MADISON, Wis. — Hard-fought in front of a large home crowd, No. 11 Wisconsin lost 28-11* to No. 1 Penn State at the UW Field House on Friday. Wisconsin kept the dual tied up through six bouts, 12-12, but Penn State took control in the upper weights to seal the Badgers loss in the opening dual of the Big Ten season.

The Badgers saw three wrestlers earn victories against the Nittany Lions as Eric Barnett (125 pounds), Austin Gomez (149) and Dean Hamiti (165) collected wins.

Barnett came out of the gate powerfully for the Badgers with a 15-0 technical fall over PSU's Gary Steen. Barnett controlled Steen with two takedowns and turned him for 10 total nearfall points, earning a final escape point to seal the victory and give the Wisconsin the early 5-0 lead.

Down 8-5 after two losses at 133 and 141 pounds, Gomez tied up the dual match with a 6-2 decision over Shayne Van Ness. Gomez took a 2-0 lead after a takedown, later building it to 3-0 with an escape and fending off Van Ness until late in the third period. Gomez made it 5-0 with a second takedown and Van Ness finally broke the shutout with a reversal with 15 seconds left, but Gomez picked up the win with riding time to give the Badgers the tie score, 8-8.

Penn State won 157 before Hamiti earned a 18-6 major decision over Matt Lee at 165 pounds to again even the team score 12-12. Hamiti scored five takedowns and turned Lee for four nearfall points in the victory.

True freshman Felix Lettini earned a tough loss, 12-3, in his starting debut for Wisconsin as he filled in for Joseph Zargo at 141 pounds and held his own against the more veteran opposition.

Wisconsin returns to Big Ten action on the road on Sunday at No. 28 Illinois. The Badgers take to the mats against the Illinois at 3 p.m. on Big Ten Network, in the second of four national television broadcasts.

RESULTS

Jan. 6, 2023 - #11 Wisconsin 11, #1 Penn State 28 - Madison, Wis. | WIS-PSU
125: #5 Eric Barnett (WIS) over Gary Steen (PSU) - TF 15-0 5:11 |  5-0
133: #1 Roman Bravo-Young (PSU) over #27 Taylor LaMont (WIS) - MD 14-5 | 5-4
141: #5 Beau Bartlett (PSU) over Felix Lettini (WIS) - MD 12-3 | 5-8
149: #2 Austin Gomez (WIS) over #15 Shayne Van Ness (PSU) - Dec 6-2 | 8-8
157: Levi Haines (PSU) over #16 Garrett Model (WIS) - MD 16-6 | 8-12
165: #5 Dean Hamiti (WIS) over Matt Lee (PSU) - MD 18-6 | 12-12
174: #1 Carter Starocci (PSU) over Josh Otto (WIS) - MD 22-8 | 12-16
184: #1 Aaron Brooks (PSU) over Tyler Dow (WIS) - TF 16-0 4:33 | 12-21
197: #5 Max Dean (PSU) over #14 Braxton Amos (WIS) - MD 11-2 | 11-25*
285: #1 Greg Kerkvliet (PSU) over #11 Trent Hillger (WIS) - Dec 6-2 | 11-28
* Wisconsin lost 1 team point for control of mat area during the 197 bout.
All rankings are Intermat for Jan. 4, 2023.