Wear Your Red, White and Blue to Iowa vs. Edinboro

Feb. 14, 2013

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ON THE MAT
The second-ranked Hawkeyes host No. 15 Edinboro on Saturday at 7 p.m. on Mediacom Mat at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Tickets to the dual are $12 for adults, $8 for youth and free for kids five-years old and younger.

Fans are encouraged to wear red, white and blue to show their support for Olympic Wrestling.

VIDEO STREAM
Hawkeye All-Access will provide a video stream of the Edinboro dual via BTN.com. BTN.com is a subscription service that provides quality coverage of Big Ten sports. Hawkeye All-Access subscribers will be able to stream the match at no additional charge via hawkeyesports.com.

AUDIO COVERAGE
Saturday’s dual will be broadcast on AM-800 KXIC and streamed online at hawkeyesports.com via Hawkeye All-Access. Steven Grace and Mark Ironside will have the live call from Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

SOCIAL MEDIA
Live Hawkeye wrestling updates are available @IowaWRLive; @Hawks_Wrestling; facebook.com/iowahawkeyewrestling.

LIVE RESULTS
Live results will be available on the wrestling schedule page at hawkeyesports.com.

BACK POINTS
? Tony Ramos (23-0), Derek St. John (21-0) and Mike Evans (15-0) are a combined 59-0 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
? Iowa is 5-0 all-time vs. Edinboro. This is the first meeting since 2001 (Iowa, 35-14).
? Tony Ramos will face his highest rated opponent of the season (No. 3 A.J. Schopp).
? Hawkeye seniors Mark Ballweg, Jeret Chiri, Grant Gambrall and Matt McDonough will be honored following the dual.

THE SERIES — EDINBORO
The Hawkeyes are 5-0 all-time against Edinboro. The Fighting Scots are making just their second visit to Iowa City. They lost their only other trip to Carver-Hawkeye Arena, 40-7, in 1987. Iowa is 2-0 at Edinboro and 2-0 at neutral sites. Saturday is the first meeting between the teams since Iowa defeated Edinboro, 35-14, at the 2001 NWCA National Duals.

SENIOR NIGHT
The Hawkeyes will honor seniors Mark Ballweg, Jeret Chiri, Grant Gambrall and Matt McDonough following the dual. All four wrestlers a native Iowans.

Ballweg hails from Waverly, Iowa, he has 57 career wins and is ranked No. 8 at 149 pounds his senior season.

Chiri is a native of New London, Iowa. He saw action in five duals as a sophomore, but has been slowed by injuries over the last two seasons.

Gambrall, a native of Iowa City, Iowa, has 62 career wins and was an All-American in 2011, finishing third at 184 pounds at the NCAA tournament.

McDonough has won 115 career matches and owns the fourth-best winning percentage in program history. The Marion, Iowa, native is a two-time NCAA and Big Ten champion.

HAWKEYES WIN BIG TEN DUAL TITLE
Iowa captured its fifth Big Ten regular season title in the last six years when it defeated Nebraska 31-7 last weekend at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes improved to 18-1 overall and 8-0 in conference action. Their perfect conference record marked the fifth time in six seasons the Hawkeyes finished the Big Ten regular season with an undefeated mark.

BRANDS MOVES UP A RUNG
Iowa’s 25-12 win over Illinois last week was Tom Brands’ 128th dual victory as Iowa’s head coach. The win pushed Brands past Jim Zalesky for third all-time. Brands owns a career record of 129-11-1 at Iowa. His .918 winning percentage ranks second to Dan Gable (.938). All-Time Dual Victories (minimum 100)
355 — Dan Gable (1977-97)
160 — Dave McCuskey (1953-72)
129 — Tom Brands (2006-present)
127 — Jim Zalesky (1998-2006)

IOWA VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
The Hawkeyes are 9-1 this season in duals against ranked opponents. Iowa defeated No. 17 Virginia, 26-12; No. 23 Lehigh, 26-9; No. 4 Ohio State, 22-9; No. 21 Purdue, 29-9; No. 18 Michigan, 33-10; No. 3 Minnesota, 16-15; No. .1 Penn State 22-16.; No. 8 Illinois, 25-12; No. 13 Nebraska, 31-7. The Hawkeyes’ lone loss was to No. 2 Oklahoma State, 18-12.

Individually, the Hawkeyes own a 36-35 mark against ranked opponents. Matt McDonough (125) leads all Hawkeyes with victories over eight rated foes (8-1). Iowa lineup vs. ranked opponents
125 — Matt McDonough (8-1)
133 — Tony Ramos (3-0)
141 — Mark Ballweg (4-1)
149 — Michael Kelly (1-3)
149 — Brody Grothus (0-6)
157 — Derek St. John (5-0)
165 — Nick Moore (2-4)
174 — Mike Evans (5-2)
184 — Ethen Lofthouse (3-4)
184 — Grant Gambrall (0-4)
197 — Nathan Burak (2-6)
285 — Bobby Telford (2-3)

LAST OF THE UNBEATENS
Tony Ramos (19-0) and Derek St. John (19-0) enter Saturday’s dual with undefeated records. St. John has won 19 straight to open the season. Ramos has 19 straight this year after winning his final two matches of 2012. Both wrestlers’ winning streaks are career longs.

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.

TELFORD TURNS THE CALENDAR
Sixth-ranked Bobby Telford has put together a three-match winning streak since dropping 3-of-4 matches in the month of January. Telford started February with a 9-2 win over No. 17 Jon Gingrich of Penn State on Feb. 1. He then pinned Illinois’ Chris Lopez for his fifth fall of the season, and most recently scored a 6-2 decision over Nebraska’s Spencer Johnson. Telford will get a shot at his sixth ranked opponent this week when Edinboro’s 20th-ranked Ernest James visits Carver-Hawkeye Arena. It will be the first career meeting between the heavyweights.

BURAK EVENS OUT IN B1G DUALS
Freshman Nathan Burak improved to 4-4 in Big Ten duals when he topped Caleb Kolb of Nebraska, 3-1, in sudden victory last week. Six of Burak’s eight conference opponents were nationally ranked. He earned victories against No. 9 Andrew Campolattano (Ohio State) and No. 19 Max Huntley (Michigan).

MCDONOUGH AMONG THE BEST
Senior Matt McDonough owns a career record of 115-5. His .958 winning percentage ranks fourth in program history among wrestlers with a minimum 95 decisions. Iowa’s top wrestlers in program history based on winning percentage include:
1. T.J. Williams (98-1-0) .990
2. Brent Metcalf (108-3-0) .973
3. Lincoln McIlravy (96-3-0) .970
4. Matt McDonough (115-5) .958
5. Tom Brands (158-7-2) .952
6. Terry Brands (137-7) .951

DUAL DOMINANT AT 133
Ranked No. 2 at 133 pounds, junior Tony Ramos has scored a team-high 92 dual points this season. He is 19-0 this season, 3-0 against ranked opponents, and owns a career dual record of 48-1. Ramos has pinned his last three opponents. He has scored bonus points in 17 of his 19 wins, including nine pins, seven major decisions and one technical fall. Dating back to last season, he has posted a win in 26 consecutive duals.

HAVING A BALL-WEG @ 141
Senior Mark Ballweg owns a career record of 43-4 competing at 141 pounds. Entering his senior season, he had recorded five major decisions in 55 career matches. This year he is 18-1 with a team-high 10 major decisions. He has scored bonus points in 12 of his 18 wins and is 4-1 against ranked opponents. His only loss this season was a 6-4 decision to No. 2 Hunter Stieber (Ohio State).

MOUNT ST. JOHN
Junior Derek St. John, rated No. 1 at 157, is 19-0 this season with two pins, five major decisions, and a team-best three technical falls. He is 5-0 against ranked opponents this season, including a pair of wins over top 5 opponents (#4 Joey Napoli, 6-0; #5 Dylan Alton, 4-3). He owns a career dual record of 42-3 and an overall career record of 64-9.

EVANS MOVES UP TO NO. 3
Sophomore Mike Evans’ debuted at No. 3 this week in the national rankings, the highest national ranking of his career. Evans moved up a spot from No. 4 following his 9-6 win over No. 2 Robert Kokesh last week. Evans is 5-2 this year against ranked opponents, including wins over No. 2 Nick Heflin (Ohio State), No. 11 Dan Yates (Michigan), No. 4 Matt Brown (Penn State), No. 8 Jordan Blanton (Illinois) and No. 2 Kokesh. Evans is 14-2 overall. He opened the season 2-0 while competing at 165, but has started 14 of Iowa’s last 15 duals at 174 pounds. Since moving up a weight class he has gone 12-2 with two pins, one technical fall and five major decisions.

THREE WITH AN EYE ON FOUR
Senior Matt McDonough is a three-time NCAA finalist. He won NCAA titles in 2010 and 2012, and finished runner-up in 2011. With a top eight finish at the 2013 NCAA tournament, McDonough would become the 18th four-time All-American in school history.

With a trip to the NCAA finals he would join Ed Banach, Duane Goldman and Lincoln McIlravy as the school’s only four-time NCAA finalists. A third national title would make McDonough the seventh wrestler in school history to earn three NCAA Championships (Ed Banach, Tom Brands, Barry Davis, Lincoln McIlravy, Joe Williams, Jim Zalesky).

MCDONOUGH CHASES HISTORY
Senior Matt McDonough has four pins this season and a career total of 39. He scored nine falls as a freshman, 14 as a sophomore and 12 as a junior. He is five falls from matching Chuck Yagla (44) for 10th on the all-time career falls list. Ed Banach owns the school record with 73. Terry Brands sits No. 6 with 48 and Tom Brands ranks No. 8 with 46.

HAWKEYE WRESTLING HISTORY
Iowa’s overall dual meet record is 924-220-31 (.799) in 102 seasons. The Hawkeyes have won 23 national titles and 34 Big Ten titles. Iowa’s 51 NCAA Champions have won a total of 79 NCAA individual titles, crowning six three-time and 16 two-time champions. The Hawkeyes’ 105 Big Ten champions have won a total of 190 conference titles. There have been seven four-time, 18 three-time and 28 two-time Iowa winners. Iowa’s 147 All-Americans have earned All-America status 297 times, including 17 four-time, 31 three-time and 37 two-time honorees.

ATTENDANCE LEADERS AT IT AGAIN
The seventh-largest dual crowd in NCAA history saw Iowa defeat top-ranked Penn State on Friday, Feb. 1. The Hawkeyes drew a sellout crowd of 15,077, the sixth-largest wrestling crowd in Carver-Hawkeye Arena history. Through six home dates in 2012-13, Iowa is averaging 9,045 fans per dual. Last year, Iowa’s 9,014 average marked the fourth straight year the Hawkeyes averaged over 8,000 fans per dual and the sixth straight season Iowa led the nation in attendance.

TICKET INFORMATION — NWCA NATIONAL DUALS
The University of Minnesota will be hosting the Men’s Wrestling National Duals on Feb. 22-23. All Session tickets are $40 and will cover the quarterfinals on Feb. 22 and the semifinals, 3rd place match, and championship on Feb. 23. Single Session tickets are available for $15. Tickets are available for purchase at mygophersports.com.

39 YEARS OF DOMINANCE
Since 1974, only seven schools have captured the NCAA Championship. During that 38-year span, the Hawkeyes have won 23 team titles, including nine straight from 1978-86. The other schools include Oklahoma State (7), Minnesota (3), Iowa State (2), Penn State (2), Arizona State (1) and Oklahoma (1).