GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 13 • 35
OLYMPIC ATHLETE-OF-THE-WEEK: DANNY SABATELLO
D
anny Sabatello became Purdue's first
wrestler to take home Big Ten Wres-
tler-of-the-Week honors since November
2011 for his performance at the Journey-
men/ASICS Northeast Duals last week in
New York.
Sabatello was the only Boilermaker to
go 3-0 in the tournament, which improved
his record to a team-best 12-1.
"Individually, that's something you
want since you're a kid," Sabatello said.
"You always look at these Big Ten Athlete-
of-the-Week athletes and you always want
to be them. It also gets Purdue wrestling
out there on the map. We have some seri-
ous competitors."
Sabatello defeated David White of
Binghamton 9-3 and Michael Hayes of Old Dominion 6-4,
but his biggest win was sandwiched in the middle.
The 133-pounder knocked off No. 12 Matt Manley of
Missouri, 7-4. The match was tied after the second period
before Sabatello pulled away in the third period.
"I don't like to think too much during my matches, but
I specifically remember in that match in the third period I
was thinking too myself 'I'm not going to lose,'" Sabatello
said. "I put my head down, got a takedown to seal it, and
kept the win."
Sabatello's win over Manley was his second in six
days against a ranked opponent. He defeated No. 15 Levi
Wolfensperger 5-3 to help lead Purdue to an upset team
victory over the No. 18 Northern Iowa. Last season, Sa
-
batello went 2-9 against ranked opponents.
"The wins over ranked opponents are just a sign of
Danny's development and the way he's
settled into that weight class," Coach Tony
Ersland said. "Those are things we expect-
ed from Danny and now it's seeing the
fruits of its labor. Nothing but good things
for him ahead."
Sabatello, who won his first collegiate
tournament title at the Roadrunner Open
earlier this season, is off to the best start of
his career after dropping from 141 to 133
pounds in the offseason. He said the tran-
sition has gone smoothly thus far.
"Once I decided I was going to 133,
I went full steam ahead and never really
looked back," Sabatello said. "A couple weeks
ago I looked back a little bit and evaluated
myself. I fully believe the change in weight
class was a great decision and so far it's really paid off."
Ersland said it's Sabatello's confidence that has al-
lowed him to take a step forward this season.
"He knows what he needs to do to succeed and he's
following through on those things," Ersland said.
With two wins over ranked opponents and a 12-1
mark, Sabatello feels it's only a matter of time until he is
ranked.
He'll get his chance when conference play opens up
after the first of the year — seven of the top-12 ranked
wrestlers at 133 pounds hail from the Big Ten.
"If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best,"
Sabatello said. "If I beat these kids, I'm right there being
one of the best in the nation. I'm excited to wrestle them
next month. I'm pretty confident."
j
— Travis Baugh
LINKS:
PurdueSports.com: Wrestlers beat Binghamton, fall to
No. 5 Missouri and No. 21 Old Dominion
PurdueSports.com: Sabatello collects Big Ten Wres-
tler-of-the-Week award
PurdueSports.com: Nichol, Drews named All-Big Ten,
Cuttino All-Freshman
IndyStar.com: Almighty RPI can cause other snubs; ask
Purdue volleyball
PurdueExponent.org: Boilers lament tournament
snub
j
TWITTER TALK
Following is a look at what analysts and fans had to say about Purdue's snub.
@BTNVolleyball: Shocked about @PurdueVB.
Shocked.
@MikeTWolf: Wow I am shocked @PurdueVB
was left out and Michigan State is in.
@KyleShondell: Don't let an unfortunate de-
cision allow you 2 forget what @valnichol2 & @
Kiki_Jones12
have done 4 @PurdueVB. 107-38 in 4
seasons.
#Respect
@westfallm: How does @PurdueVB not make the
#NCAATournament?!?! Top 20 team and doesn't make
it?
#shocked
@JustJeffOmaha: @PurdueVB #Husker fan
here... I'm outraged. Congrats on a great season. You
have a lot to be proud of.
#BoilerUp #unfair
@Air_Force_Juan: I blame @bigtenconf's poor
scheduling this year for
@PurdueVB not making it.
Made the conference weaker w. Wed/Sat games and
no rematches.
@swhouseworth: No disrespect to
@SHUVol-
ley,
26 wins is a great accomplishment, but in what
way is their resume better than
@PurdueVB's?
