It’s no secret the Wisconsin wrestling team faces an incredibly grueling schedule during the final six weeks of the regular season.
Beginning tonight, the No. 9 Badgers face seven nationally ranked squads over their final nine duals of the year. Those teams have a combined 47 nationally ranked wrestlers, according to the latest FloWrestling rankings.
Wisconsin’s current iteration of the starting lineup (factoring in both Taylor Watkins and Pete Christensen, since that spot is still up in the air) is a combined 11-20 in ranked matchups this season.
Seth Gross has, by far, the best mark against ranked wrestlers with a 6-1 record.
Each member of the UW lineup is slated to face at least three ranked foes. Five of 10 will square off with five or more ranked opponents, if everything holds steady.
But who has the toughest go of it from an individual standpoint?
Here is a quick look at the remaining slate of ranked wrestlers for each Wisconsin starter.
You can view a larger (and probably more readable) version of this breakdown here.
Redshirt freshman Jared Krattiger (174 pounds) is expected to face seven ranked opponents over his final nine bouts of the regular season, that’s more than anyone else on the roster.
Krattiger, who is 0-3 against ranked foes this year, is scheduled to see six of the top-10 wrestlers at his weight over his next seven matches.
Redshirt senior Cole Martin (149) and sixth-year senior Johnny Sebastian (184) each have six ranked opponents awaiting them between now and the end of February.
Redshirt senior Tristan Moran (141) is expected to face four of the top-6 at his weight between now and February 7.
By contrast, Gross and the starter at 197 will endure just three ranked matchups to close out the regular season.
You can see the Badgers (7-1, 0-1) begin the second half of their season against No. 3 Minnesota (5-3, 0-0) Friday night on Big Ten Network at 8 p.m.
