Dec. 21, 2013
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IOWA CITY, Iowa — The third-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team lost 24-12 to top-ranked Penn State on Saturday night inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The loss was Iowa’s first of the season and snapped the Hawkeyes’ 13-match home winning streak.
“We did not perform,” said UI head coach Tom Brands. “(Penn State) is a team that if you let them do what they did to us tonight, they’re going to take you out. That’s a good description. They kicked us right off our home mat.”
Penn State (7-0) won three decisions before the intermission, but Tony Ramos recorded his team-best seventh pin of the season and Derek St. John won, 10-4, at 157 to tie the dual, 9-9, heading into the break.
Third-ranked Nico Megaludis opened the dual with a 4-1 win over Thomas Gilman, 4-1, at 125. One match later, Ramos gave Iowa’s its only lead of the night with a third-period pin.
“You want to win by as much as you can,” said Ramos, “Tom talks about that all the time. It’s about domination. I’ve had experience wrestling after losses, but you can’t focus on that match. You have to focus on your match.”
Ramos had built a 9-4 lead over No. 15 Jimmy Gulibon before landing a cow-catcher with 1:38 left in the third.
“I know they’re coached to watch for the cow-catcher, watch the cradle, but when you’re tired and getting worn out and beat on, you’re going to make mistakes,” said Ramos. “They can work to defend something as much as they want, but if you overpower and put your will on them, you’ll get what you need.”
Ninth-ranked Josh Dziewa scored a first period takedown at 141, but second-ranked Zain Rutherford tied the match with a pair of escapes before scoring a takedown at 1:27 in the third to win 4-2.
Michael Kelly led 1-0 heading into the third period at 149, but Zach Beitz tied the match with an escape and finished with a takedown and three nearfall to earn a 6-1 win.
St. John wrestled to a scoreless first period before scoring two takedowns in both the second and third frames to win, 10-4, at 157.
Penn State’s two top-rated wrestlers scored major decisions after the break. David Taylor defeated No. 4 Nick Moore, 12-3, at 165, and Ed Ruth defeated No. 2 Ethen Lofthouse, 12-4, at 184.
Third-ranked Matt Brown scored a takedown in the opening seconds and held on to defeat No. 6 Mike Evans, 4-1, at 174; and No. 3 Morgan McIntosh defeated Sammy Brooks, 16-4, at 197.
Bobby Telford reversed Iowa’s fortunes and closed the dual with a win at 285. Telford, ranked No. 3, reversed No. 12 Jimmy Lawson with :18 seconds left in the third to win 3-2 and improve to 7-0.
“This was a real good test,” said Brands. “We’re still finding some things out. It was an evaluation.”
Iowa returns to the mat Dec. 29-30 at the 51st annual Midlands Championship on the campus of Northwestern University.
“It’s a shorter break than usual, and that’s a real good thing based on (tonight),” said Brands.
Notes: Attendance was 13,747 … Ramos (29-0) and St. John (28-0) remain undefeated at Carver-Hawkeye Arena… Ramos’ win was the 97th of his career… redshirt freshman Thomas Gilman made his Carver-Hawkeye Arena debut.
#1 Penn State 24, #3 Iowa 12
125 – Nico Megaludis (PSU) dec. Thomas Gilman (IA), 4-1; 0-3
133 – #3 Tony Ramos (IA) pinned Jimmy Gulibon (PSU), 5:22; 6-3
141 – #2 Zain Retherford dec. #10 Josh Dziewa (IA), 4-2; 6-6
149 – Zach Beitz (PSU) dec. Michael Kelly (IA), 6-1; 6-9
157 – #1 Derek St. John (IA) dec. #17 James Volrath, 10-4; 9-9
165 – #1 David Taylor (Penn State) major dec. #4 Nick Moore (IA), 12-3; 9-13
174 – #3 Matt Brown (Penn State) dec. #6 Mike Evans (IA), 4-1; 9-16
184 – #1 Ed Ruth (Penn State) major dec. #2 Ethen Lofthouse (IA), 12-4; 9-20
197 – #3 Morgan McIntosh (PSU) major dec. Sammy Brooks (IA), 16-4; 9-24
285 – #3 Bobby Telford (IA) dec. #12 Jimmy Lawson (Penn State), 3-2; 12-24