Feb. 16, 2004
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THIS WEEK
Iowa (10-4, 5-2 in the Big Ten) will host is final dual of the 2003-04 season when the Hawkeyes face Ohio State (8-9, 4-4 in the Big Ten) Friday at 7 p.m. in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. It will be the 150th dual meet wrestled in Carver-Hawkeye.
ON THE AIR
Radio – Morrie Adams and four-time Iowa all-American Mark Ironside will call the action live 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, in its 28th season of televising college wrestling, will air a same-day, tape-delayed telecast of the dual at 9 p.m. Announcers Tim Johnson, Jim Gibbons and former Iowa Wrestling Coach Dan Gable will call the action.
OHIO STATE BUCKEYES
Ohio State is 8-9, 4-4 in the Big Ten with wins over Drexel (24-15), Clarion (27-18), Kent State (22-15), Indiana (29-17), Bloomsburg (25-13), Purdue (22-18), Northwestern (40-3) and Michigan State (30-8), and losses to Lehigh (22-17), Tennessee-Chattanooga (25-19), Missouri (34-9), Oklahoma (30-12), Cornell (21-20), Penn State (20-17), Michigan (22-15), Illinois (19-14) and Central Michigan (19-14). Head Coach Russ Hellickson is 330-166-6 in 22 seasons as a head coach and 259-144-6 in 18 seasons at Ohio State. The Buckeyes are led by seniors Jeff Ratliff (149), John Clark (165), Blake Kaplan (184) and Tommy Rowlands (Hwt.). Clark and Rowlands are returning all-Americans.
THE SERIES & LAST MEETING
Iowa leads the series, 30-2, and has won the last 28 meetings between the two teams. The Hawkeyes won the last meeting, 34-10, at the 2003 Cliff Keen/NWCA National Duals in Columbus, OH. Iowa is 13-1 in matches held in Columbus.
HAVEN’T WE MET?
Hawkeye sophomore Ty Eustice is 0-1 vs. Ohio State’s Jeff Ratliff at 149, losing a 7-5 decision in sudden victory at the 2003 Midlands. At 174, Iowa senior Tyler Nixt is 1-0 vs. both Anthony Magistrelli and Alex Picazo of Ohio State. Nixt defeated Magistrelli 11-4 at the 2003 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals, and Picazo by a 13-4 major decision at the 2003 Midlands.
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 104-23 (.819). 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 as a junior and senior, Zalesky ended his career on an 89-match winning streak.
HAWK TALK WITH Jim Zalesky
Hawk Talk with Head Coach Jim Zalesky and host Mark Allen will air tomorrow (Feb. 17) from 6-7 p.m.on KXIC Radio (Iowa City) and WMT Radio (Cedar Rapids). The broadcast is live from LaCasa Mexican Restaurant in Iowa City.
LAST WEEKEND
The Hawkeyes split on their final Big Ten road trip of the season, defeating Wisconsin (24-9) in Madison and losing to Minnesota (18-15) in Minneapolis. Hawkeye seniors Luke Eustice (125), Cliff Moore (141) and Tyler Nixt (174) and sophomore Ty Eustice (149) all were undefeated on the weekend. Moore extended his winning streak to 10 matches, while Luke Eustice stretched his to nine. As a team, Iowa went 12-8 on the weekend.
Against Minnesota, Eustice won his 20th season match and 80th career match. He is now undefeated at 12-0 in dual competition. Moore improved to 23-2 overall and 13-1 in dual competition. Nixt is now 27-1 overall and 13-1 in dual meets.
IOWA WRESTLING HISTORY
Iowa’s overall dual meet record is 773-197-30 (.788) 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.
CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA
Carver-Hawkeye Arena has been the home for Iowa wrestling since 1983. The Hawkeyes have a record of 139-10 (.933) 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 in 2003. 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.
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. The 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).
CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE
The Hawkeye wrestling staff of Jim Zalesky, Tom Brands, Royce Alger and Bill Zadick all wrestled at the University of Iowa. They earned a total of nine NCAA titles, 10 Big Ten titles and 13 all-America honors. Their combined college career wrestling record is 508-39-6 (.919), including four undefeated seasons.
WRESTLING LUNCHEON SET
The Johnson County I-Club will host a Wrestling Luncheon featuring University of Iowa Wrestling Coach Jim Zalesky on Friday. The luncheon will be held at the First Avenue Club, 1550 South 1st Avenue, Iowa City beginning at 11:45 a.m. Reservations are required. Tickets are $10 and must be purchased in advance. Tickets will not be available at the door. To make a reservation, contact Judy Leonard in the UI Wrestling office at 335-9405.
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).
Several brother pairs have also had wrestling success at Iowa in the same seasons. 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.