Hawkeyes Hold Off Northwestern, 22-13

Jan. 27, 2008

IOWA CITY, IA — The top-ranked Iowa wrestling team won its seventh straight dual Sunday night, defeating #10 Northwestern, 22-13, in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes won six bouts, but trailed the first half of the dual against an aggressive Wildcat squad. The win was the 160th for Iowa in Carver-Hawkeye Arena and the 45th career victory for Hawkeye Head Coach Tom Brands. Iowa improved to 14-1 (3-0 in the Big Ten), while the Wildcats fell to 5-5 (0-1).

Northwestern jumped out to a 7-0 lead with wins at the first two weights. Senior Mike Tamillow opened the dual at 197 with a 12-3 major decision over Iowa sophomore Chad Beatty. Top-ranked senior heavyweight Dustin Fox used 1:07 of riding time to defeat #6 Matt Fields, 2-1.

The Hawkeyes bounced back with #3 Charlie Falck scoring his 20th season victory with a 5-3 win over #5 Brandon Precin at 125. Falck is undefeated at 15-0 in duals and has won his last 12 bouts. Sophomore Joe Slaton, who is ranked fourth in the nation, followed at 133 with an 11-6 win over unranked Eric Metzler.

Northwestern responded with an upset at 141 as unranked freshman Keith Sulzer defeated #9 Dan LeClere, 9-3. Trailing 10-6, Iowa won four of the last five bouts to remain undefeated in the Big Ten. Sophomores Brent Metcalf (149), Ryan Morningstar (157), Jay Borschel (174) and Phillip Keddy (184) each picked up wins for the Hawkeyes. Top-ranked Metcalf dominated #4 Ryan Lang, scoring a 12-3 major decision. Metcalf has won his last 16 matches and is 19-1 this season. Keddy brought the crowd of 5,837 to its feet with his 1:58 pin over Adil Kolovic to end the dual and clinch the win for Iowa.

Iowa next competition will be a Big Ten weekend road tip. The Hawkeyes will wrestle at #3/#4 Minnesota (10-3, 2-0) Friday, February 1 at 7:30 p.m. The dual in Williams Arena will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network. The Hawkeyes will then travel to Madison to face #13/#16 Wisconsin (10-2-1, 1-0) Sunday, February 3 at 1 p.m. at the University of Wisconsin Field House.

Iowa 22, Northwestern 13
197 – Mike Tamillow (N) maj. dec. Chad Beatty (I), 12-3
Hwt. – Dustin Fox (N) dec. Matt Fields (I), 2-1
125 – Charlie Falck (I) dec. Brandon Precin (N), 5-3
133 – Joe Slaton (I) dec. Eric Metzler (N), 11-6
141 – Keith Sulzer (N) dec. Dan LeClere (I), 9-3
149 – Brent Metcalf (I) maj. dec. Ryan Lang (N), 12-3
157 – Ryan Morningstar (I) dec. Andrew Nahid (N), 6-4
165 – Dominic Marella (N) dec. Aaron Janssen (I), 7-5
174 – Jay Borschel (I) dec. Nick Hayes (N), 3-1
184 – Phillip Keddy (I) pinned Adil Kolovic (N), 1:58

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