Feb. 16, 2013
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IOWA CITY, Iowa — In his final collegiate appearance at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, senior Matt McDonough scored a major decision to spark Iowa to a 31-6 victory over No. 15 Edinboro tonight. Iowa went on to win eight of 10 matches, scoring bonus points in six bouts and earning a pair of victories over ranked individuals.
“We’ve been wrestling with bonus points in mind,” said head coach Tom Brands, “and I thought (Tony) Ramos’ win was the most impressive because of its build-up.”
After McDonough scored his 36th career win in front of the home crowd — a 14-3 major decision — Ramos struck his familiar pose on the mat across from the No. 3 wrestler in the country, A.J. Schopp. Ramos, ranked No. 2 nationally, took the suspense out of the match early, scoring a takedown and two nearfall points to grab a 4-0 first-period lead. He stretched his lead to 6-0 with a reversal in the second period, and added a takedown and 1:26 of riding time to earn a 9-0 victory, his eighth major decision of the season.
Top-ranked Derek St. John (157), No. 19 Nathan Burak (197) and No. 6 Bobby Telford (2285) also earned major decisions. St. John totaled four takedowns and 4:09 of riding time to win 13-2. Burak raced to a 10-1 lead after two periods and finished the third with three takedowns en route to a 17-5 win, and Telford erased a 2-0 deficit by putting together 13 unanswered points to earn his first major decision of the season, 13-2.
Mike Evans put five points on the board when he totaled six nearfall points and four takedowns en route to an 18-3 technical fall. Evans nearly lost his 15-point lead when he was dinged for an illegal hold with four seconds left, but he finished a double-leg on the restart to grab a 17-3 edge, and his 4:01 riding time advantage led to his second tech. fall of the season.
Ethen Lofthouse and Nick Moore also earned a pair of decisions. Moore raced to a 4-1 lead in the first period and held on for a 5-3 win, and Lofthouse made an early 6-1 lead hold up in his 11-7 decision.
Iowa dropped a pair of matches at 141 and 149 pounds. Mark Ballweg dropped a 5-0 decision to No. 5 Mitchell Port, and Brody Grothus lost 7-2 to No. 16 Dave Habat.
“We have a lot of wrestling to do in the next five weeks and we’ve got to be ready,” said Brands. “We’ll pay attention to the results this weekend and look forward to our pairing next week.”
The Hawkeyes (19-1, 8-0) return to action Feb. 22-23 at the NWCA National Duals in Minneapolis. Iowa is one of four teams to receive a bye to the final site. The final eight-team field will be determined this weekend at four NWCA Regional sites.
Notes: Attendance was 7,080… McDonough finished his career with a 36-1 record at Carver-Hawkeye Arena… Iowa improves to 6-0 all-time vs. Edinboro… the Hawkeyes finished the regular season with 19 dual wins, more than any other team in the country.
#2 IOWA 31, #15 Edinboro 6
125 – #1 Matt McDonough (IA) major dec. Kory Mines (E), 14-3; 4-0
133 – #2 Tony Ramos (IA) major dec. #3 A.J. Schopp (E), 9-0; 8-0
141 – #5 Mitchell Port (E) dec. #8 Mark Ballweg (IA), 5-0; 8-3
149 – #16 Dave Habat (E) dec. Brody Grothus (IA), 5-2; 8-6
157 – #1 Derek St. John (IA) major dec. Casey Fuller (E), 13-2; 12-6
165 – #13 Nick Moore (IA) dec. Johnny Greisheimer (E), 5-3; 15-6
174 – #3 Mike Evans (IA) tech. fall Patrick Jennings (E), 18-3; 20-6
184 – #14 Ethen Lofthouse (IA) dec. Vince Pickett (E); 11-7; 23-6
197 – #19 Nathan Burak (IA) major dec. Warren Bosch (E), 17-5; 27-6
285 – #6 Bobby Telford (IA) major dec. Ernest James (E), 13-2; 31-6