Hawkeyes Fall at Ohio State

Jan. 20, 2012

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The University of Iowa wrestling team dropped a 21-9 decision to No. 7 Ohio State tonight inside St. John Arena. Ohio State won seven of 10 matches, including five in a row, to end a 34-dual losing streak to the Hawkeyes.

“We’ll take our medicine,” said head coach Tom Brands. “Seven (losses) and three (wins) hasn’t happened in a long time and it’s a low point. They wrestled perfect and we let them wrestle perfect. We let them dictate everything. That would be a perfect summation of what happened.”

The Hawkeyes got victories from junior Matt McDonough (125), sophomore Ethen Lofthouse (174) and senior Blake Rasing (285). McDonough opened the dual with a 5-2 decision over Johnnie Dijulius before Ohio State strung together five straight wins to take control.

Ohio State’s fourth-ranked Logan Stieber scored a 7-0 decision over No. 2 Tony Ramos to tie the team score, 3-3, before his brother, seventh-ranked Hunter Stieber gave the Buckeyes the team lead with a 4-2 win over No. 3 Montell Marion. The losses were just the second of the season for both Ramos (19-2) and Marion (17-2).

Iowa’s Mike Kelly (149), Derek St. John (157) and Mike Evans (165) then dropped consecutive decisions as Ohio State (9-2, 3-2) built a 15-3 team lead. Kelly fell to Cam Tessari, 9-4; Evans dropped a 6-5 decision to Derek Garcia; and St. John fell 7-3 to Josh Demas.

St. John was making his first appearance since suffering a knee injury Dec. 8 in a dual against Northern Iowa. The loss was the first of the season for the second-ranked 157-pounder (11-1).

Lofthouse eventually ended the Buckeyes’ run with a 7-1 win over Joe Grandominico. Lofthouse, ranked No. 9 at 174 pounds, scored takedowns in the first and second periods and added an escape and a point for stalling to improve to 4-0 in Big Ten duals. He earned the final 7-1 decision with 2:32 of riding time.

The Buckeyes sandwiched together a pair of wins at 184 and 197 before Hawkeye senior Blake Rasing closed the dual with a 6-2 decision at 285. Rasing, the defending 285-pound Big Ten champion, earned his second conference win in as many appearances by scoring a pair of takedowns, adding an escape and accumulating 1:54 of riding time.

McDonough’s win was his 12th straight. He allowed an escape before scoring a takedown in the second period and opening the third frame with a reversal. He then surrendered an escape before collecting a point for riding time (2:22) to improve to 20-1 overall, 10-1 in dual competition.

The Hawkeyes (9-2, 4-1) return to the mat Sunday at 1 p.m. (CT) when they face No. 3 Penn State in University Park, Pa. The dual will be televised on a tape-delay on BTN at 9 p.m. (CT).

NOTES: Attendance was 5,684… Iowa’s loss was its first in 50 road duals and the first against a Big Ten opponent in 39 duals.

#2 IOWA 9, #7 Ohio State 21
125 – Matt McDonough (I) dec. Johnni Dijulius (O), 5-2
133 – Logan Stieber (O) dec. Tony Ramos (I), 7-0
141 – Hunter Stieber (O) dec. Montell Marion (I), 4-2
149 – Cam Tessari (O) dec. Mike Kelly (I), 9-4
157 – Josh Demas (O) dec. Derek St. John (I), 7-3
165 – Derek Garcia (O) dec. Mike Evans (I), 6-5
174 – Ethen Lofthouse (I) dec. Joe Grandominico (O), 7-1
184 – Nick Heflin (O) dec. Vinnie Wagner (I), 7-4
197 – Andrew Campolattano (O) dec. Grant Gambrall (I), 8-6
285 – Blake Rasing (I) dec. Peter Capone (O), 6-2