Nov. 24, 2003
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THIS WEEK
Iowa will open its 2003-04 dual meet season Tuesday in Blue Earth, MN. The Hawkeyes will wrestle Southwest State at 6 p.m. and Minnesota State-Mankato at 8 p.m. Both matches will in the Blue Earth Area High School Gymnasium. Tickets are $8 for adults and $4 for students, and are available at the Blue Earth Area High School Activities Office or at the door.
Iowa will then travel to Tempe, AZ, to take on the Arizona State Sun Devils Sunday at 3 p.m. (CT) at Wells Fargo Arena, and Embry-Riddle at 8 p.m. (CT) in Prescott at Eagle Arena.
ON THE AIR
Morrie Adams and four-time Hawkeye all-American Mark Ironside will call the action live for all four duals on AM-800 KXIC. To listen to the broadcast online, go to the wrestling schedule page on www.hawkeyesports.com. Click on the match you want to hear using Real One Player software. Broadcasts are available using the College Sports Pass, which can be purchased for $6.95 per month or $44.95 per year, or the College Sports Superpass for $13.95 per month.
HEAD COACH Jim Zalesky
Jim Zalesky is in his seventh season as head coach at the University of Iowa. He has a school and career record of 95-18 (.841). Named National Coach of the Year in 1998 and 1999, and Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2000, he has led the Hawkeyes to three NCAA (1998-00) and two Big Ten titles (1998, 2000). Zalesky has coached nine NCAA Champions, 19 Big Ten Champions and 32 all-Americans at Iowa. A three-time national champion and one of Iowa’s 15 four-time all-Americans, Zalesky was an assistant coach and head recruiter at Iowa under Dan Gable for seven seasons (1991-97). He was named Assistant Coach of the Year by the N.W.C.A. in 1992 and 1997. Undefeated his junior and senior seasons, Zalesky ended his career on an 89-match winning streak.
COMING HOME
Tuesday’s duals in Blue Earth, MN, will be a homecoming for three Iowa wrestlers. Senior Luke Eustice (125), redshirt freshman Jeff Pfaffinger (133) and sophomore Ty Eustice (149), are all listed in the probable lineup for the duals. All graduated from Blue Earth Area High School. The trio combined for 10 state titles, 10 school records and four academic all-state honors. Their combined career record of 493-16 includes seven undefeated seasons. All three were coached by Luke and Ty’s father, Jack Eustice, who coached wrestling at Blue Earth for 23 years and is now the high school principal there.
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Hawkeye sophomore Ty Eustice, who is 4-1 on the season at 149 pounds, will return home to Blue Earth, MN, to face Southwest State and Minnesota State-Mankato Tuesday. |
THE OPPONENTS
Southwest State Mustangs – Head Coach John Sterner is in his sixth season at Southwest State, coming off a 10-9 season in 2002-03. The Mustangs are led by junior Keefer Jensen (133), a native of Missouri Valley, IA, and sophomore Tim Johns (184). Freshman Shawn Plumley currently has the best individual record on the team, posting a 7-1 mark at 157 pounds.
Minnesota State-Mankato MavericksThe Mavericks are 0-2 on the season with losses to Iowa State (39-7) and Boston (28-6) in Ames. Head Coach Jim Makovsky has a 109-48-2 record in 10 seasons at Mankato. The Mavericks are led by junior heavyweight Mike Engelmann, who hails from Spencer, IA.
Arizona State Sun Devils – The Sun Devils opened the 2003-04 season last weekend, crowning one individual champion at the Missouri Open. Sophomore Ryan Bader won the 197-pound title, going 5-0 on the day. Arizona State will open the dual meet season Sunday against Iowa. Bader,and juniors Nick Frost (157) Mike Simpson (133) are expected to lead the Sun Devils this season. Head Coach Thom Ortiz, a former Iowa State assistant, is 21-12 in his third season at Arizona State. In 2002-03, the Sun Devils went 12-7 overall, winning the PAC-10 title and placing fifth at the NCAA Championships.
Embry-Riddle Eagles – Head Coach John Petty is in his first season at Embry-Riddle. The Eagles return all-Americans Marcel Suhiro (125) and Anthony Archuletta (133) from a 2002-03 squad that placed 12th at the NAIA tournament.
THE SERIES
This will be the first meeting between Iowa and Southwest State, Minnesota State – Mankato and Embry Riddle. Iowa leads the series with Arizona State, 18-1-1. The Hawkeyes have won the last 12 meetings between the two teams, and are 7-1-1 in Tempe.
HAVEN’T WE MET?
Hawkeye senior Ryan Fulsaas is 1-0 vs. Arizona State’s Ryan Bader at 197 pounds. Fulsaas won a 12-8 decision over Bader in a dual at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
LAST WEEK
Hawkeye seniors Luke Eustice and Tyler Nixt each won titles at the 2003 Kaufman Brand Open in Omaha, NE, while nine other Iowa wrestlers placed in the tournament. Eustice recorded a technical fall and three decisions, including one in sudden victory and one in the tiebreak period, to win his second Kaufman-Brand Open title at 125 pounds. He defeated Iowa State’s Grant Nakamura, 10-9 in the tiebreak, in the finals. Nixt won his first Kaufman-Brand Open title with a 6-4 decision over Northern Iowa’s Eric Hauan in the 174-pound finals. The win was Nixt’s 90th career victory and improved his season mark to 10-0.
Also placing for the Hawkeyes in the open division were sophomore Ty Eustice (149-2nd), sophomore Joe Johnston (157-2nd), sophomore Paul Bradley (184-2nd), senior Ryan Fulsaas (197-2nd), sophomore Adam Fellers (174-4th), sophomore Lucas Magnani (125-4th) and redshirt freshman Ryan Fuller (Hwt.-5th). Placing for Iowa in the 20-and-under division were redshirt freshmen Oleg Polyatskiy (157-2nd) and Joe Uker (157-3rd).
IOWA WRESTLING HISTORY
Iowa’s overall dual meet record is 763-193-30 (.789) in 91 seasons. The Hawkeyes have won 20 national titles, including nine of the last 13, and 30 Big Ten titles. Iowa’s 46 NCAA Champions have won a total of 71 NCAA individual titles, crowning six three-time and 13 two-time champions. The Hawkeyes’ 98 Big Ten Champions have won a total of 179 conference individual titles. There have been seven four-time, 18 three-time and 24 two-time Iowa winners. Iowa’s 124 all-Americans have earned all-America status 250 times, including 16 four-time, 26 three-time and 30 two-time honorees.
OH BROTHER
Brothers Luke and Ty Eustice are the 10th set of brothers to wrestle together in the Hawkeye varsity lineup since the 1950s. The 10 other brother pairs were Don and Tom Huff (1961), Mark and Scott Trizzino (1981), Lenny, Larry and Jim Zalesky (1981-82), Ed and Lou Banach (1981-83), Marty and Lindley Kistler (1984-85), Jim and John Heffernan (1987), Tom and Terry Brands (1989-92), Troy and Terry Steiner (1991-93), and Ryan and Randy Fulsaas (2001).
Freshmen Ben and Brett Stedman are the fifth set of twins to wrestle for the University of Iowa. Ed and Lou Banach, Tom and Terry Brands, Troy and Terry Steiner and Randy and Ryan Fulsaas are the other four.
Several brother pairs have also had wrestling success at Iowa. The Banach’s and Brands’ each won Big Ten and NCAA titles the same year twice in their careers, and earned all-America honors three times. The Zalesky’s, Kistler’s and Steiner’s each earned all-America honors twice in their careers, with the Kistler’s winning Big Ten titles the same year twice and the Zalesky’s winning conference titles once. The Heffernan’s earned all-America honors in 1987.
CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE
The Hawkeye wrestling staff of Jim Zalesky, Tom Brands, Joe Williams, Royce Alger and Bill Zadick all wrestled at the University of Iowa. They earned a total of 12 NCAA titles, 12 Big Ten titles and 17 all-America honors. Their combined college career wrestling record is 637-48-6 (.926), including five undefeated seasons.
HOME STREAK
Iowa has won its last nine matches at home, dating back to the 20-15 loss to Michigan on Feb. 15, 2002. Iowa longest home winning streak is 55 matches, starting Jan. 9, 1977 against Temple and ending December 18, 1983 against Oklahoma State. The Hawkeye open their 2003-04 home dual season Dec. 11 against Northern Iowa.
CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA
Carver-Hawkeye Arena has been the home for Iowa wrestling since 1983. The Hawkeyes have a record of 136-9 (.938) in the arena, which includes a record 10 victories during the 1986 season. Iowa has recorded 16 undefeated seasons in the arena, with the most recent (8-0) occurring last year.The dual wrestling attendance record for Carver-Hawkeye Arena is 15,291, which was set when Iowa defeated Iowa State on February 22, 1992. The arena seats 15,500 for a dual wrestling meet. The Hawkeyes are scheduled to host the 2005 Big Ten Championships in Carver-Hawkeye.
TICKET INFORMATION
Season tickets and tickets for each of Iowa’s six home duals are available at the University of Iowa Athletic Ticket Office. Season tickets are $42 for general public and $36 for University faculty and staff. Tickets for each home dual are $8 for adults and $4 for students if purchased in advance; $10 for adults and $5 for students if purchased at the gate. Group tickets are available for all duals except Oklahoma State. They are $6 each for groups of 20-39 and $4 each for groups of 40 or more. Call 1-800-IA-HAWKS or 319-335-9327, or go online at http://hawkeyesports.ocsn.com/tickets/iowa-tickets.html to order.