Feb. 28, 2005
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THIS WEEK
Iowa will go after its 32nd Big Ten team title, and its 28th in the last 32 seasons, at the 2005 Big Ten Championships, Saturday and Sunday in Iowa City, IA. All matches will be held at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa is the defending champion.
ON THE AIR
Radio – Morrie Adams and four-time Hawkeye 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. Broadcasts using Real One Player software are available using the College Sports Pass, which can be purchased for $6.95 per month or $49.95 per year.
Television – College Sports Television (CSTV) will air the championship finals Monday, March 7 at 9 p.m. (CT).
CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE
Following is the schedule for the Big Ten Championships. Times are Central.
Session – Date – Time (CT)
Session I – Saturday, March 5 – 11 a.m.
Session II – Saturday, March 5 – 6 p.m.
Session III – Sunday, March 6 – 12 p.m.
BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS
Updated brackets and team standings will be available throughout the tournament at www.bigten.org and www.hawkeyesports.com.
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets are available from the University of Iowa Athletic Ticket Office at 1-800-464-2957 or www.hawkeyesports.com. The ticket office is located in the northwest corner of Carver-Hawkeye Arena on the concourse level. Office hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Everyone must have a ticket to enter the arena including infants-in-arms. Infants-in-arms tickets ($1) can be purchased at any ticket window on the day of the event. Here are the ticket prices:
Ticket Prices
All-Session – Adult – $35
All-Session – College Student & Youth – $20
Session I-II-III – Adult – $10-$15-$20
Session I-II-III – College Student & Youth – $5-$8-$10
Session I-II-III – Infant In Arms – $1-$1-$1
NCAA QUALIFIERS
The Big Ten is alloted 72 qualifiers for the 2005 NCAA Championships, held March 17-19 in St. Louis, MO. That means the top seven placewinners in each weight class will automatically advance to the national tournament. Big Ten coaches will select an additional two wildcard qualifiers after the meet’s conclusion. The Hawkeyes advanced 10 qualifiers in 2004.
MEDIA INFORMATION
A pre-championships press conference will be held Friday at 3 p.m. (CT) in the Big Ten-Iowa Room, which is located on the third floor of Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
BIG TEN RECORDS
Iowa holds records in five of seven Big Ten Championship categories. The Hawkeyes hold records for most individual champions in one tournament (9 – 1983), most consecutive team titles (25 – 1974-98), most falls by a team in one tournament (12 – 1979), largest victory margin by a team champion (118.5 points – 1983) and fastest fall in all matches (Bart Chelesvig’s 23-second pin over Illinois’ Keith Bolman in the 177-pound quarterfinals in 1992). In addition, seven of the 10 Big Ten wrestlers to win four titles were Hawkeyes. Iowa also has 18 of the 43 three-time Big Ten champions.
BIG TEN HONORS
The Iowa wrestling team has earned several individual Big Ten honors since the conference started the awards in 1986. Twelve Hawkeyes have been named Big Ten Wrestler of the Year, seven have been named Wrestler of the Championship and four have been named Freshman of the Year. Head Coach Jim Zalesky has been named Coach of the Year twice (2000, 2004) and former Hawkeye Head Coach Dan Gable earned the honor three times (1993, 1995, 1996).
Former Hawkeyes Ed Banach (1983) and Barry Davis (1985) were named Jesse Owens Big Ten Conference Male Athlete of the Year. A total of six Iowa wrestlers have been named Iowa’s Big Ten Athlete of the Year and eight were named Iowa’s Conference Medal of Honor winners.
2004 BIG TEN REVIEW
The Hawkeyes won its 31st Big Ten team title at the 2004 Big Ten Championships in Columbus, OH. The Hawkeyes scored 129.5 points in their winning effort. Runner-up Minnesota made a late charge at the title, but their 124.5 points fell short. Hawkeye Head Coach Jim Zalesky was named 2004 Big Ten Coach of the Year. It was the second time that Iowa won the conference team trophy under Zalesky and the second time that he earned the Coach of the Year honors – both happening previously in 2000.
The Hawkeyes qualified all 10 wrestlers to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 1998, and the second time in Zalesky’s tenure as head coach. Iowa was the only team in the nation to qualify its entire squad.
Iowa crowned one league champion from its five finalists. Senior Cliff Moore won his second consecutive Big Ten title with a 6-2 win over unseeded Doug Withstandley of Purdue. Seniors Luke Eustice (125), Tyler Nixt (174) and Ryan Fulsaas (197) and sophomore Paul Bradley (184) all placed second. Eustice lost a 5-3 decision to Wisconsin’s Tom Clum, while Nixt lost a 5-3 decision in the second tiebreak period to Purdue’s Ryan Lange in a rematch of the 2003 Big Ten finals. Bradley lost a 3-2 decision to Penn State’s Eric Bradley and Fulsaas lost a 7-2 decision to three-time Big Ten champion and defending NCAA Champion Damion Hahn of Minnesota.
Other Iowa placewinners were sophomores Ty Eustice (3rd-149), Joe Johnston (4th-157), Cole Pape (6th-165), Trent Goodale (7th-133) and redshirt freshman Ryan Fuller (7th-Hwt.).
HAWK TALK WITH Jim Zalesky
KXIC Radio (AM-800) will air the Hawk Talk with Jim Zalesky radio show this season. The show will be live from LaCasa Mexican Restaurant in Iowa City from 6-7 p.m. Here are the remaining show dates: March 1, March 8.
IOWA WRESTLING HISTORY
Iowa’s overall dual meet record is 784-202-30 (.786) in 93 seasons. The Hawkeyes have won 20 national titles, including nine of the last 14, and 31 Big Ten titles. Iowa’s 47 NCAA Champions have won a total of 73 NCAA individual titles, crowning six three-time and 13 two-time champions. The Hawkeyes’ 99 Big Ten Champions have won a total of 180 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 254 times, including 16 four-time, 27 three-time and 28 two-time honorees.
CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA
Carver-Hawkeye Arena has been the home for Iowa wrestling since 1983. The Hawkeyes have a record of 146-12 (.924) 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 2002-03. 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. Iowa has hosted two Big Ten (1983, 1994) and four NCAA Championships (1986, 1991, 1995, 2001) in Carver-Hawkeye, winning the team title five of the six times.
STEINER & DUROE TO COACH WORLD TEAMS
Iowa Assistant Coach Troy Steiner and Administrative Assitant Mike Duroe were recently named coaches for the 2005 U.S. Freestyle World Championships teams by USA Wrestling. Steiner will coach the women’s team with Bill Scherr, while Duroe will coach the men’s team with Joe Seay. Both teams will participate in the World Championships at Budapest, Hungary, Sept. 27-Oct. 2.
CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE
The Hawkeye wrestling staff of Jim Zalesky, Troy Steiner, Tim Hartung, Cliff Moore and Mike Zadick earned a total of seven NCAA titles, 12 Big Ten titles and 17 all-America honors. Their combined college career wrestling record is 619-88-1 (.875), including four undefeated seasons.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
The 75th NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will be held March 17-19 at the Savvis Center in St. Louis, MO. This will be the first time in tournament history that the meet will be held at the same venue in back-to-back years. All-session tickets are $100 and are available at 877/722-1604 or www.stlsports.org/wrestling.