Nov. 28, 2006
IOWA CITY, IA –
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THIS WEEK
Iowa (2-0) will host intra-state rival Iowa State (2-0) Sunday at 4 p.m. in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The winning team will receive two points in the Hy-Vee Cy-Hawk Series. Iowa currently leads the 2006-07 series, 5-2, with wins in football and soccer. It will be the 72nd meeting between the two teams.
Fans are encouraged to arrive early and purchase tickets in advance. Tickets are $10 per person, with University of Iowa students (with a student ID) and children ages five and under admitted for free. For tickets, contact the University of Iowa Athletic Ticket Office at 1-800-424-2957, 319-335-9327 or www.hawkeyesports.com.
BRANDS TO MEET WITH MEDIA
University of Iowa Head Wrestling Coach Tom Brands will be available to meet with the media Wednesday at 3:15 in the Dan Gable Wrestling Complex (on the second floor of Carver-Hawkeye Arena). Brands and the Hawkeye wrestlers will be available to discuss Sunday’s Iowa-Iowa State wrestling meet.
ON THE AIR
Radio – Steven Grace and four-time Hawkeye all-American Mark Ironside will call the action live on AM-800, KXIC. All dual meets, not including the NWCA National Duals, will be broadcast live, as will action from the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments. Audio broadcasts from all competitions will also be available online. To listen online, go to the wrestling schedule on www.hawkeyesports.com and click on the event. Broadcasts are available using the Hawkeye All-Access subscription ($6.95 per month or $49.95 per year) or the CSTV XXL Premium subscription ($99.95 per year).
Television – Iowa Public Television, which is in its 31st season of televising college wrestling, will air Sunday’s Iowa-Iowa State dual live. Tim Johnson and Jim Gibbons will call the action.
The Internet – Press releases, meet results, audio broadcasts andd home dual livestats are available on the University of Iowa’s website, www.hawkeyesports.com. To access the live home dual scoring, go to the wrestling schedule page, select the event and click on the Livestats link. Current staff and student-athlete head shots can be found at pics.hawkeyesports.com.
IOWA STATE CYCLONES
Iowa State is 2-0, with wins over Buena Vista (46-0) and Arizona State (40-0). The Cyclones crowned five champions at the Harold Nichols Open and three champions at the Cal-State Fullerton Open in November.
Cael Sanderson is in his first season as Iowa State’s head coach. The Cyclone alum earned an Olympic gold medal in 2004 and was only the second four-time national champion in NCAA history. Tim Hartung, who served as an assistant coach for the Hawkeyes during the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons, is an assistant at Iowa State.
The Cyclones are ranked fourth by W.I.N. Magazine and the NWCA/USA Today Coaches Poll. Iowa State is led by returning all-Americans and seniors Trent Paulson (157), Travis Paulson (165) and Kurt Backes (197). All three are undefeated this season.
LAST MEETING
Iowa improved to 2-0 on the season with its 20-15 win over Iowa State in Ames, Dec. 2. A crowd of 6,682 saw Iowa record wins in six matches to hand Iowa State its first loss of the season.
Iowa 20, Iowa State 15 – December 2, 2005
Hwt. – Ryan Fuller (I) dec. Richard Schopf (ISU), 4-2
125 – Lucas Magnani (I) maj. dec. Ben Hanisch (ISU), 11-3
133 – Daniel Dennis (I) dec. Jesse Sundell (ISU), 10-7
141 – Nate Gallick (ISU) dec. Alex Tsirtsis (I), 4-1
149 – Ty Eustice (I) dec. Jason Knipp (ISU), 6-3
157 – Trent Paulson (ISU) dec. Joe Johnston (I), 8-3
165 – Travis Paulson (ISU) dec. Cole Pape (I), 8-4
174 – Mark Perry (I) maj. dec. David Bertolino (ISU), 13-3
184 – Paul Bradley (I) dec. Kurt Backes (ISU), 8-5
197 – Joe Curran (ISU) pinned Adam Fellers (I), 6:14
HY-VEE CY-HAWK SERIES
The third annual Hy-Vee Cy-Hawk series is underway, with Iowa holding a 5-2 lead over Iowa State.
The University of Iowa captured the inaugural Cy-Hawk Series in 2005 registering a 13-8 margin of victory. Iowa State evened the competition with its own 13-8 triumph in 2006.
The 10-sport series awards two points (except football, which is worth three) to the winning school in each head-to-head match-up between the two institutions. Additionally, two points are awarded to an institution if the graduation rate of its student-athletes is greater than the national average as reported each fall by the NCAA. Iowa has earned the academic points in both 2005 and 2006, whereas Iowa State has failed to earn the extra points. Iowa garnered a 69 percent graduation rate in 2005, which was seven points higher than the national average of 62 percent.
For the first time in three years, volleyball and women’s tennis have been added to the competitive slate between the two schools. A new total of 23 points is up for grabs in 2006-07.
A commemorative Hy-Vee Cy-Hawk Series Cup, which stands 31 inches tall and weighs 19 pounds, is displayed on the winning team’s campus for an entire year after a victory. Replica cups are also presented as “traveling trophies” for individual victorious teams in the head-to-head competition.
THE SERIES
Iowa leads the series, 53-16-2, and holds a 27-5-1 advantage in matches wrestled in Iowa City. Iowa won the last meeting, 20-15, on December 2, 2005, in Ames. Iowa State’s last win in the series was a 19-16 victory in Iowa City on December 5, 2004.
HAVEN’T WE MET?
Hawkeye junior Mark Perry is 2-0 vs. Iowa State’s Travis Paulson at 165 pounds. Perry scored a 5-2 decision at the 2004-05 Iowa-Iowa State dual and a 6-4 decision in the finals of the 2004 Midlands Championships.
TRIO LOOKS FOR CAREER MILESTONE WINS
Hawkeye senior Eric Luedke (174) and juniors Alex Tsirtsis (141) and Matt Fields (Hwt.) will all be vying for career milestone wins in Sunday’s dual against Iowa State. Tsirtsis will be wrestling for his 50th career win, Fields for his 45th and Luedke for his 30th. This will be the first time that any of the three face their Cyclone opponents.
LAST WEEK
Iowa opened the 2006-07 dual season with two wins. The Hawkeyes defeated Northern Iowa (18-15) November 21 in Cedar Falls and Arizona State (39-3) November 25 in Iowa City. Picking up wins in both duals for Iowa were seniors Mario Galanakis (133) and Eric Luedke (174) and juniors Mark Perry (165) and Matt Fields (Hwt.). Perry picked up his 50th career win against Arizona State.
Perry also competed at the NWCA All-Star Dual in Dallas, TX, November 20. The second-ranked Hawkeye lost a 3-1 decision to top-ranked Johny Hendricks of Oklahoma State.
HAWKEYES SIGN TWO
Iowa signed two student-athletes to national letters of intent in the early signing period. Jordan Johnson of Bettendorf, IA and Brodie Ambrose of Eldridge, IA, are Tom Brands’ first signings as Iowa’s head coach.
Johnson won the 2006 Class AA Illinois state heavyweight state title at Naperville North High School. He moved to Bettendorf, IA, and will be competing for Bettendorf High School this season.
Ambrose placed third at 171 pounds at the 2006 Class 3A state tournament for North Scott Eldridge High School. He will compete at 189 pounds this season and is a projected 197-pounder for the Hawkeyes. Ambrose also is a 189-pound Fargo freestyle all-American.
IOWA WRESTLING HISTORY
Iowa’s overall dual meet record is 797-209-30 (.784) in 95 seasons. The Hawkeyes have won 20 national titles, including nine of the last 16, 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 titles. There have been seven four-time, 18 three-time and 24 two-time Iowa winners. Iowa’s 129 all-Americans have earned all-America status 263 times, including 16 four-time, 27 three-time and 32 two-time honorees.
CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA
Carver-Hawkeye Arena has been the home of Iowa wrestling since 1983. The Hawkeyes are 151-15 (.910) 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, set when Iowa defeated Iowa State on February 22, 1992. The arena seats 15,500 for a dual wrestling meet.
CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE
The Hawkeye wrestling staff of Tom Brands, Dan Gable, Wes Hand, Doug Schwab and Mike Zadick earned a total of two Olympic gold medals, seven NCAA titles, 10 conference titles and 15 all-America honors. Their combined college career wrestling record is 605-84-2 (.877), including three undefeated seasons.
OH BROTHER
Seniors Ben and Brett Stedman from Sioux City, IA, are the lone set of brothers on the 2006-07 Hawkeye roster. There have been 10 sets of brothers to wrestle together in the Hawkeye varsity lineup since the 1950s. They are 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), Ryan and Randy Fulsaas (2001) and Luke and Ty Eustice (2003-04).
The Stedman’s are also the fifth set of twins to wrestle at Iowa. Ed and Lou Banach, Tom and Terry Brands, Troy and Terry Steiner and Randy and Ryan Fulsaas are the other four.
ESPN TO EXPAND LIVE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS COVERAGE
ESPN recently announced that four of the six sessions of the 2007 NCAA Wrestling Championships will be aired on live television. The March 17 finals will air at 7 p.m. (CT) on ESPN, while session three, four and five will be shown on ESPNU. Session three will air March 16 at 10 a.m., session four will be shown March 16 at 6 p.m. and session five will air March 17 at 9 a.m.
The 2007 championships will be held March 15-17 at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, MI. The University of Michigan and the Detroit Metro Sports Commission will serve as hosts
NEXT COMPETITION
Iowa will host Coe and North Carolina State Thursday, December 7 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Coe match will start at 6 p.m. and the North Carolina State match will start at 7:30 p.m.