Dec. 2, 2003
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THIS WEEK
Iowa (4-0) will take a nine-match winning streak to Ames Sunday to face an undefeated Iowa State (6-0) squad. The dual is scheduled for 2 p.m. in Hilton Coliseum. Hawkeye Head Coach Jim Zalesky is looking for his 100th career coaching victory, and Iowa will be looking for its 31st consecutive win over the Cyclones.
The Hawkeyes not listed as probable dual starters will have the option to compete at the Northern Iowa Open Saturday at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.
ON THE AIR
Radio – Morrie Adams and four-time Hawkeye all-American Mark Ironside will call the action live for the Iowa-Iowa State dual 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.
Television – Iowa Public Television, which is in its 28th season of televising college wrestling, will air a same-day, tape-delayed telecast of the dual at 3:30 p.m. Announcers Tim Johnson, Jim Gibbons and former Iowa Wrestling Coach Dan Gable will call the action.
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 99-18 (.846). 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.
IOWA STATE CYCLONES
Iowa State is 6-0 on the season with wins over Minnesota State-Mankato (39-7), Boston (22-14), Lehigh (23-18), Tennessee-Chattanooga (27-9), Virginia Tech (30-12) and Carson-Newman (42-6). Head Coach Bobby Douglas has a 161-62-3 record in 12 years at Iowa State, and a 390-155-9 mark in 31 years as a collegiate head coach. The Cyclones are led by returning all-American Zach Roberson at 133 pounds, who is 9-0 on the season. Twin brothers and redshirt freshmen Trent and Travis Paulson are also undefeated at 10-0 at 149 and 9-0 at 157, respectively.
THE SERIES & LAST MEETING
Iowa leads the series, 52-14-2, and has won the last 30 meetings between the two teams. The Hawkeyes are 20-10-1 against the Cyclones in Ames. Iowa won the last meeting, 34-7, on December 8, 2002, in Iowa City. Here are the results from that dual:
Iowa 34, Iowa State 7
125 Luke Eustice (I) maj. dec. Grant Nakamura (ISU), 18-7
133 Cliff Moore (I) dec. Zach Roberson, (ISU), 8-3
141 Aaron Holker (ISU) maj. dec. Luke Moffitt (I), 14-0
149 Ty Eustice (I) dec. Nate Gallick (ISU), 3-2
157 Matt Anderson (I) maj. dec. Nels Matson (ISU), 12-4
165 Nick Passolano (ISU) dec. Jason D’Agata (I), 6-1
174 Tyler Nixt (I) maj. dec. Ken Cook (ISU), 19-6
184 Jessman Smith (I) maj. dec. Austen Palmer (ISU), 11-3
197 Ryan Fulsaas (I) pinned Woodley Milord (ISU), 5:55
Hwt. Steve Mocco (I) won by forfeit
HAVEN’T WE MET?
At 125 pounds, Iowa senior Luke Eustice is 3-0 vs. Cyclone sophomore Grant Nakamura, winning an 18-7 major decision in a 2002-03 dual, an injury default at the 2002 Midlands and a 10-9 decision in the tiebreak period at the 2003 Kaufman-Brand Open. At 149, Iowa sophomore Ty Eustice is 0-1 vs. Cyclone redshirt freshman Trent Paulson, losing a 1-0 decision in the finals of the 2003 Kaufman-Brand Open. At 157, Hawkeye sophomore Joe Johnston is 0-1 vs. Iowa State redshirt freshman Travis Paulson, losing a 9-4 decision in the finals of the 2003 Kaufman-Brand Open. At 184, Iowa sophomore Paul Bradley is 1-0 vs. Cyclone redshirt freshman Kurt Backes, pinning him in 3:30 at the 2003 Kaufman-Brand Open. At 197, Hawkeye senior Ryan Fulsaas is 2-0 vs. Iowa State junior Woodley Milord, pinning him in 5:55 at the 2002-03 dual and winning a 9-3 decision at the 2003 Kaufman-Brand Open.
BRANDS NAMED TO OLYMPIC STAFF
University of Iowa Assistant Coach Tom Brands has been selected by USA Wrestling as one of the coaches for the 2004 U.S. Olympic Freestyle Team that will participate in Athens, Greece. Brands joins USA Wrestling National Freestyle Coach Kevin Jackson and Zeke Jones on the staff. This selection has been forwarded, for final approval, to the U.S. Olympic Committee.
Brands served as the Assistant Coach of the 2003 U.S. Freestyle World Team, which placed second in the World Championships. He was also the Assistant Coach of the 2002 U.S. Freestyle World Team, which did not compete in the World Championships in Iran due to a threat of violence. All three Olympic Coaches were teammates on the only U.S. Men’s Freestyle World Teams to win the World Team title (1993 in Toronto, Canada and 1995 in Atlanta, GA).
“It is a big job,” said Brands. “It takes a lot of energy and commitment from the national governing body, the coaching staff and the athletes. When they all come together, great things can happen. The framework is in place.”
LAST WEEK
Iowa opened the 2003-04 season Nov. 25th in strong fashion, defeating Southwest Minnesota State, 54-0, and Minnesota State-Mankato, 37-3, in Blue Earth, MN. The Hawkeyes picked up two more road wins (Nov. 30th), defeating Arizona State (24-17) in Tempe, AZ, and beating Embry-Riddle (41-6) in Prescott, AZ.
Blue Earth natives Luke Eustice (125), Ty Eustice (149) and Jeff Pfaffinger (133) went a combined 5-0 in their homecoming. Iowa recorded seven pins – six in the first period of each match – and two match-ending technical falls in the 54-0 win against Southwest Minnesota State. It was the second largest victory margin recorded by an Iowa team under Zalesky. The largest was 57-0 against Augustana in the 1998-99 season opener.
The Hawkeyes went 9-1 against Minnesota State-Mankato, recording team bonus points in six matches. Seniors Luke Eustice (6-0), Cliff Moore (7-0) and Tyler Nixt (12-0) and sophomore Paul Bradley (9-0) all recorded wins to remain undefeated in collegiate competition. Sophomore Ty Eustice won his 35th career match at 149 pounds, while sophomore Paul Bradley scored his 20th career win. Redshirt freshman Todd Meneely made his collegiate debut at 133 pounds, scoring a pin in 2:26.
Iowa won five of the 10 matches against Arizona State to hand the Sun Devils their first loss of the season.The Hawkeyes jumped out to a 15-0 lead on pins by redshirt freshman Todd Meneely (133) and Moore (141), and a decision by Ty Eustice (149). Arizona State’s Brian Stith put the Sun Devils on the board with his 9-7 sudden victory win over Iowa sophomore Joe Johnston at 157. The Hawkeyes struck back with a decision from sophomore Cole Pape at 165, and a pin from Tyler Nixt at 174. Nixt fought off his back at the start of the match and came back from a 5-2 deficit to improve to 13-0 on the season. Iowa senior 125-pounder Luke Eustice did not make the trip due to illness.
Against Embry-Riddle, Iowa won nine of 10 matches, scoring team bonus points in six. It was the ninth-straight win for Iowa, and its seventh-straight victory on the road. Meneely (133), Moore (141) and Johnston (157) each won by match-ending technical falls, while Nixt (174) and Bradley recorded pins. Iowa’s lone loss on the night was an injury default at 125 pounds because sophomore Matt Morkel suffered an injury while filling in for Eustice at Arizona State earlier in the day and could not compete.
IOWA WRESTLING HISTORY
Iowa’s overall dual meet record is 767-193-30 (.790) in 92 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.
WE’RE GOIN’ STREAKIN’
The Hawkeye have won their last nine matches, dating back to the 19-19 loss to Michigan State, on criteria, on Feb. 7, 2003, in East Lansing. Iowa has also won its last nine matches at home, dating back to the 20-15 loss to Michigan on Feb. 15, 2002, and its last seven matches on the road, dating back to the Michigan State loss in 2003. Iowa’s longest all-match winning streak is 42 (Feb. 13, 1994-Jan. 19, 1997), its longest home winning streak is 55 (Jan. 9, 1977-December 18, 1983 against Oklahoma State) and its longest away winning streak is 31 (Feb. 13, 1994-Jan. 19, 1997).
HAWK TALK WITH Jim Zalesky
Hawk Talk with Head Coach Jim Zalesky and host Mark Allen will air Wednesday, December 10 from 7-8 p.m.on KXIC Radio in Iowa City and WMT Radio in Cedar Rapids. The broadcast is live from LaCasa in Iowa City.
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.