Hawkeyes Host Panthers Thursday at 7 p.m.

Dec. 7, 2011

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UNI Match Notes

ON THE MAT
The University of Iowa wrestling team hosts Northern Iowa on Thursday at 7 p.m. on Mediacom Mat inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Tickets to the event are $10 for adults and $5 for youth. Kids under five-years old are admitted free.

CHASING HISTORY
Iowa owns a streak of 82 consecutive duals without a loss, two shy of the mark set by Oklahoma State from 1959-1966 (84).

ABOUT THE PANTHERS

RAMOS EARNS BIG TEN HONOR
Tony Ramos was named Big Ten Co-Wrestler of the Week on Dec. 6. The weekly honor is the first of Ramos’ career. Ramos, a sophomore from Carol Stream, Ill., earned a pair of bonus point victories last week against No. 7 Illinois and Iowa State. He posted a 13-5 major decision over the Illini’s B.J. Futrell, then-ranked No. 2 in the country, and recorded a second period pin against Iowa State’s Shayden Terukina. Ramos, currently ranked No. 2, owns a 10-0 record with three major decisions, three technical falls and three pins.

MARION ON TOP
Senior Montell Marion is the top-ranked 141-pound wrestler according to Amateur Wrestling News, Intermat and WIN Magazine. Marion is one of seven unbeaten wrestlers on the Iowa roster. He is 9-0 with a team-high five major decisions.

A HEALTHY 133
Seven Big Ten 133-pound wrestlers are ranked in top 20, including Ramos (2), Ohio State’s Logan Stieber (3), Illinois’ B.J. Futrell (4) Minnesota’s David Thorn (6), Purdue’s Cashe Quiroga (7), Michigan’s Zac Stevens (12) and Nebraska’s Ridge Kiley (18).

PROBABLE RECORDS
Iowa has 12 wrestlers listed in their probable lineup this week. The 12 wrestlers have combined for 85 wins in 96 matches this matches this season, including 16 major decisions, 10 technical falls and 35 pins.

CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA
Seven of Iowa’s probable starters have never lost a match inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. They include Tony Ramos (10-0), Dylan Carew (2-0), Derek St. John (12-0), Mike Evans (4-0), Grant Gambrall (10-0), Vinnie Wagner (1-0) and Bobby Telford (4-0).

GAMBRALL AT 197
Junior Grant Gambrall is listed as a probable starter at 197 pounds. Gambrall, a junior from Iowa City, Iowa, made his first career appearance at 197 pounds on Nov. 25, recording a 4-3 decision over Cornell College’s Alex Coolidge. He was an All-American while competing at 184 pounds in 2010-11.

BRANDS HITS 100
Iowa head coach Tom Brands earned his 100th career dual win as Iowa’s head coach Nov. 25 vs. Iowa Central (37-6). It took Brands 107 duals to reach 100 career victories. Only Dan Gable, Iowa’s all-time winningest coach, reached win No. 100 faster. Gable hit the century mark in his 105th dual. Brands owns a 100-6-1 career record since taking over the Iowa program in 2006.

IN-STATE DOMINANCE
Iowa head coach Tom Brands has never lost an in-state dual to Iowa State or Northern Iowa. Brands owns a 7-0 mark against the Cyclones and is undefeated in five duals against Northern Iowa.

NCAA EXPERIENCE
The top-ranked Hawkeyes have seven wrestlers with previous NCAA championships experience. Junior Matt McDonough has advanced to the NCAA finals each of the past two seasons, winning the championship in 2010 and finishing runner-up in 2011. Montell Marion is a two-time All-American at 141 pounds. The senior from Des Moines, Iowa, placed second in 2010 and earned a fourth place finish in 2011. Sophomore Derek St. John and junior Grant Gambrall also earned All-America honors in 2011. St. John placed fourth at 157 pounds and Gambrall earned third place at 184 pounds. Sophomores Tony Ramos (133) and Ethen Lofthouse (174), and senior Blake Rasing also earned NCAA berths last season.

MCDONOUGH AMONG THE BEST
Junior Matt McDonough owns a career record of 73-4. With a winning percentage of .948, Iowa’s top wrestlers in program history based on winning percentage include:

SEVEN REMAIN UNBEATEN
Seven Hawkeyes remain unbeaten through the first three weeks of the season. Tony Ramos, Derek St. John, Montell Marion, Bobby Telford, Vinnie Wagner, Dylan Carew and Grant Gambrall have spotless 2011-12 records. In the history of Iowa wrestling, 15 wrestlers have finished the season with a perfect record (minimum 20 matches). Four of those wrestlers were able to perform the feat twice. They include Mark Ironside, Lincoln McIlravy, T.J. Williams and Jim Zalesky. Iowa coaches Tom Brands and Terry Brands are among the 15 wrestlers. Tom went 45-0 in 1990-91 and Terry went 35-0 in 1991-92.

HAVEN’T WE MET
The following wresters listed among probable starters have met before.
157 Derek St. John (UI) vs. David Bonin (UNI)
St. John dec. Bonin, 8-4, 2009-10 season
Bonin pinned St. John, 6:58, 2010-11 Midlands
184 Vinnie Wagner (UI) vs. Ryan Loder (UNI)
Loder pinned Wagner, 3:56, 2009-10 season
Loder pinned Wagner, 6:54, 2010 UNI Open
Bobby Telford (UI) vs. Blayne Beale (UNI)
Telford dec. Beale, 6-4, 2010 Grand View Open

HAWKEYE WRESTLING HISTORY
Iowa’s overall dual meet record is 897-215-31 (.797) in 101 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’ 104 Big Ten champions have won a total of 188 conference titles. There have been seven four-time, 18 three-time and 27 two-time Iowa winners. Iowa’s 144 All-Americans have earned All-America status 291 times, including 17 four-time, 29 three-time and 38 two-time honorees.

IOWA WINNING STREAKS
Iowa is unbeaten in its last 82 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. The Hawkeyes are unbeaten in 47 consecutive road duals, which is also a school record. That streak started with a 20-13 win at Iowa State on Dec. 9, 2007. Iowa’s 15-15 tie with Oklahoma State on Jan. 16, 2011, broke the Hawkeyes’ 69-match winning streak that started with a win over Cornell (32-3) on Jan. 12, 2008. That streak is an Iowa school record and ranks second-best in NCAA wrestling history behind an Oklahoma State streak. The Cowboys won 76 straight duals from 1937-51. Oklahoma State is tied with Iowa in second place, tallying two 69-match streaks (1921-32 and 1996-99). Against Big Ten foes, the Hawkeyes have won their last 36 duals, including 17 at home and 19 on the road. All three marks rank second in school history. 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 has won its last 37 duals at home. That streak started with a 27-13 win over Penn State on Jan. 20, 2008, which was also the first home match after the loss to Oklahoma State. The school record for home wins is 55 (1/9/1977-12/18/1983).

TICKET INFORMATION
Single-meet tickets are now available for purchase on hawkeyesports.com. Northern Iowa (12/8), Northwestern (1/15) and Wisconsin (2/5) are $10 for adults, $5 for children, and free for kids five and under. Single-meet tickets to Oklahoma State (1/7) and Minnesota (1/29) are $13 for adults, $7 for children, and $2 for kids five and under.

ATTENDANCE LEADERS AT IT AGAIN
Iowa has led the nation in attendance for five straight seasons. The Hawkeyes averaged a national record 8,209 fans in six home duals last season. It marked the third straight year Iowa averaged over 8,000 fans per dual. Iowa’s dual vs. Iowa State (Dec. 3, 2010) was the largest dual crowd in the country last year (11,895). The Hawkeyes drew 8,527 fans to the Iowa City Duals on Nov. 25, and 7,330 to the Dec. 2 dual vs. No. 7 Illinois.

2012 U.S. OLYMPIC TEAM TRIALS
All-Session Tickets are available for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials April 21-22 in Iowa City, Iowa. All-Session tickets are $75 for adults, $40 for youth. More than 5,000 tickets were sold as of Nov. 1. The trials attendance record was set in 2000 when Dallas, Texas, hosted 7,000 fans inside Reunion Arena.

CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA
Iowa is 4-0 in dual competition inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena this season. The 2010-11 Hawkeyes posted a perfect 8-0 dual record in their home venue of Carver-Hawkeye Arena, marking Iowa’s 19th undefeated season in the facility since moving from the UI Fieldhouse in 1983. Iowa has a 188-18 (.913) record in the arena, which seats 15,500, and has won its last 36 duals at Carver-Hawkeye. Iowa’s last home loss was 19-14 to Oklahoma State on Jan. 5, 2008. The 2009-10 Hawkeyes went 11-0 at Carver-Hawkeye, which is the school record for most home wins in a single season. The dual wrestling attendance record for Carver-Hawkeye Arena is 15,955, set when Iowa defeated Iowa State (20-15) on December 6, 2008.

UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes return to the mat Dec. 29-30 to compete at the Midlands Championships on the campus of Northwestern in Evanston, Ill. Welsh-Ryan Arena will host the 49th annual event. The Midlands Championships will be broadcast live on AM-800 KXIC and streamed live on btn.com via Hawkeye All-Access, a subscription service committed to providing quality coverage of University of Iowa athletic events. Steven Grace and Mark Ironside will have the call live from Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Fans interested in tickets can call 800-GO-PURPLE.