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Iowa Sweeps Duals, Brands Earns Win No. 100Iowa Sweeps Duals, Brands Earns Win No. 100
Men's Wrestling

Iowa Sweeps Duals, Brands Earns Win No. 100

Nov. 25, 2011

Iowa City Duals | Photo Gallery

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa wrestling team extended its unbeaten dual winning streak to 80 games Friday with wins over Baker (47-3), Cornell College (42-0) and Iowa Central (37-6) inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Tom Brands earned his 100th win as Iowa’s head wrestling coach as Iowa swept the Iowa City Duals for the fourth time in as many seasons. Brands owns a 100-6-1 record since taking over the Hawkeye program in 2006. The Hawkeyes recorded nine pins while posting a 27-3 record in the three duals.

Seven Hawkeyes recorded perfect 3-0 marks in the duals, including 125-pounder Matt McDonough, 174-pounder Ethen Lofthouse and heavyweight Bobby Telford. All three Hawkeyes recorded a pair of pins and a bonus-point victory. McDonough opened the three-dual event with a second period pin against Baker’s Bo Newport and Telford sent the crowd of 8,527 home with a first period pin against Central’s Lonnie Brown. McDonough added a first period pin against Jacob Colon (Central). Telford put Baker’s Dylan Berg on his back in 2:17. Lofthouse recorded a fall against Baker’s Clarence Brown in the opening period before pinning Cornell’s Brent Hamm in 1:06, the fastest fall of the night.

Redshirt freshman Mike Evans, sophomores Tony Ramos and Derek St. John, and senior Montell Marion also posted perfect 3-0 marks. Evans, Ramos and Marion recorded one pin each. St. John added two technical falls. Twenty-two of Iowa’s 27 wins earned bonus points.

Senior Vinnie Wagner made his first career appearance in front of the Carver-Hawkeye Arena crowd. The 184-pounder earned a 21-8 major decision over Cornell’s Andrew Roberts.

Junior Grant Gambrall returned to the mat for the first time since winning the third-place bout at last season’s NCAA Championships. Gambrall made his first career appearance at 197 pounds and used 1:35 of riding time to earn a 4-3 decision over Cornell’s Alex Coolidge.

Redshirt freshman Jeremy Fahler earned a pair of major decisions in each of his 184-pound bouts. Fahler topped Baker’s Parker Owen 9-1 before recording a 12-4 win over Iowa Central’s Cristian Mays.

Sophomore Tomas Lira split a pair of decisions at 197 pounds. Redshirt freshman Jacob Ballweg lost two of his three decisions while competing at 149 pounds.

The Hawkeyes return to action Dec. 2 when they host sixth-ranked Illinois on Mediacom Mat inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The dual will start at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children. Kids five and under are admitted free to all home wrestling events. The Iowa-Illinois dual will be streamed live on btn.com via Hawkeye All-Access, a subscription service committed to providing quality coverage of University of Iowa athletic events. The Hawkeyes face in-state rival Iowa State in Ames on Dec. 4. The Cyclones host Iowa inside Hilton Coliseum at 2 p.m. Steven Grace and Mark Ironside will broadcast both weekend duals on AM-800 KXIC.

Hawkeye Notes: Iowa scored bonus points in 22 of its 27 wins… Iowa is unbeaten in its last 80 duals… the Hawkeyes improved to 14-0 all-time in the Iowa City Duals… six Hawkeyes made their Carver-Hawkeye Arena debuts: Jacob Ballweg, Mike Evans, Jeremy Fahler, Tomas Lira, Vinnie Wagner and Bobby Telford… four Hawkeyes improved upon their undefeated records inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena: Matt McDonough (22-0), Tony Ramos (9-0), Derek St. John (11-0), Grant Gambrall (10-0).