Dec. 8, 2009
THIS WEEK
Top-ranked Iowa (8-0) will host Northern Iowa (3-3) Thursday at 7 p.m. at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Arena doors will open at 5:30 p.m. and fans are encouraged to purchase tickets before Thursday night.
Tickets purchased in advance are $10 for adults and $5 for youth, while tickets purchased at the event are $12 for adults and $6 for youth. UI students and children ages five and under will receive free admission to the dual.
The meet has been designated the Miracle Meet, in support of the UI Children’s Hospital, and food drive. Fans can bring in three non-perishable food items to the UI Sports Marketing table at each arena entrance and receive an Iowa wrestling decal. All food will be donated to the Johnson County Crisis Center, which serves over 750 Johnson Country families each week.
ON THE AIR
Radio – Steven Grace and two-time Hawkeye NCAA champion and four-time all-American Mark Ironside will call the action for both duals live on AM-800, KXIC and www.hawkeyesports.com. Web audio broadcasts are available using the XXL All-Access subscription ($14.95 per month or $119.95 per year).
Online Video – Video of the dual will be also streamed live on www.bigtennetwork.com at at cost of $2.99.
CONSTRUCTION ZONE
Construction has officially begun on the Carver-Hawkeye Arena Renovation Project, which will result in some changes regarding parking and entrance to the arena for wrestling matches.
The North entrance will no longer be accessible from the outside of the facility. Fans can enter, and purchase tickets, at the West and South entrances. Arena doors will open 90 minutes before the meet. The East entrance will serve as the event pass gate. Fans can still purchase tickets to future events from the North ticket windows, but will only be able to access that location from inside the arena.
Media parking for all meets will be in Lot 40, which is located across Elliott Drive from Carver-Hawkeye Arena, on the building’s southeast side. Throughout the season, fans are encouraged to use free parking at Hancher Auditorium, the Hawkeye Commuter lot (which is located west of the UI Athletics Hall of Fame, Grant Field, UI Soccer Field and the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex), and the hard surfaced lots at the UI softball and outdoor track complexes. Parking is also available at the regular hourly parking rate in the Clock Tower (#3) and Field House (#4) ramps.
NORTHERN IOWA PANTHERS
The Northern Iowa Panthers are 3-3 with wins over Eastern Michigan (22-12), Michigan State (18-13) and Harvard (26-10), and losses to Purdue (9-24), Stanford (12-19) and Rutgers (10-25). Head Coach Brad Penrith is 83-66-4 in 10 seasons with the Panthers. Penrith was an NCAA champion and three-time NCAA finalist, all-American and Big ten champion at Iowa from 1986-88. He is assisted by Northern Iowa alums Randy Pugh and Sean Stender, and Nebraska alum Jose DeAnda.
The Panthers return three NCAA qualifiers in junior Trevor Kittleson (149) and sophomores Trent Washington (141) and Christian Brantley (Hwt.) from the 2008-09 squad that went 10-6 and placed 22nd at the NCAA tournament. Brantley is ranked #15 or #16 in the nation, depending on the poll, with an 8-4 record. Junior Jarion Beets is 4-1 at 174, while junior Andy O’Loughlin is 7-3 at 184. Redshirt freshman David Bonin is 9-4 in his first season at 165.
HAVEN’T WE MET?
Following are the past series results for potential Iowa-Northern Iowa matchups:
141 – Dan LeClere (I) is 1-0 vs. Alec Hoffman (UNI)
LeClere dec. Hoffman, 3-1, at 2008 UNI Open finals
157 – Matt Ballweg (I) is 0-1 vs. Tyson Reiner (UNI)
Reiner dec. Ballweg, 8-2, at 2008-09 dual
174 – Jay Borschel (I) is 1-0 vs. Jarion Beets (UNI)
Borschel pinned Beets, 4:10, at 2008-09 dual
184 – Phillip Keddy (I) is 1-0 vs. Andy O’Loughlin (UNI)
Keddy dec. O’Loughlin 10-4, at 2007-08 dual
LAST MEETING – IOWA 30, NORTHERN IOWA 12
Top-ranked Iowa posted a 30-12 win over Northern Iowa Dec. 11, 2008, at the McLeod Center in Cedar Falls. A crowd of 2,315 attended the dual.
The dual started with Northern Iowa heavyweight Christian Brantley’s 6-2 win over Hawkeye junior Dan Erekson. The Hawkeyes then rolled off four straight wins to build an 18-3 lead. Hawkeye senior Charlie Falck pinned Caleb Flores in 4:07 at 125, followed by junior Daniel Dennis’ 17-7 major decision over Josh Baldridge at 133. Senior 141-pounder Alex Tsirtsis scored a 14-2 major decision over Trent Washington to give the Hawkeyes a 14-3 lead. Hawkeye junior Brent Metcalf took Iowa into the intermission scoring a 24-9 technical fall in 6:25 over Charlie Ettelson at 149.
Northern Iowa picked up wins at 157 and 165 after the intermission. Panther junior Tyson Reiner scored an 8-2 win over Iowa sophomore Matt Ballweg at 157. Then second-ranked Panther Moza Fay fought off a late takedown attempt by Hawkeye junior Ryan Morningstar to win 3-2 at 165. Iowa junior Jay Borschel responded at 174 with a 4:10 pin over Jarion Beets, and junior Phillip Keddy received a forfeit at 184 to score Iowa’s final team points. Northern Iowa won the final bout of the night when senior Andrew Anderson posted a 10-5 win over Rick Loera at 197.
Iowa 30, Northern Iowa 12
Hwt. – Christian Brantley (UNI) dec. Dan Erekson (I), 6-2
125 – Charlie Falck (I) pinned Caleb Flores (UNI), 4:07
133 – Daniel Dennis (I) maj. dec. Josh Baldridge (UNI), 17-7
141 – Alex Tsirtsis (I) maj. dec. Trent Washington (UNI), 14-2
149 – Brent Metcalf (I) tech. fall Charlie Ettelson (UNI), 24-9 in 6:25
157 – Tyson Reiner (UNI) dec. Matt Ballweg (I), 8-2
165 – Moza Fay (UNI) dec. Ryan Morningstar (I), 3-2
174 – Jay Borschel (I) pinned Jarion Beets (UNI), 4:10
184 – Phillip Keddy (I) won by forfeit
197 – Andrew Anderson (UNI) dec. Rick Loera (I), 10-5
THE SERIES
Iowa leads the series, 41-8-2, and has won the last 33 duals against Northern Iowa. The Hawkeyes won the last meeting (30-12) last season in Cedar Falls. Northern Iowa’s last win in the series was 17-15 in Cedar Falls during the 1973-74 season.
PERSONNEL NOTES
Iowa senior Joe Slaton (141) and Northern Iowa junior Jarion Beets (174) and sophomore Cruse Arhus (125) all attended Cedar Rapids Kennedy High School.
HAWKEYE WRESTLING TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets for Iowa’s six remaining home meets are on sale at the University of Iowa Athletic Ticket Office at 1-800-464-2957, 319-335-9327 or www.hawkeyesports.com.Following are this season’s prices.
Single Meet vs. Northern Iowa, Michigan State, Northwestern
Advance Purchase: $10 – Adult, $5 – Youth
Door Purchase: $12 – Adult, $6 – Youth
Free Admission: UI students, Children ages 5 and under
Single Meet vs. Oklahoma State, Penn State and Ohio State
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
CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA
Carver-Hawkeye Arena has been the home of Iowa wrestling since 1983. The Hawkeyes are 174-18 (.906) in the arena, which includes a record 10 victories during the 1986 season. Iowa has recorded 17 undefeated seasons in the arena, with the most recent (7-0) occurring in 2008-09. The dual wrestling attendance record for Carver-Hawkeye Arena is 15,955, set when Iowa defeated Iowa State (20-15) on December 6, 2008. The arena seats 15,500 for a dual wrestling meet.
HAWKEYES HOLD OFF IOWA STATE, 18-16
The top-ranked Hawkeyes survived a late charge by the second-ranked Iowa State Cyclones, scoring an 18-16 victory Dec. 6 at Hilton Coliseum in Ames. Each team won five matches with the difference being Hawkeye senior Brent Metcalf’s pin at 149 pounds. Iowa (8-0) took a 7-6 lead in the sixth-annual Hy-Vee Cy-Hawk Series in front of 11,137 fans. The Hawkeyes, who have won the last five meetings against Iowa State (1-1), picked up their school-record 46th straight dual victory and 32nd consecutive road win.
Iowa jumped out to a 6-0 lead on decisions by redshirt freshman Matt McDonough (125) and senior Daniel Dennis (133). McDonough improved to 8-0 with a 13-7 win over Iowa State redshirt freshman Andrew Long. The Marion, IA, native scored the first takedown of the night and a total of five in the match, while holding Long to one takedown. Dennis scored a takedown as time expired in sudden victory to beat Cyclone senior Nick Fanthorpe, 10-8. Dennis, who picked up his 55th career victory with the win, is undefeated at 8-0.
Iowa State put its first points on the board at 141 when senior Nick Gallick scored a takedown in a sudden victory scramble to beat Hawkeye senior Dan LeClere, 8-6. LeClere came back from a 5-1 second period deficit and scored a takedown at the end of regulation to take the match into overtime.
The Hawkeyes took a 15-3 lead into the intermission with Metcalf’s 5:50 pin over Cyclone senior Mitch Mueller and an 8-6 decision by Iowa junior Aaron Janssen over Cyclone sophomore Andrew Sorenson at 157. Metcalf led the match 11-3 before scoring his sixth pin of the season and his 80th career victory. He is undefeated at 8-0 this season and needs three more pins to break into Iowa’s top 10 career pins list.
Iowa State put three more points on the board at 165 with Cyclone senior Jon Reader’s 4-3 win over Hawkeye senior Ryan Morningstar. Morningstar scored a takedown late in the third period to tie the score at 3-3, but Reader added a riding time point to hand the Hawkeye his first loss of the season.
Hawkeye junior Jay Borschel stretched Iowa’s lead (18-6) with his 10-4 decision over Cyclone senior Duke Burk at 174. After a scoreless first period, Borschel scored two takedowns in the second period and added one more in the third to remain undefeated at 8-0.
Iowa State gave themselves a chance at the team victory with wins in the last three weights, but did not score the needed bonus points to take the lead. Cyclone sophomore Jerome Ward led the charge, scoring a 5-3 upset over Hawkeye senior Phillip Keddy at 184. Top-ranked Iowa State senior Jake Varner scored a 12-4 major decision over Iowa senior Chad Beatty at 197, making the team score 18-13 in favor of Iowa. Hawkeye sophomore Blake Rasing put up a fight in the final match of the night, but gave up a takedown in sudden victory to lose 3-1 to Cyclone senior David Zabriskie.
Iowa 18, Iowa State 16
125 – Matt McDonough (I) dec. Andrew Long (ISU), 13-7
133 – Daniel Dennis (I) dec. Nick Fanthorpe (ISU), 10-8 SV
141 – Nick Gallick (ISU) dec. Dan LeClere (I), 8-6 SV
149 – Brent Metcalf (I) pinned Mitch Mueller (ISU), 5:50
157 – Aaron Janssen (I) dec. Andrew Sorenson (ISU), 8-6
165 – Jon Reader (ISU) dec. Ryan Morningstar (I), 4-3
174 – Jay Borschel (I) dec. Duke Burk (ISU), 10-4
184 – Jerome Ward (ISU) dec. Phillip Keddy (I), 5-3
197 – Jake Varner (ISU) maj. dec. Chad Beatty (I), 12-4
Hwt. – David Zabriskie (ISU) dec. Blake Rasing (I), 3-1 SV
IOWA CROWNS SIX CHAMPIONS AT WISCONSIN OPEN
The Hawkeyes crowned six individual champions at the Wisconsin Open in Parkside, WI, Saturday. Sophomores J.J. Krutsinger (125), Montell Marion (141) and Jordan Johnson (Hwt.), redshirt freshman Mark Ballweg (133) and Grant Gambrall (184) and true freshman Derek St. John (157) all won their respective weight classes. Juniors Tyler Clark (133) and Luke Lofthouse (197), and sophomore Vinnie Wagner (184) placed second, while true freshman Ethen Lofthouse (174) placed third.
WWW.HAWKYESPORTS.COM
Press releases, meet results, and audio and video broadcasts are available on the University of Iowa’s website, 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.
SENIOR LEADERSHIP
Iowa’s 11 seniors – Chad Beatty, Jay Borschel, Daniel Dennis, Dan Erekson, Michael Fahrer, Phillip Keddy, Dan LeClere, Rick Loera, Brent Metcalf, Ryan Morningstar, Joe Slaton – bring a wealth of talent and experience to the mat.
The group has a combined career record of 553-201, going 341-109 in duals, 94-48 in Big Ten duals and 126-36 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The group has scored 1,383 team points in dual competition and has started a combined 453 dual matches. Iowa’s seniors have won one NCAA individual title, three Big Ten individual titles, nine all-America honors and qualified for the NCAA Championships 16 times.
CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE
The Hawkeye wrestling staff of Tom Brands, Terry Brands, Doug Schwab, Mike Zadick and Danny Song earned a total of one Olympic gold medal, one Olympic bronze medal, six NCAA titles, 10 conference titles and 13 all-America honors.
WRESTLING SUMMER CAMPS
For dates and more information about 2010 Iowa Wrestling Summer camps visit www.iowawrestlingcamps.com.
ALL IN THE FAMILY
On the 2009-10 Hawkeye wrestling team, there is one set of brothers, two wrestlers whose fathers also wrestled at Iowa and two uncle-nephew combinations.
Junior Matt Ballweg (157) and redshirt freshman Mark Ballweg (133/141) are brothers who hail from Waverly, IA.
Senior Rick Loera (197), redshirt freshman Matt McDonough (125/133) and true freshman Nick Trizzino all had fathers who wrestled for the Hawkeyes. George Loera (1975-76) and Mike McDonough (1974-76) wrestled on the same team, while Mark Trizzino was an all-American (1984) and four-year letterwinner (1981-84) for the Hawkeyes.
Junior Luke Lofthouse (197) is the uncle of Hawkeye true freshman Ethen Lofthouse (174). Nick Trizzino’s uncle, Scott Trizzino, was also a three-time all-American (1978-79-81) and four-time letterwinner (1977-79, 1981) for the Hawkeyes.
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.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS SET FOR OMAHA
The 2010 NCAA Wrestling Championships are scheduled for March 18-20 at the Qwest Center in Omaha, NE. The NCAA, University of Nebraska and the Omaha Sports Commission will co-host the event. Tickets to the event are available at (402) 422-1212 or ticketmaster.com.
Sessions one (11 a.m.) and two (6:30 p.m.) will be held Mar. 18, sessions three (10 a.m.) and four (6 p.m.) will be Mar. 19, and session five (10 a.m.) and the championship finals (6:30 p.m.) are set for Mar. 20. All times are Central.
UP NEXT
The top-ranked Hawkeyes (8-0) will try for their 21st Midlands title Dec. 29-30 in Evanston, IL. Iowa, the defending team champion, has won the most team titles (20) in the 46 years of the meet. All matches will be held at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Northwestern’s campus.
The Hawkeyes won their first team title in 1974, and proceeded to win nine of the next 11 tournaments. Iowa also won team titles in 1990, 1992, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2008 and 2009. Other team winners include Iowa State (8), Michigan State (3), Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club (3), Illinois (3), Michigan (2), Arizona State (1), Minnesota (1), North Carolina (1) and Oklahoma State (1). Team scores were not kept at four tournaments (1991, 1993, 1994, 1995.)