Jan. 16, 2007
IOWA CITY, IA –
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THIS WEEK
Iowa (9-1) will hit the road this week for two dual matches. The Hawkeyes will get another shot at Oklahoma State (9-3) Friday at 8 p.m. in Gallager-Iba Arena at Stillwater, OK. Iowa will then open the 2007 Big Ten season Sunday against Northwestern (10-3) at Rolling Meadows High School in Rolling Meadows, IL.
ON THE AIR
Radio – Steven Grace and two-time Hawkeye NCAA champion and four-time all-American Mark Ironside will call the action live on AM-800, KXIC. All remaining dual meets will be broadcast live, as will action from the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments. Audio broadcasts from all competitions will also be available online at www.hawkeyesports.com. To listen online, go to the wrestling schedule, click on the event and click on the Listen link. 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 – Friday’s dual at Oklahoma State will be broadcast live on ESPNU. Tim Johnson and Dave Armstrong will call the action.
The Internet – Press releases, meet results, audio broadcasts and 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.
OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS
Oklahoma State, the four-time defending NCAA Champion, is 9-3 with wins against California-Davis (22-9), Michigan State (22-8), Oklahoma (17-15), California-Poly (25-12), Air Force (40-5), Army (32-7), Navy (19-17), Northern Iowa (29-5) and Iowa (22-13), and losses to Minnesota (15-21), Missouri (15-27) and Iowa State (9-25). It is the first three-loss season for the Cowboys since the team went 20-3 in 2001-02.
Head Coach John Smith is 245-30-3 in 16 seasons at Oklahoma State. The Cowboys return three all-Americans, including two-time defending NCAA Champion Johny Hendricks (165). Hendricks is the lone undefeated Cowboy, entering Friday’s meet with a 21-0 overall record and 11-0 dual mark. Oklahoma State’s other returning all-Americans – Coleman Scott (133) and Nathan Morgan (141) have respective 17-3 and 9-2 overall records.
NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS
Northwestern is 10-3 with wins over Chicago (34-12), Navy (20-16), Indianapolis (31-11), Virginia (24-12), North Carolina (30-9), North Carolin State (37-9), Northern Illinois (28-10), Eastern Illinois (38-12), West Virginia (28-14) and Cornell (24-15), and losses to Missouri (33-8), Iowa (22-18) and Central Michigan (22-11).
Head Coach Tim Cysewski is 129-155-5 in 17 seasons at Northwestern. He was an all-American at 134 pounds for Iowa in 1976, and a four-time Hawkeye letterwinner (1973-76). The Wildcats are led by returning all-Americans Ryan Lang (141) and Jake Herbert (184), and juniors Mike Tamillow (197) and Dustin Fox (Hwt.). In dual meet action, the Northwestern wrestlers from 184 pounds and up are a combined 28-2. Lang and Herbert are both undefeated this season, with Lang going 18-0 overall and 8-0 in duals. Herbert is 16-0 overall and 11-0 in duals.
IOWA TIES WITH OKLAHOMA STATE, NORTHWESTERN
Hawkeye junior 165-pounder Mark Perry is the nephew of Oklahoma State Head Coach John Smith. Perry’s father, Mark Perry, Sr., was a two-time Big 12 Conference champion (1984-85) at 118 pounds and a three-year letterwinner (1983-85) for the Cowboys. He also served as an assistant coach on the Oklahoma State wrestling staff for eight seasons (1992-99).
Oklahoma State sophomore 174-pounder Brandon Mason and Northwestern junior 174-pounder Nick Hayes are Council Bluffs, IA, natives. Both attended Lewis Central High School.
LAST MEETING
Oklahoma State – Iowa lost a 22-13 decision to Oklahoma State in the quarterfinals of the 2007 N.W.C.A./Cliff Keen National Duals last Saturday in Cedar Falls, IA. The Cowboys jumped out to a 15-0 lead after the first four matches before Iowa redshirt freshman Ryan Morningstar scored a 2-1 win in the second tiebreaker over Newly McSpadden at 157. Cowboy senior Johny Hendricks immediately followed up with a 9-1 major decision over Hawkeye junior Mark Perry, improving his career record against Perry to 5-0 and handing Perry his second loss of the season. The Hawkeyes scored 10 team points with wins at the next three weights, giving junior heavyweight Matt Fields a chance to tie the dual with a pin. But, redshirt freshman Jared Rosholt beat Fields, 2-1, to seal the win for Oklahoma State. Following are the bout-by-bout results:
Oklahoma State 22, Iowa 13
125 – Tyler Shinn (O) dec. Charlie Falck (I), 5-4
133 – Coleman Scott (O) dec. Mario Galanakis (I), 8-2
141 – Nathan Morgan (O) dec Alex Tsirtsis (I), 4-2
149 – Dakotah Simpson (O) pinned Alex Grunder (I), 1:17
157 – Ryan Morningstar (I) dec. Newly McSpadden (O), 2-1 TB-2
165 – Johny Hendricks (O) maj. dec. Mark Perry (I), 9-1
174 – Eric Luedke (I) dec. Brandon Mason (O), 3-2
184 – Phillip Keddy (I) dec. Jack Jensen (O), 7-3
197 – Dan Erekson (I) maj. dec. Jared Shelton (O), 11-1
285 – Jared Rosholt (O) dec. Matt Fields (I), 2-1
Northwestern – Iowa defeated Northwestern, 22-18, last Saturday in the consolation bracket at the N.W.C.A./Cliff Keen National Duals. It was the fourth dual in less than 12 hours for both teams.
Northwestern jumped out to a 6-0 lead when freshman Brandon Precin pinned sophomore Charlie Falck in 3:20 at 125. Iowa rolled through the next six bouts, scoring one pin, a major decision and three decisions. The Wildcats responded with wins at the toughest part of their lineup – 184, 197 and Hwt. – to end the dual. Following are the bout-by-bout results:
Iowa 22, Northwestern 18
125 – Brandon Precin (N) pinned Charlie Falck (I), 3:20
133 – Mario Galanakis (I) dec. Eric Metzler (N), 3-2
141 – Alex Tsirtsis (I) pinned James Kohlberg (N), 0:47
149 – Alex Grunder (I) dec. Martin Gould (N), 10-6
157 – Ryan Morningstar (I) maj. dec. Dominic Marella (N), 18-5
165 – Mark Perry (I) dec. Greg Hagel (N), 6-4
174 – Eric Luedke (I) dec. Nick Hayes (N), 5-2
184 – Jake Herbert (N) pinned Phillip Keddy (I), 3:44
197 – Mike Tamillow (N) dec. Dan Erekson (I), 8-2
Hwt. – Dustin Fox (N) dec. Matt Fields (I), 3-2 TB-1
THE SERIES
Oklahoma State leads the series, 23-16-1, and has won the last seven meetings between the two teams. Iowa’s last win in the series was 20-14, in Iowa City, in 2000. The Cowboys hold an 11-5-1 edge in matches wrestled in Stillwater, OK.
Iowa leads the series with Northwestern, 62-7-1. The Hawkeyes have won 36 of the last 37 meetings, including the last two. Northwestern’s last win in the series was a 22-19 upset in 2005. Iowa holds a 29-4-1 edge in matches wrestled at Evanston, IL.
HAWKEYES PLACE FIFTH AT NATIONAL DUALS
Iowa went 4-1 and placed fifth at the N.W.C.A./Cliff Keen National Duals in Cedar Falls, IA, last weekend. On Saturday, the fifth-seed Hawkeyes won their opening match against unseeded California-Davis (41-4), lost the quarterfinals to fourth-seed Oklahoma State (22-13), and rebounded to defeat unseeded Nebraska (30-5) and eighth-seed Northwestern (22-18) in the consolation bracket – all in less than 12 hours. Iowa defeated third-seed Hofstra, 26-10, in Sunday’s fifth-place match. It is the first time that Iowa placed fifth in its 15-year history at the tournament. The Hawkeyes had won the team title three times, placed second three times, placed third six times and placed sixth once.
Senior 174-pounder Eric Luedke was the lone Hawkeye to go 5-0 on the weekend, while senior Mario Galanakis (133), juniors Alex Tsirtsis (141) and Mark Perry (165) and redshirt freshman Ryan Morningstar (157) went 4-1.
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 ON JEOPARDY!
Former Hawkeye wrestlers Luke and Ty Eustice were featured in a clue of the category “Iowa” December 8, and in several clues of the category “Wrestling” January 8 on the TV game show JEOPARDY! Jimmy McGuire and Kelly Miyahara of the JEOPARDY! Clue Crew taped clues at Carver-Hawkeye Arena featuring the Eustice brothers in August.
The Eustice brothers are natives of Blue Earth, MN. Luke was an all-American and NCAA finalist at 125 pounds in 2002, lettering for the Hawkeyes from 2001-04. Ty was a two-time all-American at 149 pounds, competing in the NCAA finals in 2006. He lettered for the Hawkeyes from 2003-06. They are the 10th set of brothers to wrestle together in the Hawkeye varsity lineup since the 1950s.
IOWA WRESTLING HISTORY
Iowa’s overall dual meet record is 804-210-30 (.785) 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.
IOWA TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets for Iowa’s remaining four home duals are on sale at the University of Iowa Athletic Ticket Office. Tickets purchased in advance are $8 for adults and $4 for youth/non-University of Iowa students. Tickets purchased at the door are $10 for adults and $5 for youth/non-University of Iowa students. University of Iowa students will be admitted free of charge for all matches with a student ID. For tickets, contact the University of Iowa Athletic Ticket Office at 1-800-424-2957, 319-335-9327 or www.hawkeyesports.com.
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.
NEXT COMPETITION
Iowa will wrestle at Purdue (10-1, 0-1 in Big Ten) Friday, January 26 at 6 p.m. at the Intercollegiate Athletic Facility in West Lafayette, IN. The Hawkeyes then return to Carver-Hawkeye Arena to host Wisconsin (14-0, 0-0 in Big Ten) Saturday, January 27 at 7 p.m. in Iowa City.