basketball, football, wrestling, whatever.

"Whenever you lose a guy like that, it's tough. There's a certain edge he brings to the mat," Bahr said. "Iowa's still going to be Iowa for a while, but Zalesky has to prove he has the edge that Gable had. It's difficult. When Joe Paterno leaves Penn State, it's going to be hard to replace him. It's hard to follow a legend."

Zalesky, however, has heard it all before.

He said it's not his place to worry about a team other than his own. He also said he picked up a few tricks while working as an assistant to Gable in the seven years preceding this season.

"The competition has always been tight in the Big Ten, just like it is this year," Zalesky said. "The way I see it, we've been here before and we know what's it like."

They certainly do.