Zach Tanelli
UW Badgers
Sophmore
133 lbs

WisconsinGrappler: You had a good weekend, you thoroughly dominated two of your opponents, and beat the third in an intense match. How do you feel you are wrestling at this point in the season? Are you where you want to be?

Zach: I feel like right now I am wrestling well, it's early in the season and I obviously have improvements to make. It's good to be on the mat wrestling high level opponents to get some exposure, and to figure out what specific areas I need to work on.

WisconsinGrappler: This past weekend you came from behind to beat Eric Albright from Virginia . In the last 20 seconds of the match, you were on your feet and behind by a point, what was going through your mind?

Zach: There wasn't a single doubt in my mind that I would get the takedown. It was a matter of setting it up and working to get to where I needed to be to get that takedown. If I allow myself to get down on myself, and feel sorry for myself because I am down by a point, then I will have no chance of any success at the NCAAs. That match was good because it gave me exposure to a tight match situation. Those are matches I have to be able to win in March if I am going to be an All American.

It's a good win for right now, it's good to know that I can win that match because it gives me confidence. But ultimately it's a small stepping stone to where I want to get at the end of the season. These are warm-ups for where I want to get in the Big Ten and the NCAAs.

WisconsinGrappler: Did you know what you were going to set up to get that takedown, or did you just take what was available?

Zach: I looked in my corner and Coach Pritzlaff told me that a high crotch was open. Knowing that he had an outside view of the match, I took advantage of him being in the corner and listened to him. And he was right, the high crotch was there.

WisconsinGrappler: Coming into the season, obviously you knew you were good enough to be ranked higher than you were. What was your mindset regarding wrestling opponents who were ranked higher than you?

Zach: My mindset towards wrestling period is to go out on the mat and wrestle as hard as I can and as well as I'm capable of. Whether I win or lose isn't the question. If I leave everything on the mat I can't ask for more. I know I'm good enough to hang with the top guys in the country, and soon enough they'll understand also

WisconsinGrappler: Do the rankings mean anything to you?

Zach: They mean nothing, it's nice to have the recognition and go into the match putting fear into people's minds…them knowing that they're going into battle. But it's just a number, Anybody can beat anybody at any time in college. It's just who's having a better day, who's more prepared.

WisconsinGrappler: RevWrestling has you ranked 12 th now, your thoughts?

Zach: The recognition is nice, it's only November right now and 12 th doesn't get me on the stand. I have a lot of work to do and I'm not satisfied with where I am. My coaches and I are striving to do better than that.

WisconsinGrappler: The next competition will be a big tournament in Vegas. You are scheduled to have 13 of the top 20 ranked wrestlers in your bracket. What are your thoughts before going into such a loaded bracket this early in the season?

Zach: Like I said earlier, it's a mindset. I'm ready. I go out there and wrestle whoever they put in front of me. I'm ready for it no matter what time of the year. I want to see the best guys in the country, I look forward to it. Win or lose there are going to be improvements to be made after this tournament. It's exciting to me to be able to fix mistakes and have areas to work on.

WisconsinGrappler: What training aspects are you going to focus on in the next two weeks leading up to this tournament?

Zach: There are some specific things I need to work on from last weekend, especially from the Virginia match. Other than that it's the same every day. I go in every day looking to get better and looking to improve from where I was yesterday

WisconsinGrappler: How do you mentally prepare for a tournament of this caliber?

Zach: Same way I prepare for every match. I mentally tell myself that it's going to be a war no matter who I'm wrestling. I go out there ready for 7 minutes of hell. Win or lose I'm going out there and you're going to have to put three bullets in me to knock me off.

WisconsinGrappler: How do you mentally prepare for a big match?

Zach: I talk to myself in my head, I tell myself and reassure myself how hard I train and where I come from and what I've done in the room, and everything else up to that point. By telling myself this it reassures me, it gives me confidence knowing that I trained harder and deserve to win because I have put in more work.

I wear a T-shirt of my High School Wrestling Club to help him me remember this. I wear the same T-shirt before my matches as a constant reminder of where I came from. It's not a superstition, it's a reminder. It puts me in the state of mind I need to be in to compete.

Mentally, before a match is the same way as it was in the end of the Virginia match. It's not “Oh my God I'm down by a point…time to get nervous!” This is where I show my character, this is where I show how I've been brought up to wrestle. That's the mentality you have to have to be able to compete at the highest level.

I know that I've done all I am capable of doing, it's not worth getting nervous about, it's a wrestling match and I wrestle. I'm ready for what they put out in front of me.

All the work I've put in is in my training, and the actual match is the fun part. Getting out in front of people and having the opportunity to compete is what makes this sport fun.

When I think like this…the pressure is off.

I occasionally get pre match jitters, but that's not the same as nervousness. I know I've done everything I can possibly do, and it takes the pressure off. I sat patiently last year and now it's my turn to show Wisconsin and the rest of the country what I have and what I've worked for. I've waited a long time to be in this position, to try and accomplish what I plan on doing this year.

I think very little of what I am going to do in the match, I think of all this other stuff. I know where I came from and it gives me the confidence I need to get out there and wrestle without any fear of anything.