Wrestlers To Face Iowa State

Nov. 29, 2005

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THIS WEEK
Iowa (1-0) will face intra-state rival Iowa State (3-0) Friday night in Ames. The dual is set for 7 p.m. in Hilton Coliseum. Several members of the Hawkeye squad will also compete at the UNI Open Sunday in Cedar Falls. Those matches will be held in the UNI Dome.

ON THE AIR
Television – Iowa Public Television, in its 30th season of televising college wrestling, will air a live telecast of Friday’s dual at Iowa State. Tim Johnson, Jim Gibbons and former Iowa Wrestling Coach Dan Gable will call the action.

Radio – Morrie Adams and four-time Hawkeye all-American Mark Ironside will call this season’s action live on AM-800 KXIC. To listen to the broadcast online, go to the wrestling schedule page on www.hawkeyesports.com. Broadcasts are available using the CSTV All-Access subscription, which can be purchased for $6.95 per month or $49.95 per year.

IOWA STATE CYCLONES
Iowa State is 3-0 with wins over Upper Iowa (31-9), Wisconsin-LaCrosse (31-9) and Utah Valley State (33-9). Head Coach Bobby Douglas has a 190-68-3 record in 14 seasons at Iowa State and is 419-161-9 in 33 seasons as a collegiate head coach. The Cyclones are led by returning all-Americans Nate Gallick (141), Trent Paulson (157), Travis Paulson (165) and Kurt Backes (184).

THE SERIES
Iowa leads the series with Iowa State, 52-16-2. The Hawkeyes hold a 20-11-1 advantage in Ames. Iowa State has won the last two meetings. Iowa’s last win in the series was 34-7 in Iowa City in 2003. Iowa State’s last win in the series was 19-16 last season in Iowa City.

HAVEN’T WE MET?
Here are past results of potential Iowa-Iowa State matchups:

125 -Lucas Magnani (I) is 1-0 vs. Ben Hanisch (ISU)
Magnani maj. dec. Hanisch, 11-1, at 2004 Midlands

141 – Alex Tsirtsis (I) is 0-2 vs. Nate Gallick (ISU)
Gallick dec. Tsirtsis, 2-1 TB-1, at 2004-05 dual
Gallick dec. Tsirtsis, 3-2 TB-1, at 2004 Midlands

149 – Ty Eustice (I) is 1-0 vs. Aron Scott (ISU)
Eustice maj. dec. Scott, 15-6, at 2004-05 dual

Eustice (I) is 1-0 vs. Jason Knipp (ISU)
Eustice dec. Knipp, 10-8, at 2005 Kaufman-Brand Open

157 – Joe Johnston (I) is 0-3 vs. Trent Paulson (ISU)
Paulson dec. Johnston, 7-5, at 2002 UNI Open
Paulson dec. Johnston, 10-8, at 2004-05 dual
Paulson dec. Johnston, 4-0, at 2005 Kaufman-Brand Open

184 – Paul Bradley (I) is 4-1 vs. Kurt Backes (ISU)
Bradley pinned Backes, 3:30, at 2003 Kaufman-Brand Open
Backes dec. Bradley, 4-3, at 2003-04 dual
Bradley dec. Backes, 7-6, at 2004-05 dual
Bradley dec. Backes, 4-2, at 2004 Midlands Championships
Bradley dec. Backes, 3-1, at 2005 NCAA Championships

Hwt. – Ryan Fuller (I) is 1-0 vs. Richard Schopf (ISU)
Fuller dec. Schopf, 10-5, at 2003-04 dual

LAST MEETING
The Hawkeyes lost a hard-fought match to intra-state rival Iowa State, 19-16, in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The win marked Iowa State’s first in the arena, which was built in 1983. Iowa fell to 1-1 with the loss, while Iowa State improved to 7-0.

While each team won five matches, the difference maker was Grant Nakamura’s 6:37 pin over Iowa’s Lucas Magnani at 125 pounds. Iowa State jumped out to a 3-0 lead on Nick Passolano’s 12-8 decision over Luke Lofthouse at 174, but Hawkeye junior Paul Bradley scored a takedown with 28 seconds left to defeat Kurt Backes, 7-6, and tie the team score at 3-3. Cyclone Trevor Smith fought back with a 9-1 major decision over Dane Pape at 197, but Hawkeye freshman Matt Fields answered with a 4-2 win over Scott Coleman at heavyweight. Nakamura’s pin made the team score 13-6 in favor of the Cyclones heading into the intermission. Hawkeye junior Mario Galanakis scored a 6-3 win over Jesse Sundell at 133 to make the team score 13-9. Hawkeye freshman Alex Tsirtsis put up a good fight against top-ranked Nate Gallick at 141, taking the match to the first tiebreak period, but he could not escape and lost a 2-1 decision. It was Tsirtsis’ first loss since entering high school, as he went undefeated (236-0) at Griffith High School and was 6-0 at Iowa. Hawkeye junior Ty Eustice pulled the team to within striking distance with his 15-6 major decision over Aron Scott at 149, improving to 6-1 on the season. Down 5-0 in the second period to Cyclone Trent Paulson at 157, Hawkeye junior Joe Johnston scored four takedowns in the last 2:37, but came up short in a 10-8 loss, and Iowa State jumped to a 19-13 lead. Hawkeye redshirt freshman Mark Perry scored a 5-2 win over Travis Paulson to end the dual at 165. His three team points was not enough for an Iowa win. Here are the match results:

Iowa State 19, Iowa 16
174 – N. Passolano (ISU) dec. Luke Lofthouse (I), 12-8
184 – Paul Bradley (I) dec. Kurt Backes (ISU), 7-6
197 – Trevor Smith (ISU) maj. dec. Dane Pape (I), 9-1
Hwt. – Matt Fields (I) dec. Scott Coleman (ISU), 4-2
125 – G. Nakamura (ISU) pinned Lucas Magnani (I), 6:37
133 – Mario Galanakis (I) dec. Jesse Sundell (ISU), 6-3
141 – Nate Gallick (ISU) dec. Alex Tsirtsis (I), 2-1 tb
149 – Ty Eustice (I) maj. dec. Aron Scott (ISU), 15-6
157 – Trent Paulson (ISU) dec. Joe Johnston (I), 10-8
165 – Mark Perry (I) dec. Travis Paulson (ISU), 5-2

HY-VEE CY-HAWK SERIES
Hy-Vee, Inc., in conjunction with Hawkeye Sports Properties, a division of Learfield Communications, and Cyclone Sports Marketing, a division of Clear Channel and ESPN Regional, is in its second year with Iowa State and Iowa to serve as the title sponsor for the schools’ Cy-Hawk Series – the name given to the collection of regular season, head-to-head intercollegiate athletic events featuring Cyclone and Hawkeye teams. Iowa won the inaugural Hy-Vee Cy-Hawk Series (13-8) last season.

A point system will track each institution’s performance and will culminate in one institution winning the annual trophy for the Hy-Vee Cy-Hawk Series. Intercollegiate athletic teams from Iowa and Iowa State will square off in head-to-head competition eight different times during the 2005-06 academic year. The competition this season is in men’s basketball, women’s basketball, football, women’s gymnastics (2), women’s soccer, softball and wrestling. An additional two points will be available for an institution if the student-athlete graduation rate for all student-athletes is greater than the national average for all student-athletes.

Iowa State currently leads the series, 5-0. Here is the schedule and results for the 2005-06 series:

Date – Competition (Points) – Result – IA-ISU
Sept. 7 – Women’s Soccer at Iowa (2) – Iowa State 2, Iowa 1 – 0-2
Sept. 10 – Football at Iowa State (3) – Iowa State 23, Iowa 3 – 0-5
Dec. 2 – Wrestling at Iowa State (2)
Dec. 8 – Women’s Basketball at Iowa State (2)
Dec. 9 – Men’s Basketball at Iowa State (2)
Jan. 28 – Women’s Gymnastics at Iowa (2)
Mar. 17 – Women’s Gymnastics at Iowa State (2)
TBA – Softball (2)

HEAD COACH Jim Zalesky
Jim Zalesky is in his ninth season as head coach at the University of Iowa. He has a school and career record of 117-27 (.813). Named National Coach of the Year in 1998 and 1999, and Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2000 and 2004, he has led the Hawkeyes to three NCAA (1998-00) and three Big Ten titles (1998, 2000, 2004). Zalesky has coached 10 NCAA Champions, 20 Big Ten Champions and 40 all-Americans at Iowa. He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in June 2004, the University of Iowa Letterman’s Club Hall of Fame and the Iowa High School Athletic Association Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2002, and the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1994.

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.

LAST WEEK
Iowa opened its 2005-06 dual season with a 26-13 win over Arizona State in Tempe, AZ, Saturday night. The Hawkeyes scored wins at six weights, picking up bonus-point victories in four matches. The Sun Devils fell to 3-2 on the season with the loss. Iowa got pins from true freshman Daniel Dennis (133) and sophomore Mark Perry (174), and major decisions from seniors Ty Eustice (149) and Paul Bradley (184). Senior Joe Johnston (157) and sophomore Alex Tsirtsis (141) picked up decisions for the Hawkeyes. Eustice improved to 6-0 with the win, while Perry and Bradley recorded wins in their first collegiate matches of the season. Johnston and Tsirtsis both improved to 5-1, while Dennis improved to 5-2.

IOWA WRESTLING HISTORY
Iowa’s overall dual meet record is 785-202-30 (.787) in 94 seasons. The Hawkeyes have won 20 national titles, including nine of the last 15, 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 127 all-Americans have earned all-America status 258 times, including 16 four-time, 27 three-time and 29 two-time honorees.

PACK THE PLACE – BREAK THE RECORD
The Hawkeyes will try to regain the dual meet national attendance record when they host defending NCAA champion and top-ranked Oklahoma State on January 7. Match time is set for 7:30 p.m. The current national attendance record of 15,646 was set February 1, 2002, when Iowa wrestled at Minnesota.

IOWA TICKET INFORMATION
Season tickets and single meet tickets for Iowa’s seven home duals are on sale at the University of Iowa Athletic Ticket Office at 1-800-424-2957, 319-335-9327 or www.hawkeyesports.com. University of Iowa students will be admitted free of charge for all duals except Oklahoma State.

Season Tickets – $56 – General Public; $49 – University Faculty & Staff
Single-Match Tickets (Advance Purchase)* – $8 – Adults; $4 – Youth
Single-Match Tickets (Gate Purchase)* – $10 – Adults; $5 – Youth
Group Rates* – $4 – Per person with a group of 15 or more
* – Iowa vs. Oklahoma State tickets are $10 each. The group rate for the Iowa vs. Oklahoma State dual is $5 per person.

CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE
The Hawkeye wrestling staff of Jim Zalesky, Troy Steiner, Tim Hartung, Luke Eustice and Mike Zadick earned a total of six NCAA titles, 10 Big Ten titles and 15 all-America honors. Their combined college career wrestling record is 596-90-1 (.881), including four undefeated seasons.