Nov. 12, 2008
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SEASON OPENER
The defending NCAA and Big Ten champion Iowa wrestling team will open the 2008-09 season Nov. 21 when it hosts the Iowa City Duals and Arizona State. The Iowa City Duals will be held in the North Gym at the University of Iowa Field House. Iowa will wrestle Coe at 9 a.m., Iowa Central at 10:30 a.m. and Minnesota State-Mankato at Noon. It will be the first time the Hawkeyes have wrestled in the Field House since January 1983, when Carver-Hawkeye Arena opened. Admission to the event is free.
The Hawkeyes will then head over to Carver-Hawkeye Arena to face Arizona State at 3:30 p.m. Tickets purchased in advance are $10 for adults and $5 for you. Tickets purchased at the dual are $12 for adults and $6 for youth. University of Iowa students and children ages 5 and under will be admitted for free. Tickets can be purchased from the University of Iowa Athletic Ticket Office at 1-800-464-2957, 319-335-9327 or www.hawkeyesports.com.
ON THE AIR
Radio – Steven Grace and two-time Hawkeye NCAA champion and four-time all-American Mark Ironside will call the action this season. At press time, all dual meets (except the Iowa City and the Journeyman/Brute Duals) as well as action from the Big Ten and NCAA Championships will be aired live on AM-800, KXIC. Live audio broadcasts from all competitions (except the Journeyman/Brute Duals) are available online at www.hawkeyesports.com. Broadcasts are available using the XXL All-Access subscription ($14.95 per month or $119.95 yer year).
Internet – Press releases, meet results, audio broadcasts and live video broadcasts from home duals are available online at www.hawkeyesports.com. To access live scoring for home meets, go to the wrestling schedule page, select the event and click on the Live Results link. Results will be updated after each bout during the dual. Current staff and student-athlete head shots can be found at pics.hawkeyesports.com.
Television – Three of Iowa’s dual meets and portions of the Midlands, Big Ten and NCAA Championships will be televised this year. The Big Ten Network and Iowa Public Television will air the Iowa vs. Iowa State dual on Dec. 6 and the Minnesota dual on Feb. 15. Iowa Public Television will air the meets live, while the Big Ten Network will have a same day delayed broadcast (9:30 p.m. Iowa State, 7 p.m. Minnesota). The Big Ten Network will also air a live telecast of the Illinois dual Jan. 25 at 5 p.m.
The Big Ten Network is also scheduled to air the finals of the 2008 Midlands Championships, Dec. 30, live at 6 p.m. Portions of the 2009 Big Ten Championships are also scheduled to air on the Big Ten Network, Mar. 8, at a time to be determined.
ESPNU, ESPN360.com and ESPN are scheduled to combine for extensive live coverage of the 2009 NCAA Championships. An exact airing schedule has yet to be determined.
FIVE HAWKEYES SET FOR NWCA ALL-STAR CLASSIC
Five Hawkeyes are scheduled to compete at the 43rd annual NWCA All-Star Classic Nov. 24 in Columbus, OH. The event will be held in Ohio State’s St. John Arena and is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. (CT). Tickets are $10, with children ages six and under admitted free. Tickets can be ordered from TicketMaster at 614-431-3600 or www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com.
Hawkeye senior Charlie Falck (125) and juniors Joe Slaton (133), Brent Metcalf (149), Jay Borschel (174) and Phillip Keddy (184) have all accepted invitations to compete at the event. It will be the most Iowa competitiors since the 1992 event in Iowa City when six Iowa wrestlers (Chad Zaputil, Terry Brands, Tom Brands, Troy Steiner, Terry Steiner and Travis Fiser) participated. Six Hawkeyes also competed at the event in 1985.
Three of Iowa’s five match-ups will be against Big Ten foes. Falck will wrestle Cornell’s Troy Nickerson at 125, while Slaton will face Minnesota’s Jayson Ness at 133. It will be the first meeting for both. Nickerson is a two-time all-American who sat out last season due to injury. Ness earned two all-America honors at 125 for Minnesota, and is moving up to 133.
Metcalf will face Penn State’s Bubba Jenkins in a rematch of last season’s 149-pound NCAA finals. Metcalf won that match (14-8), as well as two other meetings during the season (pin in 5:33 at dual match in Iowa City and 15-3 major decision at the Big Ten semifinals).
Borschel will face Michigan’s Steve Luke at 174. The Hawkeye junior holds a 1-1 record against Luke, winning a 3-2 decision at the 2008 National Duals and losing a 5-3 decision at the dual in Iowa City. Luke is the defending Big Ten Champion and the 2008 NCAA runner-up.
Keddy will wrestle Harvard’s Louis Caputo at 184. Keddy is 0-1 against the junior, losing a 7-0 decision in the consolation round of the 2007 NCAA Championships to knock him out of the tournament.
Following is the scheduled lineup. The individual rankings are from the USA Today/Intermat/NWCA pre-season poll.
2008 NWCA All-Star Dual Match-Ups
125 – #2 Troy Nickerson (Cornell) vs. #3 Charlie Falck (Iowa)
133 – #1 Joe Slaton (Iowa) vs. #2 Jayson Ness (Minnesota)
141 – #1 J Jaggers (Ohio St.) vs. #2 Nick Gallick (Iowa St.)
149 – #1 Brent Metcalf (Iowa) vs. #2 Bubba Jenkins (Penn St.)
157 – #1 Jordan Leen (Cornell) vs. #3 Dan Vallimont (Penn St.)
165 – #1 Nick Marable (Missouri) vs. #2 Mack Lewnes (Cornell)
174 – #1 Steve Luke (Michigan) vs. #2 Jay Borschel (Iowa)
184 – #3 Phil Keddy (Iowa) vs. #4 Louis Caputo (Harvard)
197 – #1 Jake Varner (Iowa St.) vs. #2 Hudson Taylor (Maryland)
Hwt – #1 Jake Rosholt (Okla. St.) vs. #3 Kyle Massey (Wisconsin)
“PACK THE HOUSE” SET FOR IOWA-IOWA STATE DUAL
The Hawkeyes will try to pack the house and recapture the current national dual meet attendance record when it hosts intra-state rival Iowa State Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The current record of 15,646 was set by Minnesota on Feb. 1, 2002, when the Golden Gophers hosted Iowa at the Target Center in Minneapolis.
The meet has also been designated as a “Black Out” meet, where all fans are encouraged to wear black. Fans will receive black rally towels at the dual, which is also a Hy-Vee Cy-Hawk Series event.
While Carver-Hawkeye holds 15,500 fans for a dual wrestling meet, University of Iowa officials have secured special permission from local authorities to sell standing room only seats around the top perimeter of the facility for a new capacity of 15,713.
Iowa City was home to the national dual meet attendance record for almost 19 years before Minnesota’s record-breaking crowd in 2002. The Hawkeyes had 15,283 fans when they hosted Iowa State on Feb. 19, 1983. Iowa broke that record on Feb. 22, 1992, when 15,291 fans filled Carver-Hawkeye to watch the Hawkeyes and Cyclones compete.
HAWKEYES EARN TOP PRE-SEASON RANKINGS
Iowa earned the top spot in the USA Today/NWCA/Intermat Top 25 pre-season coaches poll and the W.I.N. Magazine pre-season dual team rankings. Hawkeye juniors Joe Slaton (133) and Brent Metcalf (149) also earned top spots at their weight class in pre-season national rankings by Amateur Wrestling News (AWN), Intermat/NWCA/NWMA and W.I.N. Magazine.
Slaton was an NCAA finalist and placed third at the Big Ten meet last season with a 31-5 overall record. He also won a Midlands title, went 18-3 in duals and 7-1 in the Big Ten.
Metcalf returns after collecting nearly every collegiate wrestling accolade possible in 2008. He was awarded the Dan Hodge Trophy, which is presented to the nation’s top collegiate wrestler, and the Jesse Owens Big Ten Male Athlete of the Year Award, given annually to the best male student-athlete in any Big Ten sport. He was named outstanding wrestler at the NCAA and Big Ten Championships after winning individual titles. He earned Big Ten Wrestler of the Year honors, and was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week twice – in consecutive weeks – becoming the first wrestler in conference history to achieve that feat. His 35-1 season record included an undefeated 7-0 Big Ten dual mark. He ended the season on a 32-match winning streak. Metcalf also led the team in collegiate wins (35), dual wins (21), collegiate and dual winning percentages (.972, .954), dual team points scored during the season (100) and technical falls (6).
Senior Charlie Falck (125) is ranked second by AWN and W.I.N. Magazine, and third by Intermat/NWCA/NWMA, while junior Jay Borschel (174) is ranked second in all three polls. Falck is a two-time all-American who posted a 21-1 dual record last year, going 7-1 in the Big Ten and leading the squad in dual wins (21) and dual winning percentage (.954). Borschel recorded a 32-5 season and 20-2 dual mark en route to third-place finishes at the NCAA and Big Ten Championships last season. He led the team in major decisions (11), and ranked second in collegiate wins (32) and dual team points scored during the season (79).
NEW FACES ON HAWKEYE STAFF
Head Coach Tom Brands added some new and familiar faces to his staff for the 2008-09 season. His twin brother, Terry, was named an assistant coach in October, and Doug Schwab dropped the interim from his assistant coach title. Mike Zadick, who has served on the Hawkeye staff for the past five seasons, moved to volunteer assistant coach. Former Oklahoma two-time all-American Jared Frayer was named strength and conditioning coach, and former Hawkeye Luke Eustice filled the administrative assistant position.
A two-time World Champion and 2000 Olympic bronze medalist Terry Brands joins the staff after a three-year stint (2005-08) as USA Wrestling’s national freestyle resident coach in Colorado Springs, CO. His collegiate coaching experience includes stints as head coach at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga (2002-05), and as an assistant coach at Montana State-Northern (2001-02), the University of Nebraska (2000-01) and the University of Iowa (1992-2000). Brands was a two-time NCAA champion, three-time all-American and three-time Big Ten champion for the Hawkeyes (1989-92). He ended his career at Iowa with a 137-7 record.
Schwab is in his third season on the Hawkeye staff, serving as a volunteer assistant coach in 2006-07 and an interim assistant coach in 2007-08. A 2008 Olympian, he was a three-time all-American and Big Ten champion for the Hawkeyes (1998-2001). Zadick, who also competed at the 2008 Olympics, was a three-time all-American at Iowa (2000-02), winning the 2002 Big Ten title.
SQUAD LOOKS TO EXTEND DUAL WINNING STREAK
Iowa enters the season having won 14 straight duals. The Hawkeyes have also won 15 consecutive duals away from Iowa City. The school record for most consecutive dual wins is 42 (1994-97).
CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE
The Hawkeye wrestling staff of Tom Brands, Terry Brands, Doug Schwab, Mike Zadick and Jared Frayer earned a total of one Olympic gold medal, one Olympic bronze medal, six NCAA titles, 11 conference titles and 15 all-America honors. Their combined college career wrestling record is 487-83-2 (.858).
HAWKEYE WRESTLING TICKET INFORMATION
Season tickets and single meet tickets for Iowa’s home duals are on sale at the University of Iowa Athletic Ticket Office at 1-800-464-2957, 319-335-9327 or www.hawkeyesports.com. Fans will be admitted to the Iowa City Duals Nov. 21 at the UI Field House free of charge. University of Iowa students will be admitted free to all matches with a valid student ID. Students are asked to stop by the UI Athletic Ticket Office before the Iowa State and Minnesota duals to pick up a free paper ticket for seating purposes. Following are this season’s ticket prices:
Season Tickets
$60 – General public, $48 – Faculty/staff*
Single Meet vs. Iowa St., Minnesota
Advance Purchase: $13 – Adult, $7 – Youth, $2 – Age 5 and under
Door Purchase: $15 – Adult, $8 – Youth, $2 – Age 5 and under
Free Admission: UI Students with paper ticket
Single Meet vs. Arizona St., Wisconsin, Illinois, Bucknell, Purdue
Advance Purchase: $10 – Adult, $5 – Youth
Door Purchase: $12 – Adult, $6 – Youth
Free Admission: UI Students, children ages 5 and under
* – A limit of two tickets available at this price. All others must be purchased at the public price.
OH BROTHER
The two sets of brothers on the 2008-09 Hawkeye wrestling roster are junior Dan LeClere and redshirt freshman Nick LeClere from Coggon, IA, and sophomore Matt Ballweg and freshman Mark Ballweg from Waverly, IA.
There have been 10 sets of brothers to wrestle together in the Hawkeye lineup since the 1950s. They are Don and Tom Huff (1961), Mark and Scott Trizzino (1981), Lenny, Larry and Jim Zalesky (1981-82), Ed and Lou Banach (1981-83), Marty and Lindley Kistler (1984-85), Jim and John Heffernan (1987), Tom and Terry Brands (1989-92), Troy and Terry Steiner (1991-93), Ryan and Randy Fulsaas (2001) and Luke and Ty Eustice (2003-04).
There have also been five sets of twins to wrestle at Iowa. They are Ed and Lou Banach, Tom and Terry Brands, Ben and Brett Stedman, Troy and Terry Steiner and Randy and Ryan Fulsaas.
CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA
Carver-Hawkeye Arena has been the home of Iowa wrestling since 1983. The Hawkeyes are 162-18 (.900) in the arena, which includes a record 10 victories during the 1986 season. Iowa has recorded 16 undefeated seasons in the arena, with the most recent (8-0) occurring in 2002-03. The dual wrestling attendance record for Carver-Hawkeye Arena is 15,291, set when Iowa defeated Iowa State on February 22, 1992. The arena seats 15,500 for a dual wrestling meet.
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