Jan. 12, 2008
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CEDAR FALLS, IA — The Iowa wrestling team handed Missouri its first loss of the season Saturday afternoon, beating the Tigers, 27-9, in the quarterfinals of the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals in Cedar Falls. Hawkeye Head Coach Tom Brands picked up his 40th career victory and Iowa improved to 9-1 this season with the win. Iowa will face sixth-seeded Michigan (12-1) in the tournament semifinals Sunday at 11 a.m. in the UNI-Dome. Fifth-seed Minnesota (8-1) and unseeded Nebraska (8-1) will meet in the other semifinal.
Iowa, the second seed at the tournament, jumped out to a 24-0 lead against seventh-seed Missouri, winning the first seven weights. Junior Charlie Falck started things off with a 19-7 major decision over Tony Pescaglia at 125 pounds. Falck remains undefeated at 10-0 in dual competition, and is 15-1 in collegiate matches this season. Sophomore Joe Slaton (133) and Dan LeClere (141) followed with decisions, and sophomore Brent Metcalf picked up a 12-4 major decision over Josh Wagner at 149. It was Metcalf’s 11th straight win and his second bonus-point victory of the day as he improved to 14-1. Sophomore Ryan Morningstar kept the Iowa momentum going with a 5-4 win over Michael Chandler at 157 and senior Mark Perry escaped in the tiebreak period to beat fourth-ranked Nick Marable, 3-2 in overtime. Sophomore Jay Borschel was one of seven Hawkeyes to score two wins on the day with a 13-2 major decision over Brock Wittmeyer at 174.
Missouri put its first points on the scoreboard at 184, when Raymond Jordan scored a 3-2 win over Phillip Keddy. Tiger Max Askren followed with a 3:24 pin over Iowa’s Rick Loera at 197. But Hawkeye senior Matt Fields put an end to Missouri’s scoring run with a late takedown to defeat Mark Ellis, 5-4, at heavyweight. Fields improved to 14-2 on the season and 10-0 in dual competition.
Iowa, who defeated unseeded Cornell, 32-3 in the tournament’s opening round, went 17-3 on the day. Michigan posted first day wins over unseeded Northern Iowa (30-6) and Hofstra (19-15). The Wolverines are led by top-ranked Kellen Russell (141) and Eric Tannenbaum (165), and second-ranked Steve Luke (174). Tannenbaum and Luke went 2-0 on the day, while Russell went 0-2. The probable match-up of Tannenbaum and Hawkeye senior Mark Perry will be a rematch of the 2007 Big Ten Championship finals, which Perry won 5-2. Tannenbaum won the other previous meeting between the two, 6-2 in sudden victory at the 2007 dual in Ann Arbor.
The Iowa-Michigan match will be broadcast live on AM800-KXIC and www.hawkeyesports.com. Live results and updated brackets are available at www.intermatwrestle.com and www.unipanthers.com. Iowa Public Television will air a two-hour taped-delay broadcast of the semifinals at 1 p.m.
Iowa 27, Missouri 9
125 – Charlie Falck (I) maj. dec. Tony Pescaglia (M), 19-7
133 – Joe Slaton (I) dec. Tyler McCormick (M), 7-2
141 – Dan LeClere (I) dec. Marcus Hoehn (M), 10-4
149 – Brent Metcalf (I) maj. dec. Josh Wagner (M), 12-4
157 – Ryan Morningstar (I) dec. Michael Chandler (M), 5-4
165 – Mark Perry (I) dec. Nick Marable (M), 3-2 TB-1
174 – Jay Borschel (I) maj. dec. Brock Wittmeyer (M), 13-2
184 – Raymond Jordan (M) dec. Phillip Keddy (I), 3-2
197 – Max Askren (M) pinned Rick Loera (I), 3:24
Hwt. – Matt Fields (I) dec. Mark Ellis (M), 5-4
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