Hawkeyes Head To Journeymen/Brute Northeast Duals

Nov. 26, 2008

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THIS WEEK
Top-ranked Iowa (4-0) will head to Troy, NY, for the Journeymen/Brute Northeast Duals Saturday. The Hawkeyes, who will look to extend their 18-match winning streak, will wrestle Binghamton (2-2) at 8:15 a.m., Maryland (1-2-1) at 10 a.m., Central Michigan (0-0) at 12:15 p.m. and Bloomsburg (0-1) at 4 p.m. All matches will be held at the McDonough Sports Complex Field House at Hudson Valley Community College. Tickets are $25 for adults and $20 for students.

BINGHAMTON BEARCATS
The Binghamton Bearcats are 2-2 with wins over AIC (38-3) and Wagner (54-0), and losses to Penn State (8-36) and North Carolina (10-27).

Head Coach Pat Popolizio is 25-24 in three seasons at Binghamton. He is assisted by Dennis Papadatos and Scott Green. The Bearcats are led by sophomore Anwar Goeres (141), senior Nate Patterson (157) and junior Josh Patterson (174).

This will be the first meeting between the two programs.

MARYLAND TERRAPINS
The Maryland Terrapins are 1-2-1 with a win over Findlay (37-12), losses to Edinboro (14-23) and Lehigh (15-21) and a tie with Army (19-19).

Head Coach Kerry McCoy is in his first season with the Terrapins, and has a 30-21-1 career record as a collegiate head coach. He is assisted by Todd Beckerman and Jason Powell. McCoy inherited a squad that won the 2008 ACC title, went undefeated in the conference (5-0) and posted a 16-4 dual mark.

Returning all-American Hudson Taylor leads the team at 197 and is currently ranked second in the nation. Maryland also returns five other 2008 NCAA qualifiers in juniors Steven Bell (133), Jon Kohler (141) and Mike Letts (174), and sophomores Eric Medina (149) and Brian Letters (157).

Iowa leads the series, 1-0, winning the only meeting (25-6) in 1973 at College Park, MD.

CENTRAL MICHIGAN CHIPPEWAS
The Central Michigan Chippewas will open their 2008-09 dual season Saturday at the Journeymen/Brute Northeast Duals. The Chippewas are ranked 11th in the most recent national dual team rankings by W.I.N. Magazine and 17th in the USA Today/NWCA/Intermat Top 25 coaches poll. Head Coach Tom Borrelli is 204-87-6 in 18 seasons at Central Michigan and 250-116-7 in 23 years as a college head coach. He is assisted by Mark DiSalvo and Brandon Sinnott.

The Chippewas are led by senior Trevor Stewart (165), juniors Conor Beebe (133) and Steve Brown (149), sophomore Mike Miller (174) and freshman Scott Sentes (125). Stewart, Beebe and Brown qualified for the 2008 NCAA Championships and were part of last season’s squad that tied for seventh place at the NCAA Championships, won its seventh-straight Mid-American Conference title, went undefeated in the conference (5-0) and posted a 16-2 overall dual record.

Iowa leads the series, 2-0, winning the last meeting (28-8) in the first round of the 2003 Cliff Keen/NWCA National Duals. The Hawkeyes also won the first meeting (36-6) in the first round of the 2002 National Duals.

BLOOMSBURG HUSKIES
The Bloomsburg Huskies are 0-1 (0-1 EWL) with a loss to Pittsburgh (7-27). Head Coach John Stutzman is 31-26-1 in four years at Bloomsburg. He is assisted by Scott Owen.

Returning all-American Matt Moley (157) leads the squad, along with juniors Jason Guffey (133), Rick Donald (141), and Rick Schmelyun (165).

Iowa leads the series, 2-0, winning the last meeting (37-3) in the first round of the 1990 National Duals. The Hawkeyes also won the first meeting (30-14) in 1986 at Bloomsburg.

HAVEN’T WE MET?
Following are Iowa’s career results against probable Journeymen/Brute Northeast Duals opponents.

Maryland
141 – Dan LeClere dec. Alex Krom, 6-5, at `05 W. Virginia Open

Central Michigan
133 – Daniel Dennis dec. Conor Beebe, 7-2, at `05 Midlands
133 – Joe Slaton dec. Conor Beebe, 5-2, at `06 Kent St. Open
141 – Alex Tsirtsis dec. Eric Kruger, 10-4, at `06 Midlands
141 – Alex Tsirtsis won by med. for. vs. Kruger at `07 Midlands
141 – Alex Tsirtsis dec. Tony D’Alie, 6-3, at `07 Midlands
141 – Dan LeClere dec. Eric Kruger, 4-2, at `06 Kent St. Open
141 – Dan LeClere dec. Eric Kruger, 6-5, at `07 Midlands
174 – Jay Borschel maj. dec. Don Dryer, 15-3, at `06 Kent St. Open

IOWA WINS THREE AT NWCA ALL-STAR DUAL
Three Hawkeye wrestlers picked up wins at the 2008 NWCA All-Star Dual in Columbus, OH. Junior Brent Metcalf (149) turned in one of the more dominant performances of the night, while senior Charlie Falck (125) and junior Phillip Keddy (184) each picked up decisions. Iowa sent four wrestlers to the event – Falck, Metcalf, junior Jay Borschel (174) and Keddy – which was the most of any team represented. A crowd of 2,070 was on hand at Ohio State’s St. John Arena for the 43rd annual event.

Falck, who was ranked third in the nation at 125 in the Intermat/NWCA/NWMA poll, opened the event with a 6-2 win over fifth-ranked James Nicholson of Old Dominion. It was the second time that Falck defeated the Des Moines, IA, native. Top-ranked Metcalf posted a match-ending 19-3 technical fall in 6:20 over fourth-ranked Darrion Caldwell of North Carolina State at 149. Caldwell, who handed the Hawkeye junior his only loss during the 2007-08 season, scored his only points off escapes. Borschel, who is ranked second at 174, lost a 3-2 decision to top-ranked Steve Luke of Michigan. Luke, who is the defending Big Ten champion and the 2008 NCAA runner-up, now holds a 2-1 advantage in the series between the two. Keddy, who is ranked third at 184, won a 3-2 decision over fourth-ranked Louis Caputo of Harvard, evening their series at 1-1.

HAWKEYES GO 4-0 AT IOWA CITY DUALS
The Hawkeye wrestling team opened the 2008-09 season going 4-0 at the Iowa City Duals (Nov. 21) in Iowa City. Approximately 900 fans packed the University of Iowa Field House North Gym to watch Iowa defeat Iowa Central (52-0), Coe (51-0) and Minnesota State Mankato (45-3) earlier in the day, and a crowd of 4,846 saw the Hawkeyes beat Arizona State (41-0) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena later that afternoon. Iowa posted a 39-1 record – including 20 pins, two technical falls and three major decisions – and extended its dual match winning streak to 18.

Hawkeye senior Charlie Falck (125), juniors Daniel Dennis (133), Brent Metcalf (149), Ryan Morningstar (165), Jay Borschel (174), Phillip Keddy (184) and Dan Erekson (Hwt.), and redshirt freshman Matt Ballweg (157) each posted 4-0 records on the day. Metcalf pinned all four opponents in a combined total of 9:14, extending his own winning streak to 36 matches. Other individual highlights included three pins each from Borschel and Erekson, Falck’s 2-1 win over eighth-ranked Anthony Robles of Arizona State and Morningstar snapping the 44-match winning streak of Coe’s Tyler Burkle with a 12-3 major decision. Ballweg also made his varsity lineup debut, scoring one pin and both of the team’s technical falls. Senior Alex Tsirtsis (141) and junior Chad Beatty (197) each posted 3-0 records.

FOUR HAWKEYES WIN TITLES AT KAUFMAN-BRAND OPEN
Four University of Iowa wrestlers won individual titles at the 26th annual Kaufman-Brand Open in Omaha, NE. Junior Joe Slaton won the 133-pound title in the elite division, while true freshmen Matt McDonough (133) and Mark Ballweg (141) and redshirt freshman Brodie Ambrose (197) won titles in the amateur division.

Slaton, who defeated Iowa redshirt freshman Montell Marion 5-1 in the finals, won his second straight Kaufman-Brand Open title. McDonough also faced a Hawkeye teammate in the finals, beating true freshman Nate Moore in the 133-pound amateur final. Ballweg recorded two pins, a technical fall and a major decision en route to his title. Hawkeye sophomore Aaron Janssen was Iowa’s other placewinner, finishing third in the 165-pound elite division.

HAWKEYE WRESTLING TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets for Iowa’s home duals are on sale at the University of Iowa Athletic Ticket Office at 800-464-2957, 319-335-9327 or www.hawkeyesports.com.

When Iowa hosts Iowa State and Minnesota, tickets purchased in advance are $13 for adults, $7 for youth and $2 for children ages five and under. Tickets purchased at the meet are $15 for adults, $8 for youth and $2 for children ages five and under. Due to the possibility of sellout crowds for those duals, the first 1,000 University of Iowa students will be admitted free of charge after they log-in to their student account at www.hawkeyesports.com to reserve a seat and download a free paper ticket. Student seats for the Iowa-Iowa State dual must be reserved by Dec. 5 at 5 p.m.

Against Wisconsin, Illinois, Bucknell and Purdue, tickets purchased in advance are $10 for adults and $5 for youth. Tickets purchased at the meet are $12 for adults, $6 for youth. University of Iowa students and children ages five and under will be admitted free.

WWW.HAWKEYESPORTS.COM
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.

IOWA WRESTLING HISTORY
Iowa’s overall dual meet record is 832-215-30 (.786) in 97 seasons. The Hawkeyes have won 21 national titles and 32 Big Ten titles. Iowa’s 49 NCAA champions have won a total of 76 NCAA individual titles, crowning six three-time and 14 two-time champions. The Hawkeyes’ 101 Big Ten champions have won a total of 182 conference titles. There have been seven four-time, 18 three-time and 24 two-time Iowa winners. Iowa’s 135 all-Americans have earned all-America status 273 times, including 17 four-time, 27 three-time and 33 two-time honorees.

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).

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.

H. A. W. K. CLUB PARTIES
After 15 years at the First Avenue Club, the post-meet H.A.W.K. club parties will have a new location for the 2008-09 season. All parties will be held on the second floor of Kinnick Stadium’s Brechler Pressbox. Using the Gate D entrance, take one of the elevators to the second floor, take a left out of the elevator and another left at the hallway. The party dates are as follows: Dec. 6 (Iowa State), Jan. 23 (Wisconsin), Jan. 30 (Bucknell) and Feb. 15 (Minnesota).

NEXT UP
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 and will receive black rally towels. It will also be the sixth event in this season’s Hy-Vee Cy-Hawk Series. Iowa leads the series, 7-4. The dual will be aired live on Iowa Public Television, while the Big Ten Network will have a same day delayed broadcast at 9:30 p.m.

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.

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