Iowa tops Wisconsin, earns share of B1G title

Feb. 23, 2014

MADISON, Wis. — The University of Iowa wrestling team won seven of 10 matches to defeat No. 15 Wisconsin, 28-10, and earn a share of the Big Ten dual title Sunday afternoon at the UW Field House.

Cory Clark and Tony Ramos opened the dual with pins, and Nick Moore recorded his team-high fifth major decision to help Iowa improve to 7-1 in conference duals. The Hawkeyes share the Big Ten dual title with Minnesota and Penn State, and in two weeks Iowa returns to Madison to challenge for the Big Ten tournament title.

“We’d like to duplicate Nick Moore and Tony Ramos (when we come back),” said UI head coach Tom Brands. “We have to put more points on the board. Our guys know they have fire power. It has to be realized, and it is realized when it becomes lopsided and things start to open up. We have to give ourselves more opportunities and that is the bottom line.”

Clark led 7-2 before decking No. 9 Ryan Taylor in 2:03 at 125. He scored a takedown in the opening 20 seconds, exchanged a pair of reversals to make the score 4-2, and was working on three nearfall points before finishing the match with his ninth fall of the year.

Ramos had to chase Tyler Graff stand-in Matt Cavallaris around the mat for two and one-half periods before finally securing the fall in 6:23 at 133. Graff, ranked No. 5 at 133, missed his second straight match with an injury.

Ramos recorded seven takedowns and 4:28 of riding time before securing his team-best 11th fall.

“I just had to find a different way to get him over,” said Ramos. “I was trying to let him stand up, didn’t get him, but caught a leg in that allowed me to get a deep arm bar. From there I ran it over and got the fall.”

Consecutive pins gave Iowa a 12-0 lead before Jesse Thielke defeated Iowa’s Ethan Owens, 12-1, at 141. Seventh-ranked Brody Grothus put Iowa in front 15-4 with a 2-1 decision at 149, but Wisconsin cut into the lead before intermission when No. 7 Isaac Jordan finished around the ankles in the closing seconds to defeat No. 2 Derek St. John, 3-1, at 157.

After the intermission, Moore extended Iowa’s lead to 19-7 with an 18-4 win at 165. He scored a pair of takedowns in each period, piled up 2:37 of riding time, and was awarded three nearfall points as time expired to win his 10th straight match.

The Hawkeyes put the dual away with consecutive wins at 174, 184, and 197. Fifth-ranked Mike Evans scored all four of his points in the third period to shutout No. 20 Scott Liegel, 4-0, at 174. Fourth-ranked Ethen Lofthouse used four takedowns to top Dylan Iczkowski, 11-5, at 184, and No. 13 Nathan Burak used 1:30 of riding time to defeat Timmy McCall, 2-1, at 197.

The Badgers got on the board a final time when No. 10 Connor Medbery scored a deciding takedown in the final seconds to defeat No. 3 Bobby Telford, 3-1.

Iowa (15-2, 7-1) returns to the mat March 8-9 at the 2014 Big Ten Championships. The conference tournament begins Saturday, March 8, at 10 a.m. (CT) at the Kohl Center. Visit uwbadgers.com for ticket information.

Notes: Attendance was 1,445… Iowa won the Big Ten dual title for the sixth time in the last seven years… the Hawkeyes share the regular season dual title with Minnesota (7-1) and Penn State (7-1)… Iowa improved to 9-2 against ranked opponents, including 7-0 record on the road… Tony Ramos and Nick Moore both finished the conference season 8-0.

#3 IOWA 28, #15 Wisconsin 10
125 – #6 Cory Clark (IA) pinned #9 Ryan Taylor (UW), 2:03; 6-0
133 – #3 Tony Ramos (IA) pinned Matt Cavallaris (UW), 6:23; 12-0
141 – Jesse Thielke (UW) dec. Ethan Owens (IA), 12-1; 12-4
149 – #7 Brody Grothus (IA) dec. Rylan Lubeck (UW), 2-1; 15-4
157 – #7 Isaac Jordan (UW) dec. #2 Derek St. John (IA), 3-1; 15-7
165 – #4 Nick Moore (IA) major dec. Nick Cousins (UW), 18-4; 19-7
174 – #5 Mike Evans (IA) dec. #20 Scott Liegel (UW), 4-0; 22-7
184 – #4 Ethen Lofthouse (IA) dec. Dylan Iczkowski (UW), 11-5; 25-7
197 – #13 Nathan Burak (IA) dec. Timmy McCall (UW), 2-1; 28-7
285 – #10 Connor Medbery (UW) dec. #3 Bobby Telford (IA), 3-1; 28-10