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BY BRIAN WADDLE
Times Correspondent | Sunday, October 15, 2006 | (No comments posted.)
SUNDAY SPECIAL
Some people have to learn how to win to be successful. It was the exact opposite for Alex Tsirtsis.
As strange as it sounds, learning how to lose -- or dealing with it -- was his biggest obstacle.
Known as Mr. Perfect in high school, the former Griffith standout never lost a high school match. The 2004 Tim Bishop Memorial Athlete of the Year won four straight state titles and went 236-0 over his career, setting state and national marks for consecutive victories.
Tsirtsis was on top of the wrestling world. He was featured in Sports Illustrated's "Faces in the Crowd" and invited to do a segment on MTV's "True Life," but opted not to. Everybody wanted a piece of him, including the Iowa Hawkeyes, the program he dreamed of wrestling for since he was 7.
Then everything changed.
Tsirtsis was thrown into the fire as a true freshman. Most athletes get the luxury of a redshirt season where they can adjust to the rigors of college. Not Tsirtsis. He started at 141 pounds as a freshman and went 22-12.
Some would call it a success. Tsirtsis felt it was a failure.
"I would say that was the only time I've ever gotten tired of wrestling," Tsirtsis said of his freshman year. "I was burned out, and I hated losing. I wasn't taking it the right way. All I can say is it's in the past and all you can do is learn from it. I can't change anything and I won't make excuses, but I'm really excited about this season and I can't wait for the competition."
Tsirtsis has come a long way since that freshman campaign. He was third in the Big Ten and finished seventh in the nation at the NCAA Championships last season. Three of the wrestlers who finished in front of him have graduated, and he's beaten the top-ranked grappler in his weight class -- Northwestern's Ryan Lang.
Tsirtsis sounds like a new man. He's upbeat, excited about the season, and the Iowa program is the big talk again with Olympic gold medalist and three-time NCAA champion Tom Brands taking over as head coach. Even the guy Tsirtsis dreamed about wrestling for as a kid -- the legendary Dan Gable -- has joined Brands' staff as an assistant coach. Gable, who guided Iowa to 15 NCAA titles in his 20 years, coached Brands at Iowa.
"I know (Alex) feels better about everything from academics to wrestling," Brands said. "He was probably held to a different standard, and I think he's responded pretty well to it. When he opens up, he's going to be very, very tough."
While he still has a goal of wrestling in the Olympics one day, Tsirtsis said his total focus is on the season at hand. He's not sure how the upcoming season -- which begins Nov. 3 -- will unfold, but he's excited about the challenge. He knows now that if things don't go his way, he has the experience of losing -- and knowing how to deal with it -- under his belt. A loss here or there won't make or break or season like it did two years ago.
The Alex Tsirtsis file
College: Iowa.
Year: Junior.
Background: The 2004 Tim Bishop Memorial Times Athlete of the Year, Tsirtsis was 236-0 at Griffith, where he won four straight state titles and set the state and national records for consecutive victories. Tsirtsis was 22-12 as a freshman at Iowa, but rebounded to finish third in the Big Ten and seventh in the nation at 141 pounds last season. Going into his junior campaign with a new coach, Tsirtsis has high hopes for himself and the Hawkeye program.
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