Hawkeyes Have Two Finalists

March 18, 2005

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ST. LOUIS, MO – Hawkeye junior Joe Johnston and redshirt freshman Mark Perry will try for their first national titles Saturday afternoon at the 2005 NCAA Championships in St. Louis, MO. After Friday night’s session, Iowa is in fifth place with 64 team points. Oklahoma State leads the team race with 127.5.

Johnston, the eighth-seed, became Iowa’s first finalist of the tournament when he defeated fifth-seed Jake Percival of Ohio, 9-8, in the 157-pound semifinals. Johnston will face second-seed Ryan Bertin of Michigan in the finals. He is 0-4 against Bertin in his career.

Perry, the fourth-seed, upset undefeated and top-seeded Troy Letters of Lehigh in the 165-pound semifinals, 3-0. He will face second-seed Johny Hendricks of Oklahoma State in the finals. Perry is 0-2 against Hendricks in his career.

The Hawkeyes went 6-1 on the session, with juniors Ty Eustice (149) and Paul Bradley (184) each scoring two wins in the consolation bracket. Both will be wrestling in the consolation semifinals Saturday morning and are guaranteed all-America status. Eustice, the sixth-seed, defeated Virginia Tech’s Tyde Prater, 3-2, and Central Michigan’s Mark DiSalvo, 6-4. He will face fifth-seed Eric Tannenbaum of Michigan in the consolation semifinals. Eustice is 0-1 against Tannenbaum, losing a 3-2 decision at this season’s Iowa-Michigan dual. Bradley, the eighth-seed, defeated second-seed Kurt Backes of Iowa State, 3-1, and Purdue’s Ben Wissel, 4-3 in the second tiebreak period. He will face fifth-seed Brian Glynn of Illinois in the consolation semifinals. Bradley is 0-1 against Glynn, losing a 2-1 decision at this season’s Iowa-Illinois dual. Hawkeye freshman heavyweight Matt Fields was eliminated from the tournament with a 9-7 loss to Central Michigan’s Bill Stouffer.

Saturday’s consolation semifinals start at 9:30 a.m. (CT). The championships finals start at 4 p.m. (CT) and will be shown live on ESPN.

TEAM STANDINGS AFTER SESSION IV (Top 8 Teams)
Place Team Points
1. Oklahoma State 127.5
2. Cornell 71.5
3. Michigan 67
4. Minnesota 66
5. Iowa 64
6. Oklahoma 61
7. Illinois 60.5
8. Iowa State 52.5

IOWA’S INDIVIDUAL SESSION IV RESULTS
Championship Semifinals
157 – Joe Johnston (Iowa) dec. Jake Percival (Ohio), 9-8
165 – Mark Perry (Iowa) dec. Troy Letters (Lehigh), 3-0

Consolation Matches
149 – Ty Eustice (Iowa) dec. Tyde Prater (Virginia Tech), 3-2
149 – Ty Eustice (Iowa) dec. Mark DiSalvo (C. Michigan), 6-4
184 – Paul Bradley (Iowa) dec. Kurt Backes (Iowa St.), 3-1
184 – Paul Bradley (Iowa) dec. Ben Wissel (Purdue), 4-3 TB-2
Hwt. – Bill Stouffer (C. Michigan) dec. Matt Fields (Iowa), 9-7