Hawkeyes Earn No. 2 Seed at NWCA Duals Tournament

Feb. 19, 2013

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Weekly Release

ON THE MAT
The second-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team competes at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Dual Meet Championship this week in Minneapolis. The tournament begins Friday at 6 p.m. (CT) inside Williams Arena on the campus of Minnesota. Iowa will be the No. 2 seed and face No. 7 Cornell in the quarterfinals at 8 p.m. (CT). Other tournament participants — with seeds — include top-seeded Oklahoma State, No. 3 Minnesota, No. 4 Ohio State, No. 5 Missouri, No. 6 Virginia Tech., and No. 8 Illinois.

AUDIO COVERAGE
The NWCA National Duals tournament 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 Williams Arena.

VIDEO COVERAGE
To be determined.

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.

IOWA AT THE NATIONAL DUALS
The Hawkeyes have competed at the NWCA National Duals tournament 18 times and own a 69-11-3 all-time record. Iowa has won the title six times (1992, 1995, 1996, 2008, 2009, 2010), placed second three times (1994, 1997, 1998), third seven times (1990, 1993, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2012), fifth once (2007) and sixth once (2006).

HAWKEYES VS. THE FIELD
Iowa owns a 182-82-4 all-time record against the tournament field. The Hawkeyes have met four of the seven competing school already once this season. Iowa lost to Oklahoma State (18-12), and defeated Ohio State (22-9), Minnesota (16-15), and Illinois (25-12).

DUALS TOURNAMENT IS A STACKED DECK
Sixty-two wrestlers from the eight participating schools are rated in this week’s Intermat rankings, including seven of the nation’s top-rated wrestlers. Of the 10 weight classes, 125, 133, 165 and 184 feature seven ranked competitors. Matt McDonough’s 125-pound weight class features five of the nation’s top six wrestlers. Tony Ramos’ 133 pound weight class features six wrestlers ranked in the top 10, while the 165 and 285 pound weight classes feature the top three wrestlers in the country at their respective weights. Mike Evans is ranked No. 3 at 165 pounds. Should Iowa meet Oklahoma State or Minnesota this weekend, Evans will have an opportunity to avenge his only two losses of the season. Bobby Telford is 15-3 this season, with each loss coming to a wrester in the tournament field (No. 2 Tony Nelson, No. 3 Alan Gelogaev, No. 13 Peter Capone).

RAMOS, ST. JOHN AMONG HODGE CONTENDERS
Juniors Tony Ramos and Derek St. John are among 12 undefeated wrestlers listed among the contenders for the 2013 Dan Hodge Trophy presented by WIN Magazine. Ramos is 20-0 at 133 pounds and ranked No. 2 nationally, while St. John is 20-0 and ranked No. 1 at 157 pounds.

IOWA VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
The Hawkeyes are 10-1 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; No. 15 Lehigh, 31-6. The Hawkeyes’ lone loss was to No. 2 Oklahoma State, 18-12. Individually, the Hawkeyes own a 38-37 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 (4-0)
141 — Mark Ballweg (4-2)
149 — Michael Kelly (1-3)
149 — Brody Grothus (0-7)
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 (3-3)

LAST OF THE UNBEATENS
Tony Ramos (20-0) and Derek St. John (20-0) enter the National Duals tournament with undefeated records. They are two of only 12 NCAA Division I wrestlers who enter the final weekend of February with unblemished marks. St. John has won 20 straight to open the season. Ramos has won 20 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.

MCDONOUGH AMONG THE BEST
Senior Matt McDonough owns a career record of 116-5. His .959 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 (116-5) .959
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 96 dual points this season. He is 20-0 overall, 4-0 against ranked opponents, and owns a career dual record of 49-1. Ramos pinned three of his last four opponents, the exception being a 9-0 major decision over No. 3 A.J. Schopp of Edinboro. He has scored bonus points in 18 of his 20 wins, including nine pins, eight major decisions and one technical fall. Dating back to last season, he has posted a win in 27 consecutive duals.

HAVING A BALL-WEG @ 141
Senior Mark Ballweg owns a career record of 43-5 competing at 141 pounds. Entering his senior season, he had recorded five major decisions in 55 career matches. This year he is 18-2 with a team-high 10 major decisions. He has scored bonus points in 12 of his 18 wins and is 4-2 against ranked opponents. His only losses this season were to No. 2 Hunter Stieber (6-4, Ohio State) and No. 5 Mitchell Port (5-0, Edinboro).

MOUNT ST. JOHN
Junior Derek St. John, rated No. 1 at 157, is 20-0 this season with two pins, six major decisions, and a team-best three technical falls. He is 5-0 against ranked opponents, including a pair of wins over top five opponents (No. 4 Joey Napoli, 6-0; No. 5 Dylan Alton, 4-3). He owns a career dual record of 43-3 and an overall career record of 65-9.

EVANS MOVES UP TO NO. 3
Sophomore Mike Evans’ has climbed to No. 3 in the national polls, 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 on Feb. 10. 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 15-2 overall. He opened the season 2-0 while competing at 165, but has started 15 of Iowa’s last 16 duals at 174 pounds. Since moving up a weight class he has gone 13-2 with two pins, two technical falls 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).

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 on Feb. 10. 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).

TELFORD TURNS THE CALENDAR
Sixth-ranked Bobby Telford has put together a four-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, scored a 6-2 decision over Nebraska’s Spencer Johnson, and earned a 13-2 major decision over No. 20 Ernest James (Edinboro).

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 at No. 6 with 48 and Tom Brands ranks No. 8 with 46.

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 Feb. 10 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Their perfect conference record marked the fifth time in six seasons the Hawkeyes finished the Big Ten regular season with an undefeated mark.

HAWKEYE WRESTLING HISTORY
Iowa’s overall dual meet record is 925-220-31 (.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 seven home dates in 2012-13, Iowa averaged 8,750 fans per dual. This season marked the fifth straight year Iowa averaged over 8,000 fans, and the seventh straight season the Hawkeyes 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).

BRANDS MOVES UP A RUNG
Iowa’s 25-12 win over Illinois on Feb. 8 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 130-11-1 at Iowa. His .919 winning percentage ranks second to Dan Gable (.938).
All-Time Dual Victories (min. 100)
355 — Dan Gable (1977-97)
160 — Dave McCuskey (1953-72)
130 — Tom Brands (2006-present)
127 — Jim Zalesky (1998-2006)