Match Notes: Penn State

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ON THE MAT
The University of Iowa wrestling team hosts No. 2 Penn State on Friday at  8:05 p.m. (CT) at Carver-Hawkeyes Arena. The dual is sold out.

ON THE TUBE
Friday’s dual against Penn State is televised by BTN. Tim Johnson and Jim Gibbons will call the action live from Carver-Hawkeye Arena. A pregame show with studio host Rick Pizzo begins at 7:30 p.m. on BTN.

BACK POINTS
•     Friday is just the second time Iowa and Penn State are meeting as No. 1 and No. 2 in the NWCA Coaches’ Poll. The only other meeting was Jan. 5, 1986 (No. 1 Iowa 35, No. 2 Penn State 5).
•     Spencer Lee has scored bonus points in all 10 matches and outscored his last five opponents 84-1.
•     Hawkeye wrestlers are a combined 44-6 in five Big Ten duals (69-11 in overall duals).

CAMBUS TO PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION FOR IOWA WRESTLING DUALS
The University of Iowa CAMBUS will provide complimentary shuttle services to and from Hancher Auditorium for the three remaining Hawkeye Wrestling duals on the 2020 schedule.
CAMBUS service from Hancher begins 90 minutes prior to the start of the dual, and will run continuously until 30 minutes after the end of the dual, or until all riders have been accommodated.
The drop-off and pick-up areas are the CAMBUS shelter in the Hancher Auditorium commuter parking lot, and along Newton Road near the East entrance of Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

THE SERIES — PENN STATE
Iowa leads the all-time series 27-10-2. Penn State has won the last two meetings, including its last visit to Iowa City, 26-11, on Jan. 20, 2017. Iowa’s last win in the series was 18-12 at Penn State on Feb. 8, 2015.    The Hawkeyes are 14-6 all-time against the Nittany Lions in Iowa City.

PA IN IA
The Hawkeyes’ probable lineup includes five Pennsylvania natives: Spencer Lee, Austin DeSanto, Max Murin, Kaleb Young, and Michael Kemerer.
Lee was a three-time high school state champion from 2014-16 at Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville.
Kemerer, also a Franklin Regional High School graduate, was a three-time state runner-up before climbing to the top of the podium as a senior in 2015. He finished his senior season undefeated.
DeSanto is from Exeter and a 2017 state champion. He had a runner-up finish in 2016 and a fifth-place finish in 2016.
Murin was a two-time state champion and three-time finalist for Central Cambria in Ebensburg.
Young won a state title for Punxsutawney High School in 2016 after respective fifth and fourth place finishes his sophomore and junior seasons.
Lee, Murin, Young and Kemerer all trained at Young Guns Wrestling, a Pennsylvania wrestling club directed by former Hawkeye Jody Strittmatter.

FORCEFUL-LEE
Junior Spencer Lee has recorded five straight technical falls and outscored those five opponents, 84-1. Lee enters Friday’s dual ranked No. 1 at 125 with a 10-0 record. He has scored bonus points in each match, winning once by major decision, twice by fall, and seven times by technical fall.
Only four times this season has Lee wrestled into the second period. His two pins are both in under a minute, 0:54 and 0:52. He has four first-period technical falls, and the other three were in 3:13, 3:32, and 3:16.

1 VS. 2
Top-ranked Iowa vs. No. 2 Penn State is on the marquee, but two weight classes inside the dual feature the country’s top-ranked wrestlers.
Iowa’s Alex Marinelli and Michael Kemerer are ranked No. 2 at 165 and 174 pounds, respectively. They both toe the line Friday against Penn State’s top-ranked Vincenzo Joseph (165) and Mark Hall (174). The four wrestlers are a combined 44-0 this season, with each duo having identical 22-0 records.
Marinelli is 2-0 in his career against Joseph. He won 9-6 at Penn State in a 2018 dual, and 9-3 in the finals of the 2019 Big Ten Championships. Joseph was ranked No. 1 both times.
Kemerer and Hall are meeting for the first time in their careers. Kemerer is 25-6 all-time against ranked opponents, 0-2 against No. 1 (lost twice to Jason Nolf in 2017). Hall is 0-1 in his career at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. He lost his college debut to Iowa’s Alex Meyer, 7-5, on Jan. 20, 2017.

LUGO CHASES WIN NO. 100
Senior Pat Lugo’s next win will be No. 100 in his career. He has a career record of 99-38, including a 63-18 mark at Edinboro from 2015-17, and a 36-10 mark at Iowa from 2018-20.
Lugo is 13-1 this season with six wins over ranked opponents, including three in the top seven. He is ranked No. 3 this week, and is 18-10 all-time against ranked opponents.
He spent three weeks at the No. 1 ranking after opening the season with a 13-0 record. The No. 1 billing was the first of Lugo’s career. He has spent all season in the top 5 after finishing the 2019 season with an eighth-place All-America finish. Prior to the 2019 national tournament, Lugo had not been ranked higher than 10th.

BIG TEN & 0
Junior Spencer Lee (18-0), junior Austin DeSanto (12-0), junior Alex Marinelli (22-0), freshman Abe Assad (4-0), and redshirt freshman Tony Cassioppi (5-0) are all undefeated in their careers in Big Ten duals.
Among Lee’s 18 Big Ten dual wins are seven falls (five in the first period), seven technical falls, and one major decision.

HOME SWEET HOME
Spencer Lee, Alex Marinelli, Abe Assad, and Tony Cassioppi are undefeated in their careers at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Marinelli is 16-0 all-time at Carver. Lee owns a record of 15-0. Cassioppi is undefeated in five matches, and Assad is 2-0. He won his Carver debut, 6-4, over No. 5 Taylor Venz of Nebraska on Jan. 18.
In Lee’s 15 home wins, he has four pins, seven technical falls, and two major decisions. Four of the wins are against top 10 opponents.
Among Marinelli’s 16 wins, he has five pins, three technical falls, and one major decision.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
Friday’s matchup against No. 2 Penn State is Iowa’s third dual in 14 days against three of the top seven teams in the country. Iowa defeated No. 7 Nebraska, 26-6, on Jan. 18, and No. 4 Ohio State , 24-10, on Jan. 24. Those three teams have a combined record of 21-6. All three duals are televised on BTN.
The Hawkeyes close the regular season hosting No. 11 Minnesota on Feb. 15, and No. 14 Oklahoma State on Feb. 23. Those duals are also televised on BTN.

HAWKEYES AND CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA
The Hawkeyes are 259-25 all-time at Carver-Hawkeye Arena since moving from the UI Field House in 1983. Iowa was 7-0 at home in 2018-19 completing its 21st undefeated season in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes have recorded 21 undefeated seasons in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Carver-Hawkeye Arena has hosted two United States Olympic Team Trials, four Big Ten Championships (1983, 1994, 2005, 2016), and four NCAA Championships (1986, 1991, 1995, 2001). The Hawkeyes have won five tournament titles on their home mat, including the 1983 and 1994 Big Ten Championships, and the 1986, 1991 and 1995 NCAA Championships.
In 2018, the University of Iowa hosted the UWW World Cup, an international dual tournament featuring eight of the top countries in the world.