Wisconsin Badgers Wrestling MAN OF THE MAT vs Illinois

Wisconsin Badgers Wrestling MAN OF THE MAT Award

The intent of this prestigious, almost Hodge-like, award is to highlight a wrestler from the Wisconsin Badgers Wrestling team that had the most outstanding performance from the event.

After some incredible performances on Sunday vs. Illinois I had a myriad of choices to choose from this week. This wasn’t an easy decision for me.

Could it be Eric Barnett after he closed out his final ride at the Field House with a dominate major decision win?

Could it be Joseph Zargo who dominated his opponent in route to a major decision in his match?

Surely, Dean Hamiti has to be the winner after pinning a ranked opponent, right?

On Sunday – one performance stood slightly above the rest. With the Wisconsin Badgers trailing Illinois 18–17 with one match to go – only one man could bring it home for the boys.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ryan Eilers (@ryanbeilers)

For the second week in a row – not only was Gannon Rosenfeld earn the MAN OF THE MAT award – he earned the dual deciding win and sent the seniors out on top!

Coach Bono credits the work ethic of Rosenfeld and the diligence he put in this week.

“He’s getting better, this was the best week of practice I’ve ever seen him have. Coach Reader locked in on him this week and showed him the potential he could have. Very happy that a young guy like that can go out there with the pressure of a team win and pull it off.”

Previous Winners of the MAN OF THE MAT:

Lindenwood – Felix Lettini

Michigan State Open – Luke Condon

No. 10 Iowa State – NO SELECTION

Bucknell – Max Maylor

Rider – Joseph Zargo

Drexel – Dean Hamiti

Midlands Championships – Shane Liegel

Virginia Duals – Max Maylor

No. 7 Ohio State – Eric Barnett

Michigan State – Nicolar Rivera

Loras Open – Luke Condon

No. 6 Nebraska – Dean Hamiti

Northwestern – Zan Fugitt

Purdue – Gannon Rosenfeld

Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to read our work at BadgerNotes.com. For more Wisconsin Badgers Athletics and Big Ten content, follow us on Twitter & Facebook. You can also subscribe to our YouTube Channel. You can also follow Ryan Eilers on Twitter: @ryanbeilers

Also, be sure to check out our shop, subscribe to our newsletter, and the BadgerNotes After Dark podcast, which is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all other streaming platforms. Because of your support, we have become one of the fastest-growing independent media outlets focused on giving a voice to the fans!