Hawkeyes Defeat Wisconsin, 22-20

Feb. 3, 2008

MADISON, WI — The top-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team used bonus points to defeat #13/#15 Wisconsin, 22-20, Sunday afternoon at Madison, WI. Each team won five matches, but the Hawkeyes used pins from sophomores Brent Metcalf (149) and Phillip Keddy (184) and a major decision by sophomore Jay Borschel (174) to win their ninth-straight dual. Head Coach Tom Brands picked up his 30th win at Iowa and his 10th win in the Big Ten, as Iowa improved to 16-1, 5-0 Big Ten. Wisconsin fell to 11-3-1, 2-2.

“This showed some weakness – it’s good to see this,” said Brands. “We can do better, that’s for sure. Those five wins were big ones for us, and bonus points won us the dual. (Iowa’s five winners) did what they were supposed to do.”

Iowa opened the dual with back-to-back decisions from junior Charlie Falck (125) and sophomore Joe Slaton (133). Wisconsin put its first points on the board at 141 when #7 Kyle Ruschell scored seven points in the third period to beat Hawkeye sophomore Dan LeClere, 8-0. Metcalf extended Iowa’s lead to 12-4 with his 4:02 pin of Trevor Bowers at 149. Wisconsin fought back within one (12-11) on Craig Henning’s 2-1 win over Ryan Morningstar at 157 and Jake Donar’s 13-1 major decision over redshirt freshman Aaron Janssen at 165. Borschel and Keddy’s bonus point wins gave the Hawkeyes a 22-11 lead, but the Badgers weren’t finished. Wisconsin scored a pin of its own at 197 and junior heavyweight Kyle Massey upset Hawkeye senior Matt Fields, 6-5, in the afternoon’s final bout.

Slaton, Metcalf and Borschel remain undefeated at 5-0 in Big Ten duals, while Slaton and Borschel picked up their 20th season and career victories. Metcalf extended his winning streak to 18 matches and picked up his seventh pin of the year.

Iowa will return to the road next week with a non-conference road trip out west. The Hawkeyes will face Arizona State (9-5, 3-4 Pac 10) Feb. 8 at Copper Canyon High School in Glendale, AZ, at 8:30 p.m. (CT). Iowa will then face Boise State (8-1, 7-1 Pac 10) Feb. 10 at 1 p.m. (CT) at Taco Bell Arena in Boise, ID.

Iowa 22, Wisconsin 20
125 – Charlie Falck (I) dec. Collin Cudd (W), 6-1
133 – Joe Slaton (I) dec. Zach Tanelli (W), 3-1
141 – Kyle Ruschell (W) maj. dec. Dan LeClere (I), 8-0
149 – Brent Metcalf (I) pinned Trevor Bowers (W), 4:02
157 – Craig Henning (W) dec. Ryan Morningstar (I), 2-1
165 – Jake Donar (W) maj. dec. Aaron Janssen (I), 13-1
174 – Jay Borschel (I) maj. dec. Justin Peterson (W), 15-7
184 – Phillip Keddy (I) pinned Eric Bugenhagen (W), 3:00
197 – Dallas Herbst (W) pinned Chad Beatty (I), 0:41
Hwt. – Kyle Massey (W) dec. Matt Fields (I), 6-5

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