Men's Wrestling January 8, 2008

Hawkeyes Earn National Duals Second Seed

Jan. 8, 2008

THIS WEEK
Second-seed Iowa (7-1) will face unseeded Cornell University in the first round of the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals Saturday at 11 a.m. at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls. The two-day annual tournament features 16 teams from NCAA Division I, 12 from Division II, 15 from Division III and NAIA, eight NJCAA teams, seven NCWA teams and five women’s wrestling teams.

The Division I field includes nine of the top 10 ranked teams in the most recent USA Today/Intermat/NWCA coaches poll. Central Michigan, Cornell, Hofstra, Indiana, Iowa State, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Northern Iowa, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Tennessee-Chattanooga and West Virginia will battle the Hawkeyes for the title. Results will be available at www.unipanthers.com throughout the tournament.

Depending on the outcome of the Iowa-Cornell dual, the Hawkeyes will face either the winner or loser of the #7 Missouri-Indiana dual Saturday at 3 p.m.

NATIONAL DUALS TICKET INFORMATION
All-session tickets are $30 for adults and $22 for seniors and students. Individual session tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for seniors and students. Tickets may be purchased by contacting the UNI-Dome box office at 1-877-216-3663.

NATIONAL DUALS SCHEDULE
The following is the Division I tournament schedule for this weekend’s NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals:

Saturday, January 12
9-11 a.m. – Championship Preliminary Round
11 a.m.-1 p.m. – Championship Preliminary Round
1-3 p.m. – Championship Quarterfinal, Consolation First Round
3-5 p.m. – Championship Quarterfinals, Consolations First Round
5-7 p.m. – Consolation Second Round
7-9 p.m. – Consolation Third Round

Sunday, January 13
9-11 a.m. – Seventh-Place Match
11 a.m.-1 p.m. – Championship Semifinals
1-2:45 p.m. – Third and Fifth-Place Matches
3-5 p.m. – Championship Finals

ON THE AIR
Online Radio – Steven Grace and two-time Hawkeye NCAA champion and four-time all-American Mark Ironside will call the Iowa dual meet action live on www.hawkeyesports.com. To listen, go to the wrestling schedule 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).

Takedown Wrestling Radio will also broadcast portions of the National Duals free of charge at Takedownradio.com. and KXNO.com.

Online Video – LiveSportsVideo.com will present a free web cast of Sunday’s championship semifinals (11 a.m.), third and fifth-place matches (1 p.m.) and championship finals (3 p.m.).

Internet – Press releases, meet results and audio broadcasts are available on the University of Iowa’s website, www.hawkeyesports.com. To access live 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.

Television – Iowa Public Television will air a two-hour taped-delay broadcast of the tournament semifinals at 1 p.m. with live coverage of the finals at 3 p.m. Tim Johnson will provide play-by-play, and Jim Gibbons will provide color commentary.

LAST TIME AT THE DUALS
Iowa placed fifth at the 2007 N.W.C.A./Cliff Keen National Duals in Cedar Falls. The fifth-seeded Hawkeyes opened the tournament with a 41-4 win over Cal-Davis before losing to fourth-seed Oklahoma State (22-13) in the quarterfinals. Iowa rebounded to beat Nebraska (30-5) and eighth-seed Northwestern (22-18) in Saturday’s consolation matches and defeated third-seed Hofstra (26-10) in Sunday’s fifth-place match.

HAWKEYE HISTORY AT THE DUALS
Iowa has wrestled in 15 National Duals and has a 54-10-3 all time record in the tournament. Iowa has won the title three times (1992, 1995, 1996), placed second three times (1994, 1997, 1998), third six times (1990, 1991, 1993, 2001, 2002, 2003), fifth once (2007) and sixth once (2006).

CORNELL BIG RED
Cornell is 0-2 with losses to Wisconsin (18-21) and Penn State (10-35). The Big Red won the Body Bar Invitational in November, and placed third at the Reno Tournament of Champions and fourth at the Southern Scuffle in December.

Head Coach Rob Koll is 154-59-4 in 14 seasons at Cornell. He is assisted by Tyler Baier (Cornell, 2005), Cory Cooperman (Lehigh, 2006) and Damion Hahn (Minnesota, 2004).

The Big Red are led by juniors Jordan Lee (157), Steve Anceravage (174) and Zach Hammond (Hwt.), sophomore Adam Frey (141) and freshmen Mike Grey (133) and Mack Lewnes (165).

THE SERIES
Cornell leads the series, 1-0, winning the only meeting between the two teams – a 24-6 decision in Iowa City in 1965.

OKLAHOMA STATE 19, IOWA 14
Iowa lost its first dual of the 2007-08 season Saturday night, dropping a 19-14 decision to Oklahoma State in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa entered the match ranked first in the nation and fell to 7-1 on the season in front of 14,332 fans. That attendance figure is the seventh-largest for a dual meet in NCAA wrestling history and the fifth-largest in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Oklahoma State, who was ranked as high as sixth and as low as ninth in the nation, improved to 6-1.

“We got whipped,” said Iowa Head Coach Tom Brands. “I don’t like this feeling because it feels too much like last year – going up and down. We’ve got a lot of improving to do. I don’t like it, but I wouldn’t have it any other way because now we know what needs to be done. I’m going to put the loss on me first, and I’m sure there are at least five or six guys up in the (wrestling) room that are going to put it on themselves too.”

Iowa won four of the 10 weights, including two by major decision. Junior Charlie Falck opened the dual at 125 with a narrow 7-5 decision over Ben Ashmore. Falck fought off his back early in the third period and scored a reversal with one minute left to pick up the win. Sophomores Brent Metcalf (149) and Phillip Keddy (184) both scored major decisions, while senior Matt Fields closed out the dual with a 4-3 win over Jared Rosholt at heavyweight. Fields picked up his 75th career win, while Keddy posted his 25th.

Oklahoma State won five of the six matches they were favored in, and added an upset to their six-win tally. Top-ranked Coleman Scott held off a late charge by second-ranked sophomore Joe Slaton at 133 to win 8-6. It was Slaton’s his first loss of the season. Cowboy senior Nathan Morgan followed with an 8-4 win over sophomore Dan LeClere at 141. Juniors Newly McSpadden (157) and Brandon Mason (174) both scored decisions for Oklahoma State and senior Jake Dieffenbach upset second-ranked senior Mark Perry, 5-3, at 165.

Oklahoma State 19, Iowa 14
125 – Charlie Falck (I) dec. Ben Ashmore (OSU), 7-5
133 – Coleman Scott (OSU) dec. Joe Slaton (I), 8-6
141 – Nathan Morgan (OSU) dec. Dan LeClere (I), 8-4
149 – Brent Metcalf (I) maj. dec. Quinten Fuentes (OSU), 20-8
157 – Newly McSpadden (OSU) dec. Ryan Morningstar (I), 4-2
165 – Jake Dieffenbach (OSU) dec. Mark Perry (I), 5-3
174 – Brandon Mason (OSU) dec. Jay Borschel (I), 2-0
184 – Phillip Keddy (I) maj. dec. Cody Hill (OSU), 12-2
197 – Clayton Foster (OSU) maj. dec. Rick Loera (I), 12-1
Hwt. – Matt Fields (I) dec. Jared Rosholt (OSU), 4-3

PERRY AIMS FOR RECORDS BOOK
Senior Mark Perry needs six pins to break into the Iowa records book for career pins. The Hawkeye 165-pounder has 34 career pins, including nine this season. Former Hawkeye Lou Banach (1980-83) is ranked 10th in school history with 40 pins. His twin brother, Ed, holds the school record with 73 career falls. Perry has led the team in pins the last three years, recording six in 2004-05 and 2006-07 and 13 in 2005-06.

CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE
The Hawkeye wrestling staff of Tom Brands, Wes Hand, Doug Schwab and Mike Zadick earned a total of one Olympic gold medal, four NCAA titles, six conference titles and 12 all-America honors. Their combined college career wrestling record is 487-83-2 (.853).

BIG TEN NETWORK SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED
The Big Ten Network has released its 2007-08 wrestling schedule. Nine duals and the finals of the 2007 Midlands Championships and 2008 Big Ten Championships are scheduled to be aired on the network.

Iowa will have two televised duals on the network. The Iowa-Ohio State dual on Jan. 18 in Columbus will air same-day taped-delay at 8:30 p.m. and the Iowa-Minnesota dual on Feb. 1 in Minneapolis will air live at 7:30 p.m. Both times are Central.

BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS TICKETS GO ON SALE
Tickets for the 2008 Big Ten Wrestling Championships, to be held at the University of Minnesota’s Williams Arena Mar. 8-9 are now available. All-session tickets are $30 and may be purchased through gophersports.com, in person at the Minnesota athletics ticket office in Mariucci Arena or by calling 1-800-846-7437 or 612-624-8080. Single-session tickets, if available, will go on sale March 3.

The 2008 Big Ten Wrestling Championships will feature a three-session format, with the Session 1 preliminary matches beginning at 11 a.m. on Mar. 8. Session 2 will get underway at 6 p.m. that same day, and the Session 3 championship matches will start at noon Mar. 9. Doors to Williams Arena open approximately one hour prior to the beginning of each session.

Sessions 1 and 2 will feature four mats of action, while Session 3 will have live wrestling on three mats. The Williams Arena court will be extended to accommodate the four-mat setup.

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS RETURN TO ST. LOUIS
The 2008 NCAA Wrestling Championships are scheduled for Mar. 20-22 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, MO.

The Scottrade Center was the site for the national wrestling tournament in 2000, 2004 and 2005, and will host the event in 2009. The NCAA, University of Missouri and the St. Louis Sports Commission will co-host the event.

Sessions I (11 a.m.) and II (6:30 p.m.) will be held Mar. 20, Sessions III (10 a.m. and IV (6 p.m.) will be Mar. 21, and Session V (10 a.m.) and the championship finals (7:30 p.m.) are set for Mar. 22.

Tickets to the event are available at (866) 646-8849 or www.ticketmaster.com. All-session tickets are priced based on seat location. Following is the price breakdown.

Plaza – $150
Mezzanine Center & Mezzanine Corner (1st 2 rows) – $120
Mezzanine Corner & Mezzanine End (1st 2 rows) – $95
Mezzanine End – $60

FAMILY FOUR PACK AVAILABLE
The University of Iowa is offering a Family Four Pack ticket package for the Iowa vs. Indiana dual on Feb. 15. The package includes four tickets, four hot dogs and four drinks for $30. Orders can be placed through the University of Iowa Athletic Ticket Office or at 1-800-464-2957, 319-335-9327 or www.hawkeyesports.com.

IOWA TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets for Iowa’s four remaining home duals are on sale at the University of Iowa Athletic Ticket Office or at 1-800-464-2957, 319-335-9327 or www.hawkeyesports.com. University of Iowa students will be admitted free to all matches with a student ID. Tickets purchased in advance are $8 for adults and $4 for youth. Tickets purchased at the event are $10 for adults and $5 for youth.

IOWA WRESTLING HISTORY
Iowa’s overall dual meet record is 816-215-30 (.783) in 96 seasons. The Hawkeyes have won 20 national titles and 31 Big Ten titles. Iowa’s 48 NCAA champions have won a total of 74 NCAA individual titles, crowning six three-time and 13 two-time champions. The Hawkeyes’ 100 Big Ten champions have won a total of 181 conference titles. There have been seven four-time, 18 three-time and 24 two-time Iowa winners. Iowa’s 130 all-Americans have earned all-America status 266 times, including 16 four-time, 28 three-time and 32 two-time honorees.

NEXT COMPETITION
Iowa (7-1) will kick off the Big Ten dual season Jan. 18 at Ohio State (9-1) in Columbus at 6 p.m. The Big Ten Network will air a taped-delay broadcast of the dual at 8:30 p.m. The Hawkeyes will then host Penn State (5-0) Jan. 20 at 2 p.m. in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Complete Release in PDF Format