NEXT ACTION - After a tough Big Ten dual season, the Badgers (10-10-1 over-all, 2-6 Big Ten) will travel to the 87th annual Big Ten Championships hosted by Northwestern in Evanston, Ill. Last year, Wisconsin finished ninth at the tournament. 2001 Big Ten Championship Line-up 125 (18) Tony Black, So., River Falls, Wis. (HS) 133 (10) Kevin Black, So., River Falls, Wis. (HS) 141 (15) Grant Hoerr, Jr., Morton, Ill. (HS) 149 Mark Trinitapoli, So., Elm Grove, Wis. (Brookfield East) 157 P.J. Dowling, Jr., Winneconne, Wis. (Oshkosh Lourdes Academy) OR Nate Erdman, Fr., Fort Atkinson, Wis. (HS) 165 (1) Donny Pritzlaff, Sr., Lyndhurst, N.J. (HS) 174 Ryan Lewis, Fr., Waukesha, Wis. (South) 184 (18) Ralph DeNisco, Fr., Woodcliffe Lake, N.J. (St. Joseph Regional) 197 Jareck Horton, Fr., Apple Valley, Minn. (HS) Hwt. Justin Staebler, So., Perham, Minn. (HS) THE BIG TEN IN THE NATION - Ten of the 11 teams in the Big Ten Conference are ranked among the top 25 in the nation, according to the latest InterMat rankings. Five Big Ten teams make up the top 10, validating the notion that the Big Ten is one of the toughest conferences in the nation. "The Big Ten conference is the best in the country," says Wisconsin head coach Barry Davis. "It (the Big Ten championship tournament) is some-times as tough or tougher than the national tournament." 2000-01 Season Review The Wisconsin wrestling squad competed in three dual tournaments this season, including an invite in Lyndhurst, N.J., the Lonestar Duals in Dallax, Texas, and the Virginia Duals in Hampton, Va. In New Jersey, the Badgers opened their dual season going 3-0 as they defeated Seton Hall (31-7), Rutgers (21-18) and Army (32-12). While also on the East Coast they defeated Hofstra in a dual meet, 19-15, in Hempstead, N.Y. The Badgers picked up a win at the Lonestar Duals, defeating Navy, 25-9, but were defeated by No. 9 Nebraska, 24-17, and a dominant Iowa State team (ranked fourth in the nation at the time), 25-9. At the Virginia Duals Wisconsin defeated James Madison, 37-9, in the first round of competition but was defeated by Central Michigan in a close 18-16 dual in round two. On the second day of competition at the Virginia Duals the squad came away with a win, loss and a tie. Wisconsin's first dual of the day was a 16-16 tie against Cornell. The Badgers went on to defeat West Virginia, 28-9, but lost to Indiana, 18-19, in a pre-Big Ten-season match. The Badgers first home dual of the season came on December 8 where Wisconsin squeaked by Northern Iowa, 20-19. A crucial win by freshman Ryan Lewis helped the Badgers to victory. Wisconsin opened the Big Ten season on the road where they defeated Northwestern, 28-9, at Welsh-Ryan arena in Evanston. The Badgers then traveled to Iowa City to take on the Hawkeyes, but struggled against the third-ranked team. The Badgers were only able to win three of ten matches, losing the meet 13- 31 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Wisconsin continued its road trip to meet Purdue in West Lafayette and Michigan in Ann Arbor. The Badgers went 0-2 for the weekend, losing to Purdue, 15-19, and Michigan, 4-37. The Badgers never led against the Boilermakers, as Purdue won six of the 10 matches. Wisconsin didn't fare any better against Michigan as the Wolverines won nine of the evening's ten matches, including the first five. Wisconsin's sole winner was 165-pound defending NCAA champion, Donny Pritzlaff. Pritzlaff earned the Badgers' only points with a 14-6 major decision over No. 6-ranked Charles Martelli. Pritlaff reached the 30-win mark with the victory. After being on the road for two weeks, the Badgers began home compe tition against Penn State and Illinois. Wisconsin upset 21-ranked Penn State at the UW Field House with a clutch victory by redshirt freshman Ralph DeNisco (184 pounds). DeNisco upset 15th-ranked Jeff Knupp in the last match of the night in a 3-2 decision to edge the Badgers past the Nittany Lions, 19-18. In the same weekend Wisconsin fell to Illinois, 11-27, winning only three matches. The Badgers closed out the Big Ten regular season with another weekend at home against top-ranked Minnesota and Indiana. Wisconsin fell to Minnesota, 6- 33, and Indiana, 13-25. Earlier in the season Wisconsin wrestlers competed in three open tour-naments. The Badgers crowned four champions in the upperclassmen division of the UW-Stevens Point Open (Tony Black, 125 lbs., Grant Hoerr, 141 lbs., Donny Pritzlaff, 165 lbs., Justin Staebler, Hwt.) and two champions in the fresh-men division of the tournament (Tyler Laudon, 141 lbs., Brady Reinke, 174 lbs.). At the Missouri Open in Columbia, Mo., Wisconsin earned three second-place finishes (Pritzlaff, Hoerr, Kevin Black, 133 lbs.) and a third-place finish (Staebler). The Badgers also placed thirteen grapplers in the top eight at the Northern Open, including nine in the top three. Pritzlaff took home the only championship. Wisconsin's final regular season dual record stands at 10-10-1 overall and 2-6 in the conference. Badgers to Watch TONY BLACK (125) - Has compiled a 22-10 overall record and is 3-5 in the Big Ten ... five conference losses came to top-20 opponents, including three ranked in the top 10 ... currently ranked 18th in the country by InterMat ... earned a first- and second-place finish at the UW-Stevens Point Open and Northern Open, respectively ... has recorded five falls, five major decisions and three technical falls on the season. KEVIN BLACK (133) - Currently ranked 10th in the nation by InterMat ...owns a 21-10 overall record and is 4-4 in the conference ... went undefeated at the Virginia Duals ... earned second-place finishes at the Missouri and Northern Opens ... second-most pins on the team with six ... qualified for his first NCAA championship with a sixth-place finish at the Big Ten championships in 1999. GRANT HOERR (141) - Returning NCAA qualifier at 141 pounds ... has compiled a 24-8 record, second best on the team ... is 4-3 in the Big Ten ... all three Big Ten losses came to top-20 opponents ... currently ranked 15th in the country by InterMat ... earned a first-place finish at the UW-Stevens Point Open and finished second at the Missouri and Northern Opens. DONNY PRITZLAFF (165) - Defending NCAA champion at 165 pounds ... currently ranked first in the nation by InterMat and Amateur Wrestling News ... will vie for his third Big Ten championship title ... is undefeated in conference competition for the third time... defeated four top-10 conference oppo-nents... has earned eight pins (two morethan his career total ending the 1999-2000 season), 14 major decisions and five technical falls this season, leading the team in all categories ... only seven times this season has he defeated opponents by less than eight points ... holds a spot-less dual record (20-0) and is 34-1 over -all, his only loss coming to second-ranked Joe Heskett (Iowa State) whom he went on to defeat later in the season at the NWCA All-Star Classic ... Heskett is the same opponent Pritzlaff defeated to win the NCAA title last season ... three-time all-American, finishing sixth (1997-98), fifth (1998-99), and first (1999-2000) ... career record thus far stands at 126-16, tied for fifth with John Giura (1985-88) on Wisconsin's all-time career wins list ... this season, he also holds the seventh highest Wisconsin all-time winning percentage with .971, and the second highest all-time career win ning percentage thus far (.887). RALPH DENISCO (184) - Red-shirt freshman who owns an impressive 21-14 overall record, 4-4 in the Big Ten ... all four conference losses came to opponents ranked in the top six ... upset No. 15 Jeff Knupp of Penn State in the last match of the night to edge the Badgers over the Nittany Lions ... his performance against Knupp subsequently earned him his current ranking of 18 by InterMat ... came extremely close to upsetting No. 5 Victor Sveda of Minnesota and No. 2 Nate Patrick of Illinois, losing 6-3 and 5-4, respectively ... placed third at the UW-Stevens Point Open and fourth at the Northern Open... has recorded five falls and four major decisions on the season. About