Dec. 30, 2008
EVANSTON, IL — Five University of Iowa wrestlers have advanced to Tuesday night’s championship finals at the 2008 Midlands tournament in Evanston, IL. The Hawkeyes are second in the team race with 138.5 points going into the final session. Iowa State leads the team standings with 149.5. Both teams have five scoring wrestlers in the championship finals and three in the consolation bracket.
Hawkeye senior Alex Tsirtsis (141) and juniors Daniel Dennis (133), Brent Metcalf (149), Ryan Morningstar (165) and Phillip Keddy (184) will all represent Iowa in the championship finals. Metcalf is wrestling for his second Midlands individual title, while the other four Hawkeyes are vying for their first. Dennis, who is the #4 seed at 133, upset #1 Jimmy Kennedy of Illinois in the semifinals, 5-3 in the second sudden victory period. He will face #2 Nick Fanthorpe of Iowa State in the finals. It will be the first collegiate career meeting for Dennis and Fanthorpe.
Tsirtsis, the #2 seed at 141, scored an 8-1 decision in the semifinals over Central Michigan’s Tony D’Alie. The Hawkeye senior takes an 11-0 season record into the finals against #8 Zach Tanelli of Wisconsin. It will be the first collegiate career meeting for Tsirtsis and Tanelli.
Metcalf, the top seed at 149, posted a 9-4 win over Central Michigan’s Steve Brown in the semifinals. The Hawkeye junior takes his 46-match winning streak to the finals where he will face #3 Kyle Ruschell of Wisconsin. It will be the first collegiate career meeting for Metcalf and Ruschell.
Morningstar, the #3 seed at 165, scored a 2-1 upset over #2 Nick Marable of Missouri in the semifinals. The Hawkeye junior will face #4 Jon Reader of Iowa State in the finals. Morningstar scored a 2-0 win over Reader at the Iowa-Iowa State dual earlier this month.
Keddy, the #2 seed at 184, posted a 6-3 win over #3 Louis Caputo of Harvard in the semifinals. His 13-0 season record will be put to the test in the finals when he faces #1 seed Jake Herbert of Northwestern. Herbert pinned Keddy (3:44) in their only career meeting when Iowa faced Northwestern at the 2007 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals.
Iowa’s other two semifinalists – juniors Jay Borschel (174) and Dan Erekson (Hwt.) – lost their bouts and joined sophomore Jake Kerr (165) and redshirt freshman Montell Marion (133) in the consolation bracket. Top-seeded Borschel rebounded to beat #7 Mike Letts of Maryland, 7-4, his consolation match to advance to the third-place bout. Erekson, Kerr and Marion will all wrestle for fifth place. Kerr is competing unattached, and is not able to score team points for Iowa.
The championships finals and placing matches will start at 7 p.m. Tuesday night. Fans can watch the finals live on the Big Ten Network, and listen live on AM-800 KXIC or www.hawkeyesports.com.
MIDLANDS TOP 10 TEAM STANDINGS – AFTER SESSION III
Place Team – Points
1. Iowa State – 149.5
2. Iowa – 138.5
3. Missouri – 116.5
4. Wisconsin – 90.5
5. Central Michigan – 82
6. Purdue – 77.5
7. Northwestern – 76.5
8. Maryland – 56
9. American – 53.5
10. Illinois – 52
IOWA’S MIDLANDS CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINAL RESULTS (# indicates tournament seed)
133 – #4 Daniel Dennis (Iowa) dec. #1 Jimmy Kennedy (Illinois), 5-3 SV-2
141 – #2 Alex Tsirtsis (Iowa) dec. Tony D’Alie (C. Michigan-Unattached), 8-1
149 – #1 Brent Metcalf (Iowa) dec. #5 Steve Brown (C. Michigan), 9-4
165 – #3 Ryan Morningstar (Iowa) dec. #2 Nick Marable (Missouri), 2-1
174 – #5 Mike Miller (C. Michigan) dec. #1 Jay Borschel (Iowa), 6-3
184 – #2 Phillip Keddy (Iowa) dec. #3 Louis Caputo (Harvard), 6-3
Hwt. – #5 Zach Sheaffer (Pittsburgh) dec. #8 Dan Erekson (Iowa), 5-3
IOWA’S MIDLANDS SESSION III CONSOLATION RESULTS (# indicates tournament seed)
125 – Ben Ashmore (Unattached) won by medical forfeit over #1 Charlie Falck (Iowa)
133 – Montell Marion (Iowa-Unattached) dec. Matt McDonough (Iowa-Unattached), 6-5
133 – Montell Marion (Iowa-Unattached) dec. #5 Conor Beebe (C. Michigan), 11-5
133 – #3 Steve Bell (Maryland) pinned Montell Marion (Iowa-Unattached), 6:16
141 – Marcus Hohen (Missouri) dec. #6 Dan LeClere (Iowa), 3-1
165 – Jake Kerr (Iowa-Unattached) dec. #7 Roger Smith-Bergsrud (Illinois), 7-4
165 – Jake Kerr (Iowa-Unattached) dec. Keegan Davis (Oregon St.), 6-4 SV-1
165 – #8 Andrew Howe (Wisconsin) dec. Jake Kerr (Iowa-Unattached), 7-3
174 – #1 Jay Borschel (Iowa) dec. #7 Mike Letts (Maryland-Unattached), 7-4
Hwt. – #1 David Zabriskie (Iowa St.) dec. #8 Dan Erekson (Iowa), 3-2
Midlands Team Standings After Session III in PDF Format 
Midlands Brackets Through Session III in PDF Format
