Hawkeyes Top Lehigh, 26-9

Dec. 6, 2012

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IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa wrestling team won seven of 10 matches to top No. 23 Lehigh, 26-9, Thursday afternoon at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The fifth-ranked Hawkeyes scored 24 takedowns and surrender only seven, outscoring the Mountain Hawks 74-36 in match points. The win was Iowa’s 200th all-time at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Matt McDonough (125) kicked off the dual with a first period pin and Tony Ramos (133) and Mark Ballweg (141) followed with major decisions to help Iowa build an early 14-0 lead.

McDonough recorded two takedowns and a pair of nearfall points before flattening Alex Abreu in 2:05. Ramos totaled four takedowns in the first period and piled up 4:47 in riding time to earn a 12-3 major decision. Ballweg erased an early takedown by putting together eight unanswered points and eventually earning a 15-5 win.

Michael Kelly and Derek St. John followed Ballweg with a pair of wins. Kelly gave up a takedown in the first 30 seconds but scored an escape, one takedown and two nearfall points to end the first period up 5-3. He added a point for stalling in the second period and tacked on another takedown in the final frame to earn a 9-4 win at 149.

St. John got on the legs of fourth-ranked Joey Napoli to grab an early 2-0 lead in the day’s most anticipated match. He escaped in the first six seconds of the second period and added another takedown to build a 5-0 lead entering the third frame. He used 2:02 of riding time to eventually earn the 6-0 shutout at 157.

Nick Moore stretched Iowa’s team lead to 23-0 with a 7-4 decision over No. 17 Eric Hess at 165. Moore scored a takedown right off the whistle and added two more takedowns in the final period to improve to 5-0.

Nathaniel Brown won the first of three straight Lehigh matches when he scored a takedown in the final minute of a 3-2 win against Grant Gambrall at 174. Second-ranked Robert Hamlin followed with a 9-4 win over No. 7 Ethen Lofthouse at 184 before John Bolich topped Nathan Burak 3-2 at 197.

“We were managing damage on our end and that can’t happen,” said UI head coach Tom Brands. “We need go out and be doing damage to our opponent.

“You want good things to happen and in order for good things to happen you’ve got to do things that are in your control to make things open up. I don’t think we did that enough.”

Bobby Telford closed the afternoon with an 11-4 win over Jack Delia at 285. Telford used four takedowns and 3:51 of riding time to improve to 7-0.

“I think we’ve got to get going,” said Brands. “We need more than three points and we didn’t always have that tonight. Now we have to do something about it.”

The Hawkeyes return to the mat at the inaugural Grapple at the Garden in New York City on Dec. 16. Iowa faces Hofstra and Bucknell beginning at 9:30 a.m. (CT) at Madison Square Garden.

Notes: Attendance was 5,326… Iowa is 200-19 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena since moving from the UI Fieldhouse in 1983… Iowa won 3-of-4 bouts featuring ranked competitors… Iowa is 24-0 all-time against Lehigh.

#5 IOWA 26, #23 Lehigh 9
125 – #1 Matt McDonough (IA) pinned Alex Abreu (LU), 2:05; 6-0
133 – #3 Tony Ramos (IA) major dec. Cody Kievman (LU), 12-3; 10-0
141 – #11 Mark Ballweg (IA) major dec. #18 Anthony Salupo (LU), 15-5; 14-0
149 – Michael Kelly (IA) dec. #19 Shane Welsh (LU), 9-4; 17-0
157 – #1 Derek St. John (IA) dec. #4 Joey Napoli (LU), 6-0; 20-0
165 – #19 Nick Moore (IA) dec. #17 Eric Hess (LU), 7-4; 23-0
174 – #19 Nathaniel Brown (LU) dec. Grant Gambrall (IA), 3-2; 23-3
184 – #3 Robert Hamlin (LU) dec. #7 Ethen Lofthouse (IA), 9-4; 23-6
197 – John Bolich (LU) dec. #20 Nathan Burak (IA), 3-2; 23-9
285 – #5 Bobby Telford (IA) dec. Jack Delia (LU), 11-4; 26-9