Feb. 20, 2009
IOWA CITY, IA — The top-ranked Iowa wrestling team posted its 37th straight dual win Friday night with a 24-12 victory over #18 Indiana at Bloomington. The Hawkeyes improved to 23-0 (7-0 Big Ten), while handing the Hoosiers (15-6-1, 2-4-1 Big Ten) their sixth loss of the season.
Iowa posted wins at the first two weights to take a 7-0 lead. Hawkeye senior Charlie Falck opened the dual for Iowa at 125 with a 3-1 upset in sudden victory over #3 Angel Escobedo. Falck, who is ranked fifth with a 19-2 record, handed the defending NCAA and Big Ten champ his third loss of the season and snapped his five-match winning streak. Iowa junior Daniel Dennis followed with a 16-4 major decision over Matt Ortega at 133, posting his ninth straight win.
Indiana fought back with an upset of its own at 141 as unranked Andrae Hernandez scored two nearfall points in the second tiebreak period to beat Hawkeye senior Alex Tsirtsis, 3-1. Hernandez, who was one of Tsirtsis’ teammates at Griffith High School in Griffith, IN, snapped the second-ranked Hawkeye senior’s six-match winning streak.
Hawkeye junior Brent Metcalf gave Iowa an 11-3 lead with a 19-4 techincal fall over Nick Walpole at 149. The top-ranked Hawkeye posted his 60th straight win with the victory, improving to 28-0 on the season. Indiana won its second match of the night when 157-pounder Kurt Kinser scored a 4-1 decision over Hawkeye sophomore Matt Ballweg.
Hawkeye juniors posted wins at the next four weights to clinch the dual. Ryan Morningstar kicked off the run with a 7-5 win over Paul Young at 165. Jay Borschel followed at 174 with his sixth straight win and fourth straight major decision with a 10-2 victory over Trevor Perry. Phillip Keddy scored his 13th straight win to remain undefeated in dual competition (23-0) with an 11-5 win over Eric Cameron in 184. Chad Beatty scored an 8-5 win over Matt Powless at 197 for his sixth straight victory. Iowa closed out the dual by forfeiting the heavyweight match.
The Hawkeyes will close out the 2008-09 dual meet season at #19 Northwestern (9-6-1, 2-3-1 Big Ten) Sunday at 2 p.m. (CT). The dual will be held at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Wildcats hosted #6 Ohio State (14-2, 5-1 Big Ten) Friday night.
Iowa 24, Indiana 12
125 – Charlie Falck (I) dec. Angel Escobedo (IND), 3-1 SV
133 – Daniel Dennis (I) maj. dec. Matt Ortega (IND), 16-4
141 – Andrae Hernandez (IND) dec. Alex Tsirtsis (I), 3-1 TB-2
149 – Brent Metcalf (I) tech. fall Nick Walpole (IND), 19-4
157 – Kurt Kinser (IND) dec. Matt Ballweg (I), 4-1
165 – Ryan Morningstar (I) dec. Paul Young (IND), 7-5
174 – Jay Borschel (I) maj. dec. Trevor Perry (IND), 10-2
184 – Phillip Keddy (I) dec. Eric Cameron (IND), 11-5
197 – Chad Beatty (I) dec. Matt Powless (IND), 8-5
Hwt. – Nate Everhart (IND) won by forfeit