Hawkeyes and Huskers on BTN

Jan. 15, 2014

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Match Notes

ON THE MAT
The third-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team travels to Lincoln, Neb., to face No. 8 Nebraska on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. (CT). The dual will be televised live from the Devaney Center on BTN.

THE SERIES — NEBRASKA
Iowa leads the all-time series 28-10-2. The Hawkeyes are 11-6-2 all-time in Lincoln. Iowa has won six straight in the series, and three in a row at Nebraska. Iowa won 24-9 in its last trip to Lincoln on Jan. 13, 2012. The Hawkeyes haven’t lost in Lincoln since 1993 (24-20).

IOWA VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
Nebraska is the third top 10 team Iowa will have faced this season. The Hawkeye split their previous two top 10 matchups, falling to No. 1 Penn State (24-12) and defeating No. 5 Oklahoma State (24-6). Iowa is 4-1 against top 25 opponents, having also defeated No. 15 Iowa State (23-9), No. 15 Edinboro (22-19), and No. 21 Purdue (30-3).

THE HEADLINER
Top-ranked Derek St. John (20-0) is expected to meet No. 3 James Green (21-0) in a matchup of unbeaten 157-pounders. Green is the second top-three opponent St. John has faced in the last eight days. He topped Oklahoma State No. 2 Alex Dieringer, 2-1, on Jan. 10. St. John is 2-1 all-time against Green. He won the first two meetings by identical 6-4 scores, and lost 5-4 in the 2013 Big Ten semifinals, the most recent meeting between the wrestlers. St. John has won 27 straight matches since their last meeting, including the 2013 NCAA Championship. St. John is 4-0 this year, and has nine straight wins against ranked opponents.

TOP 10 MATCHUPS
In addition to St. John-Green, two other bouts feature a pair of wrestlers ranked in the top 10. Iowa’s third-ranked Thomas Gilman and Nebraska’s ninth-ranked Tim Lambert are listed among probables at 125 pounds, and sixth-ranked Mike Evans is expected to meet No. 4 Robert Kokesh at 174 pounds. Gilman and Lambert have never met. Evans is 3-1 all-time against Kokesh. He won the first three meetings before falling 3-2 at the 2013 NCAA Championships.

B1G RESULTS IN B1G SEASON
Iowa has opened 3-0 in Big Ten for the seventh straight year. The Hawkeyes have won 28-of-30 individual bouts during the Big Ten season, including 16 wins by bonus-points. The Hawkeyes have won their last 13 Big Ten duals. Six Hawkeyes are 3-0 in Big Ten duals, and 11 Hawkeyes own a perfect 1.000 win percentage in Big Ten duals.

DEPTH AT 125
Thomas Gilman and Cory Clark have split time in the Iowa lineup and shared time in the national rankings. Clark opened the season ranked No. 4 and started Iowa’s first four duals. Gilman, who cracked the lineup Dec. 5 at Edinboro, has started six of the last seven duals and is ranked No. 3 nationally. Clark is 12-0 with eight falls and one major decision (He lost 10-8 to Jarrod Garnett in the Midlands semifinals, but Garnett is not a collegiate wrestler). Gilman is 14-2 with seven bonus-point wins and four wins over ranked opponents, including a 3-1 victory over defending NCAA Champion Jesse Delgado (Illinois) in the Midlands finals. He is 4-2 vs. ranked opponents. He lost 4-0 to No. 4 Clark in the finals of the Luther Open, and 4-1 to No. 3 Nico Megaludis (Penn State).

RAMOS SHARES CONFERENCE HONOR
Tony Ramos was named Big Ten Co-Wrestler of the Week after defeating Oklahoma State’s top ranked Jon Morrison, 8-3, on Jan. 10, and pinning Indiana’s Chris Caton on Jan. 12. The weekly conference honor was the fourth of his career. Ramos is 62-2 in 64 career dual starts. He is 10-1 in duals this season and leads Iowa with nine pins. His 51 dual points also lead the team.

ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY AT 149
Brody Grothus has won three straight against top 10 opponents and he’ll get another shot at a top 10 foe Saturday against Nebraska’s fifth-ranked Jake Sueflohn. Grothus has climbed to No. 13 in the national rankings after winning eight of his last nine bouts, including wins against No. 8 David Habat (Edinboro), No. 2 Jason Tsirtsis (Northwestern), and No. 3 Josh Kindig (Oklahoma State). His only loss during that stretch is to teammate Brandon Sorensen in the Midlands consolation finals. Grothus is 19-5 overall with four falls.

MOORE EARNS NATIONAL HONOR
Junior Nick Moore was named USA Wrestling’s Athlete of the Week following a pair of wins against Oklahoma State and Indiana. Moore, then ranked No. 5, finished a takedown with 15 seconds left in sudden victory to defeat Oklahoma State’s No. 2 Tyler Caldwell, 3-1, on Jan. 10. It was the highest rated opponent Moore has defeated in his career. It was also the first overtime match of Moore’s career. He finished the weekend with a 13-3 major decision over Indiana’s Ryan LeBlanc to improve to 13-2 overall and climb to No. 4 in the national rankings. Moore is 3-2 this year against ranked opponents. He defeated No. 2 Caldwell (Oklahoma State), No. 6 Mike Moreno (Iowa State), No. 13 Pierce Harger (Northwestern), and lost to top-ranked David Taylor (Penn State) and No. 5 Steve Monk (NDSU).

SWEET 16 FOR EVANS
Junior Mike Evans has scored bonus points in 16-of-18 wins this year. Evans has a recorded seven falls and four major decisions, and leads the team with five technical falls. Evans racked up three pins and two majors en route to his first Midlands title Dec. 30. He is 18-2 this season and has a career record of 67-7.

FIRST ONE IS THE HARDEST
Sammy Brooks was 0-5 against ranked opponents before topping No. 16 Nolan Boyd of Oklahoma State, 7-1, on Jan. 10. Brooks was back to wrestling at his natural 184 weight. He stayed in the lineup and recorded a 12-3 major decision against Indiana’s Luke Sheridan on Jan. 12. Brooks is 15-6 overall, 13-4 competing at 184 pounds. Two of Brooks’ losses were to the No. 3 ranked 197-pounder in the country.

BIG RESULTS FOR BIG BOBBY
Bobby Telford owns a 15-1 record this year, including a 6-1 mark against ranked opponents. He has wins over No. 12 Jimmy Lawson (Penn State), No. 13 Adam Fager (Utah Valley), No. 6 J.T. Felix (Boise State), No. 9 Mike McClure (Michigan State), No. 15 Austin Mardsen (Indiana), and No. 7 Adam Chalfant (Indiana). His lone loss came in Midlands finals to No. 4 Adam Coon (Michigan), who is now ranked No. 1 in the country. Telford is 6-0 in duals this season. He is one of three Hawkeyes with an undefeated dual record (Cory Clark, Derek St. John).

HAWKEYE WRESTLING HISTORY
Iowa’s overall dual meet record is 936-223-31 (.799) in 104 seasons. The Hawkeyes have won 23 national titles and 34 Big Ten titles. Iowa’s 52 NCAA Champions have won a total of 80 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 148 All-Americans have earned All-America status 301 times, including 17 four-time, 32 three-time and 38 two-time honorees.

ALL-AMERICAN STREAK
The Hawkeyes have crowned at least one All-American every year since 1972, a span of 42 seasons. Iowa has totaled 255 All-America honors during that stretch. The Hawkeyes return five All-Americans to this year’s squad. Tony Ramos (2nd-133), Derek St. John (1st-157), Mike Evans (6th-174) and Ethen Lofthouse (5th-184) join 2012 All-American Bobby Telford (5th-285) in the 2013-14 lineup.

40 YEARS OF DOMINANCE
Since 1974, only seven schools have captured the NCAA Championship. During that 40-year span, the Hawkeyes have won 23 team titles, including nine straight from 1978-86. The other schools include Oklahoma State (7), Minnesota (3), Penn State (3), Iowa State (2), Arizona State (1) and Oklahoma (1).

LAST MEETING — FEB. 10, 2013, Iowa City, Iowa
The University of Iowa wrestling team clinched its fifth Big Ten dual title in the last six years with a 31-7 win over Nebraska on Feb. 10 inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes finished the conference dual season with a perfect 8-0 record. The Hawkeyes won eight of 10 matches and scored bonus points in three bouts. Nick Moore and Tony Ramos earned pins and Matt McDonough added a technical fall.

Nebraska opened the dual with an 8-0 win at 149 pounds, but Iowa’s Derek St. John, Nick Moore and Mike Evans immediately took the air out of the Huskers’ sails and with three straight wins, including one fall and two decisions over top 10 opponents. St. John, the nation’s top-ranked 157-pounder, allowed a pair of first-period takedowns to No. 6 James Green, but opened the second period with an escape and added a takedown to tie the match, 4-4, heading into the third period. Green chose the down position so start the final frame, but he never got to his feet as St. John used a ride-out and a point for stalling to walk away with a 6-4 victory.

Moore then put Iowa ahead for good in the team race when he locked up a cradle in the third period to score a fall in 6:41. His fourth pin of the season gave Iowa a 9-4 lead heading into the headlining match of the night. Evans, ranked No. 4 at 174 pounds, was facing his fourth straight top 10 opponent when No. 2 Robert Kokesh stepped on the mat. Evans trailed 3-0 after Kokesh opened the second period with a reversal, but he escaped to get on the board and added two takedowns in the final 1:07 to take a 5-4 lead into the third period. He opened the final period with an escape and added another takedown at 1:36 to grab an 8-4 lead. He eventually used 1:57 of riding time to add to a final 9-6 victory.

Nebraska got on the board for the final time when No. 8 Josh Ihnen scored a 5-1 win over Grant Gambrall in sudden victory. The Huskers’ win at 184 pounds pulled them within four points, 11-7, at intermission. The Hawkeyes swept through the final five bouts beginning at 197, where Nathan Burak finished a disputed takedown with 14 seconds left in the sudden victory period.

Telford extended the Iowa lead to 17-7 with a 6-2 win at 285, and McDonough clinched the dual with a 20-5 technical fall at 125 pounds. McDonough used seven takedowns and three nearfall points to earn his first technical fall of the season. Ramos followed McDonough with a fall. He turned his fifth takedown of the match into his ninth pin of the season. Mark Ballweg gave Iowa the final 31-7 team victory when he defeated Ridge Kiley, 6-1, at 141 pounds.

#2 IOWA 31, #13 Nebraska 7
149 – #11 Jake Sueflohn (N) major dec. Brody Grothus (IA), 8-0; 0-4
157 – #1 Derek St. John (IA) dec. #6 James Green (N), 6-4; 3-4
165 -#13 Nick Moore (IA) pinned Austin Wilson (N), 6:41; 9-4
174 – #4 Mike Evans (IA) dec. #2 Robert Kokesh (N), 9-6; 12-4
184 – #8 Josh Ihnen (N) dec. Grant Gambrall (IA), 5-1 SV; 11-7*
197 – #19 Nathan Burak (IA) dec. Caleb Kolb (N), 3-1 SV; 14-7
285 – #6 Bobby Telford (IA) dec. Spencer Johnson (N), 6-2; 17-7
125 – #1 Matt McDonough (IA) tech. fall Eric Coufal (N), 20-5; 22-7
133 – #2 Tony Ramos (IA) pinned Shawn Nagel (N), 2:05; 28-7
141 – #8 Mark Ballweg (IA) dec. Ridge Kiley (N), 6-1; 31-7
*unsportsmanlike conduct, 1-point team deduction