Hawkeyes Open With Iowa City Duals

Nov. 16, 2010

THIS WEEK
The defending NCAA and Big Ten champion Iowa wrestling team will open the 2010-11 season Friday, hosting the third-annual Iowa City Duals. The five-team event will be held on two mats at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Arena doors will open at 1 p.m. Following is the schedule of events:

2 p.m.: Iowa Central vs. Cornell College, Coe vs. SIU-Edwardsville
4 p.m.: Iowa vs. Iowa Central, Cornell College vs. SIU-Edwardsville
6 p.m.: Iowa vs. Coe, SIU-Edwardsville vs. Iowa Central

Hawkeye Head Coach Tom Brands, who enters the season with a career dual coaching record of 99-26, will be looking to pick up his 100th victory. Iowa will also put its 61 overall dual and 25 home dual winning streaks on the line.

If purchased in advance, tickets to the Iowa City Duals are $10 for adults and $5 for youth. If purchased at the door, tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for youth. The Iowa City Duals are also part of the Iowa wrestling season ticket package, which is $67 for the public and $55 for UI faculty and staff. Tickets can be ordered from the UI Athletics Ticket Office, at (319) 335-9323, or online at hawkeyesports.com.

It will be UIAA Appreciation Day. UI Alumni Association members get one free admission for the entire event when they show their membership card. Hawkeye football fans may also get free admission when they show their Iowa vs. Ohio State football ticket.

LIVE BLOGGING FROM CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA
A member of the UI Sports Information staff will offer interactive content for all of Iowa’s home duals live via hawkeyesports.com. This feature gives Hawkeye fans the opportunity to voice their opinion by submitting questions and comments, while receiving up-to-the-minute play-by-play, notes and stats. The blog will begin approximately 15 minutes prior to the start of the dual.

WELCOME BACK
The head coaches of all four teams coming to Carver-Hawkeye Arena for the Iowa City Duals have ties to the Iowa wrestling program. John Oostendorp (Coe), Mike Duroe (Cornell), Luke Moffitt (Iowa Central) and David Ray (Southern Illinois Edwardsville) will all be making a return to Iowa City.

Oostendorp (1990-93) was a two-time Hawkeye all-American at heavyweight, winning the 1992 Big Ten title. He and Hawkeye coaches Tom and Terry Brands were part of Iowa teams that won three NCAA and Big Ten titles, and posted a 55-1-2 dual mark. Duroe served as head coach of the Hawkeye Wrestling Club from 2003-05. Moffitt was a Big Ten champion at Iowa who earned outstanding wrestler honors at the 2002 Big Ten meet. He still fifth in Iowa school history for most pins in a season (19 in 2001-02). Ray lettered for the Hawkeyes in 1984.

IOWA CITY DUALS PARKING INFORMATION
Parking for the Iowa City Duals will be extremely limited in the vicinity of Carver-Hawkeye Arena throughout the entire day of competition. All parking lots will be screened and monitored to allow parking for only University of Iowa employees in their respective assigned lots. The Iowa Athletics Department is encouraging wrestling fans attending the Iowa City Duals to use a continuous free shuttle service from Hawkeye Commuter parking lots throughout the day. Buses will be designated to and from Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The shuttle will start at 1 p.m. The last pick-up from Carver will be 8:30 p.m.

The only exceptions for parking near Carver-Hawkeye Arena during the day are as follows: Lot 46: – Limited number of ADA parking – “State Issued Permits Only” – $5.00 parking fee upon entrance; Media – parking placard needs to be requested from Traci Wagner in the SID office; Arena Commuter Lot: Placard issued – assigned contributor parking – any entrance; Remainder of lot will open at 3:30 p.m. – $5.00 parking fee – west entrance; Lot 65 (Finkbine Commuter): Extremely limited number of parking spaces open to the public – $5.00 parking fee upon entrance – when full will be directed to Ramps 3 & 4; Ramps 3 (Clock Tower) & 4 (Field House): Regular hourly parking rate will be charged; Softball and Varsity Track Complex: Free wrestling parking within walking distance (15 minute walk); Downtown Iowa City: Use parking lots or ramps and use the regular free Cambus service; Hancher Parking Lot: Use regular free Cambus service, Red and Blue routes.

WRESTLING SUMMER CAMPS
For dates and more information about 2011 Iowa Wrestling Summer camps visit www.iowawrestlingcamps.com.

ON THE AIR
Radio – Steven Grace and two-time Hawkeye NCAA champion and four-time all-American Mark Ironside will call the action live on AM-800, KXIC and hawkeyesports.com. At press time, all dual meets, except Iowa’s duals against Chattanooga and Cornell College on Nov. 26, will be aired live on AM-800, KXIC. Action from the Big Ten and NCAA Championships, as well as the finals of the Midlands Championships, will also be aired live. Live audio broadcasts from all competitions will be available online at hawkeyesports.com. Broadcasts are available using the All-Access subscription ($14.95 per month or $119.95 per year). Internet – The 2010-11 Hawkeye wrestling media guide, press releases, meet results, and audio broadcasts are available on the University of Iowa’s website, hawkeyesports.com. Current staff and student-athlete head shots are available at pics.hawkeyesports.com.

IOWA CENTRAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE TRITONS
Head Coach Luke Moffitt and the Iowa Central Tritons will be making their second appearance at the Iowa City Duals. The Tritons, who are ranked fifth in the NJCCA Division I national pre-season poll, have won five consecutive NJCAA team titles. Returning All-Americans Joe Colon (133) and Nick Pica (197) each won titles at the Warren Williamson/Daktronics Open earlier this month. Colon won the NJCAA national 125-pound title last season, while Pica placed third at the national meet. Moffitt, who is 71-10 in seven seasons at Iowa Central, has a 71-3 record against junior college teams. He is a three-time NJCAA National Coach of the Year and four-time Region IX Coach of the Year. Moffitt is assisted by Troy Bennett, Mark Rial and Justin McClintock.

Iowa leads the series with Iowa Central, 3-0. The Hawkeyes won the last meeting (52-0) at the inaugural Iowa City Duals in 2009.

COE COLLEGE KOHAWKS
Coe is ranked fourth nationally in the NWCA Division III Preseason Coaches Poll, returning three all-Americans and six NCAA qualifiers from the 2009-10 squad that went 16-3. Senior Clayton Rush (125) is ranked first in the nation, while junior Nick LeClere (165) is ranked fourth. Rush is a three-time all-American and the defending NCAA Division III Champion. LeClere is the younger brother of former Hawkeye Dan LeClere (2008-10). Sophomore Drew Hinschberger (133), junior Dale Handley (157) and senior Seth Rehn (184) are also ranked in the top 10 nationally. Assisting Oostendorp is Tyler Burkle, Eric Casey, Marcus Kurtz, Ted Drees, Dusty Coufal and Nick Cole. The Kohawks opened their 2010-11 season Wednesday at Central College in Pella.

Iowa holds a 3-0 lead in the series, winning 39-3 in 2009-10, 51-0 in 2008-09 and 50-0 in 2006-07.

INTERVIEW POLICIES & PROCEDURES
Members of the Hawkeye wrestling team and coaching staff are available for interviews Tuesday afternoons from 2:40-3:25 p.m. in the Field House Practice Facility. If you are interested in scheduling an interview outside that time, please contact Assistant Sports Information Director Traci Wagner at 319-430-6349.

CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA
Carver-Hawkeye Arena has been the home of Iowa wrestling since 1983. The Hawkeyes are 180-18 (.909) in the arena, which includes a record 11 victories during the 2010 season. Iowa has recorded 18 undefeated seasons in the arena, with the most recent (11-0) occurring in 2009-10. 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.

IOWA WINNING STREAKS
The Hawkeyes have won 61 straight dual matches, which is a school record. The current streak started with a win over Cornell (32-3) on Jan. 12, 2008, which was the first match after Iowa lost to Oklahoma State (19-14) on Jan. 5.

That 61-match winning streak ranks fourth-best in NCAA wrestling history behind three Oklahoma State streaks. The Cowboys won 76 straight duals from 1937-51, and had two 69-match streaks (1921-32 and 1996-99).

The Hawkeyes have also won 41 consecutive duals on the road, which is also a school record. That streak started with a 20-13 win at Iowa State on Dec. 9, 2007.

Iowa has also won its last 25 duals at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. That streak, which ranks fourth-best in school history, started with a 27-13 win over Penn State on Jan. 20, 2008, which was also the first home match after the loss to the Cowboys. The school record is 55 (1/9/1977-12/18/1983).

Against Big Ten opponents, the Hawkeyes have won their last 27 duals, including 12 at home and 15 on the road. The 27 league duals rank second in school history, while the 12 home duals rank third and the 15 road duals rank fourth. Iowa’s school record for consecutive Big Ten wins is 98 (12/13/1975-1/28/1989), while the records for Big Ten home wins is 63 (1/17/1975-1/3/1998) and road wins is 54 (1/19/1974-1/28/1989).

IOWA WRESTLING HISTORY
Iowa’s overall dual meet record is 877-215-30 (.795) in 100 seasons. The Hawkeyes have won 23 national titles and 34 Big Ten titles. Iowa’s 51 NCAA champions have won a total of 78 NCAA individual titles, crowning six three-time and 15 two-time champions. The Hawkeyes’ 102 Big Ten champions have won a total of 186 conference titles. There have been seven four-time, 18 three-time and 27 two-time Iowa winners. Iowa’s 140 all-Americans have earned all-America status 286 times, including 17 four-time, 29 three-time and 37 two-time honorees.

MCDONOUGH RETURNS TO LEAD HAWKEYES
Defending NCAA Champion Matt McDonough returns to the lineup for his sophomore season. The 2010 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, McDonough posted a 37-1 record at 125 pounds last season. He boasted a perfect 23-0 dual record, going 8-0 in Big Ten duals and 11-0 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The 2009 Midlands Champion led Iowa in collegiate wins (37), dual wins (23), dual winning percentage (1.000) and major decisions (15), and ranked second in collegiate winning percentage (.974) and technical falls (4). He scored extra team points in 28 of his 37 wins, tallying 104 team points in dual comeptition.

IN-STATE SUCCESS
Eight of the 11 Hawkeye wrestlers listed in the probable lineup for Friday’s duals hail from the state of Iowa, and three attended high school at Iowa City West. Sophomore Matt McDonough (125) is from Marion, redshirt freshman Nick Trizzino (133) is from Bettendorf, sophomore Mark Ballweg (141) hails from Waverly, sophomore Jeret Chiri (149) is from New London, junior Jake Kerr (165) is a native of Oskaloosa and junior Blake Rasing (Hwt.) is from New Hampton. Redshirt freshmen Dylan Carew (149-Tiffin) and Derek St. John (157-Parnell), and sophomore Grant Gambrall (184-Iowa City) all competed at Iowa City West High School.

ALL IN THE FAMILY
On the 2010-11 Hawkeye wrestling team, there are three sets of brothers, two wrestlers whose fathers wrestled at Iowa and two uncle-nephew combinations.

Senior Matt Ballweg (157), sophomore Mark Ballweg (133/141) and freshman Jacob Ballweg (141) are brothers who hail from Waverly. They are the fifth set of three brothers to wrestle at Iowa, and the third set to be on the roster at the same time. The other sets of three brothers to compete for the Hawkeyes are Ed Banach, Lou Banach and Steve Banach; Marty Kistler, Harlan Kistler and Lindley Kistler; Mike Uker, Ben Uker and Joe Uker; and Lenny Zalesky, Larry Zalesky and Jim Zalesky.

Junior Stew Gillmor (149/157) and freshman Walt Gillmor (165) are brothers from Donahue, while sophomore Nate Moore (133) and freshman Nick Moore (157/165) are brothers from Iowa City.

Sophomore Matt McDonough (125/133) and redshirt freshman Nick Trizzino have fathers who wrestled for the Hawkeyes. Mike McDonough wrestled at Iowa from 1974-76, while Mark Trizzino was an all-American (1984) and four-year letterwinner (1981-84) for the Hawkeyes.

Senior Luke Lofthouse (197) is the uncle of Hawkeye redshirt freshman Ethen Lofthouse (174). Nick Trizzino’s uncle, Scott Trizzino, was a three-time all-American (1978-79-81) and four-time letterwinner (1977-79, 1981) for the Hawkeyes.

CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE
The Hawkeye wrestling staff of Tom Brands, Terry Brands, Mike Zadick, Kurt Backes and Danny Song earned a total of one Olympic gold medal, one Olympic bronze medal, five NCAA titles, nine conference titles and 12 All-America honors.

UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes will wrestle two duals Nov. 26 at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, IA. Iowa will face Chattanooga (2-1) at 6:30 p.m. and Cornell (0-0) at 8 p.m. at the Small Multi-Sport Center. Tickets are $10 for adults and $6 for youth ages 5-18.

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