Nov. 25, 2014
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ON THE MAT
The University of Iowa (3-0) wrestling team faces Iowa State (4-0) on Saturday in the annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series. The dual begins at 7 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Mat at Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,077). Admission is $15 for adults and $8 for youth (high school age and younger).
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Dan Gable TRAVELING TROPHY
The Iowa-Iowa State wrestling rivalry introduced the Dan Gable Traveling Trophy in 2010. In a joint collaboration, the schools announced the annual dual would be wrestled for a trophy representing Iowa State’s former two-time NCAA Champion and Iowa’s 15-time NCAA championship coach. Iowa has won every meeting since the trophy’s inception, including a 22-13 win at home in 2010, a 27-9 win in Ames in 2011, a 32-3 win in Iowa City in 2012, and a 23-9 win in Ames last season.
THE SERIES
Iowa leads Iowa State, 62-16-2, in the all-time series, and has won the last 10 meetings. The Hawkeyes own a 31-5-1 advantage in Iowa City. Iowa State’s last win in the series was 19-16 on Dec. 5, 2004, in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes have won four in a row and 27 of the last 28 on their home mat. Overall, Iowa has won 50 of the last 54 meetings. The Hawkeyes have won 10 straight in the series on two occasions. Iowa won 30 in a row from 1987-2002, and 10 straight from 1981-86. A win on Friday would run Iowa’s active win streak to 11.
IOWA CORN CY-HAWK SERIES
The Cy-Hawk Series is in its 11th season in 2013-14, being sponsored for the fourth time by Iowa Corn. Iowa State currently leads the series, 11-0, having secured wins in soccer, football, volleyball, and men’s and women’s cross country. Iowa wrestling owns a 9-1 lead in the Cy-Hawk Series duals. The Cyclones won the first meeting in 2004, and Iowa has won the last nine. (Iowa has won 10 straight overall, including a meeting at the National Duals.)
ALL-AMERICAN REMATCH
Iowa sophomore Cory Clark and Iowa State junior Earl Hall both earned All-America honors at 125 pounds in 2014. Clark placed fifth at the national tournament, Hall placed eighth. Both wrestlers moved up a weight in 2014-15. Clark is ranked No. 4 at 133, and Hall is ranked No. 14. Clark is 2-0 all-time against Hall. He held on for an 8-7 win last year in Ames, and won 10-4 at the NCAA Championships.
SENIOR MOMENT AT 165
Iowa senior Nick Moore and Iowa State senior Michael Moreno meet for the fourth time in their careers. Moore has defeated Moreno in each of the last two Cy-Hawk Series duals (3-2 in 2012; 3-1 in 2013), but Moreno has the only postseason win between the two — a 5-3 win at the 2013 NCAA Championships. Moreno, an All-American in 2013 and 2014, is ranked No. 3. Moore enters the match ranked No. 5. Both wrestlers are Iowa natives. Moore is from Iowa City. Moreno is from Urbandale.
VETERAN EVANS
Senior Mike Evans is the lone Hawkeye making his fourth appearance in the Cy-Hawk Series dual. Evans lost to Andrew Sorenson, 4-3, as a redshirt freshman wrestling at 165 in 2011. He has since won two straight at 174, both 10-1 major decisions against Tanner Weatherman. Evans is ranked No. 4 coming into Saturday’s match. Weatherman is ranked No. 6. Hawkeye seniors Bobby Telford (2-0), Nick Moore (2-0) and Michael Kelly (0-2) are making their third appearances in the series. Kelly has competed at 149 each of the last two seasons. Josh Dziewa defeated Gabe Moreno, 12-5, in his only Cy-Hawk dual appearance in 2013.
CY-HAWK DEBUTS
Sophomore Thomas Gilman is making his Cy-Hawk Series debut Saturday. Gilman defeated Iowa State’s Drake Swarm, 21-4, in the opening round of the 2012 UNI Open. It is his only career meeting against Iowa State. None of Iowa’s three wrestlers listed at 149 pounds has wrestled in the Cy-Hawk Series. Edwin Cooper is in his first year at Iowa, Brandon Sorensen redshirted last season, and Brody Grothus was not in the lineup in 2012 or 2013. Neither Kris Klapprodt nor Alex Meyer, both listed on the probable lineup, have wrestled in the Cy-Hawk Series. Klapprodt could get the call against No. 3 Kyven Gadson at 197. Gadson defeated Sammy Brooks, 3-2, in 2013, and topped true freshman Nathan Burak, 5-4, in 2012.
SORENSEN WINS ROUND 2
Redshirt freshman Brandon Sorensen came out on top of a Joe Parisi Open 149-pound field that included junior Brody Grothus and junior Edwin Cooper, Jr. Sorensen was 4-0 at the tournament with a 3-1 win over Cooper in the semifinals, it was their first career meeting. He then defeated Terrel Wilbourn, 4-1, in finals. Wilbourne had defeated Grothus, 3-1, in overtime on the top side of the semifinal bracket. Grothus later pinned Cooper (0:53) in the consolation finals. Grothus is 2-0 all-time against Cooper. Grothus was 5-0 with a pair of pins at the Luther Open on Nov. 15. He pinned his first two opponents before defeating Sorensen, 3-2, in the semifinals. He then won the 149-pound title with a 9-6 win in the finals over Cooper. Grothus advanced to the 2014 NCAA Championships at 149, ending Iowa’s three-year postseason drought at the national tournament. He was 24-12 overall last year, including wins over the top four finishers at the NCAA tournament. Sorensen is 1-1 all-time against Grothus. He defeated Grothus in the consolation finals of the Midlands tournament and was 24-4 last season competing unattached. He split the season between 149 and 157, opening with a 10-3 record at 157 before finishing the season 14-1 at 149. Cooper won a national title for Iowa Central in 2012 at 149 pounds. He did not compete in 2013, and placed runner-up at the 2014 Division II NCAA Championships.
MEYER, KLAPPRODT SHOW DEPTH
Sophomore Alex Meyer and junior Kris Klapprodt each placed runner-up at the Luther Open behind a couple of Iowa All-Americans. Meyer pinned three opponents and recorded a technical fall before losing, 6-0, to Evans in the 174-pound finals. He was 2-0 in Big Ten duals last season and placed seventh at Midlands. He was 4-0 last week en route to the 174-pound title at the Joe Parisi Open. Klapprodt took Nathan Burak to overtime in the Luther Open finals at 197, but fell, 3-1, in the first sudden victory period. He was 2-1 with a pin last week at the Iowa City Duals. He finished 15-2 at 197 pounds last season, recording five pins and three major decisions.
KELLY RETURNS TO 157
Senior Michael Kelly is 8-0 with four falls this season at 157 pounds. Kelly has a 28-3 career mark at 157, including an 18-1 record competing unattached in 2010-11. He was 5-1 as a redshirt freshman, and wrestled his entire sophomore campaign at 149. He wrestled at 157 once last year, falling to Indiana’s sixth-ranked Taylor Walsh. The veteran has 35 career dual starts under his belt, the fourth most on the team.
ALL-AMERICAN STREAK
Iowa returns four All-Americans this year — Cory Clark (125), Mike Evans (174), Nathan Burak (197), and Bobby Telford (285). The Hawkeyes have crowned at least one All-American every year since 1972, a span of 43 seasons. Iowa has totaled 261 All-America honors during that stretch. The Hawkeyes crowned six All-Americans in 2014, including four-time All-American Derek St. John (157) and first-timers Clark (125) and Burak (197). Tony Ramos earned his third career All-America honor, winning the 133-pound bracket, and Evans (174) and Telford (285) were both named All-Americans for the second time in their careers.
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40 YEARS SINCE NO. 1
Gary Kurdelmeier led Iowa to its first NCAA Championship in 1975, and in the 40 years since, the Hawkeyes have accumulated 23 team titles, more than any other school — Oklahoma State (7), Penn State (4), Minnesota (3), Iowa State (2), and Arizona State (1).
THE ATTENDANCE GAME
In 2013-14, the University of Iowa wrestling program led the nation in attendance for the eighth consecutive season according to the annual Division I attendance report released March 4 by Roby Publishing. Iowa averaged 8,835 fans in seven duals, setting an NCAA single season attendance record of 61,843. The Hawkeyes averaged at least 8,000 fans for the sixth consecutive season, and own the three highest single season averages in NCAA history (9,014 in 2012; 8,764 in 2013). In 2013-14, Iowa became the first school in NCAA history to host three duals with more than 10,000 fans — Penn State (13,747), Minnesota (10,588), and Oklahoma State (10,141). When considering the Iowa City Duals — which Iowa hosted Nov. 22 against Baker, Cornell College, and Iowa Central — a school record 67,556 fans attended wrestling meets inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
NCAA EXPERIENCE
The Hawkeyes return seven wrestlers with NCAA Championships experience. Seniors Mike Evans (174) and Bobby Telford (285) are three-time NCAA qualifiers. Telford earned All-America honors in 2012 and 2014, while Evans earned All-America honors in 2013 and 2014. Junior Nathan Burak (197) and sophomore Cory Clark (125) also advanced to the All-America stand in 2014. Burak was making his second NCAA tournament appearance, while Clark was making his first. Senior Nick Moore (165) has competed in two NCAA Championships (2013, 2014), and last year senior Josh Dziewa (141) and junior Brody Grothus (149) made their first career appearances.
TICKET INFORMATION
Season and single dual tickets are now available for purchase on hawkeyesports.com. Season tickets for eight home dates are available for $95. UI students and kids five-years old and younger are admitted free to all wrestling events. Single dual tickets tickets are $12 for the Iowa City Duals (Nov. 21), and duals against Michigan State (Dec. 6), Illinois (Jan. 16), Northwestern (Jan. 23), and Michigan (Feb. 13). Adult tickets are $15 for Iowa State (Nov. 29) and Virginia (Feb. 15) — Iowa’s opening round opponent of the Cliff Keen National Duals. Youth tickets (18 and younger) are $8 for single duals. Tickets to the second round of the Cliff Keen National Duals (Feb. 22) — featuring eight teams and three rounds of competition — are $20 for all ages.
HAWKEYE WRESTLING HISTORY
Iowa’s overall dual meet record is 944-224-31 (.799) in 105 seasons. The Hawkeyes have won 23 national titles and 34 Big Ten titles. Iowa’s 53 NCAA Champions have won a total of 81 NCAA individual titles, crowning six three-time and 16 two-time champions. The Hawkeyes’ 110 Big Ten champions have combined for 191 conference titles. There have been seven four-time, 18 three-time, and 29 two-time Iowa winners. Iowa’s 150 All-Americans have earned All-America status 307 times, including 18 four-time, 32 three-time and 39 two-time honorees.
CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA
Iowa was 8-2 inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena in 2013-14 and owns a 213-21 all-time record since becoming the home to Iowa wrestling in 1983. The Hawkeyes have recorded 20 undefeated season in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, the most recent in 2012-13 (9-0). Carver-Hawkeye Arena has hosted three Big Ten Championships (1983, 1994, 2005) and four NCAA Championships (1986, 1991, 1995, 2001). The Hawkeyes have won five tournament titles on their home mat, including the 1983 and 1994 Big Ten Championships, and the 1986, 1991 and 1995 NCAA Championships. On February 22, 2015, Carver-Hawkeye Arena will host the National Duals for the third time (1998, 1999).
HAWKEYES WIN BIG TEN DUAL TITLE
Iowa won a share of the Big Ten regular season dual title when it defeated Wisconsin, 28-10, on Feb. 23. The Hawkeyes finished the dual season with a 7-1 conference record, sharing the regular season title with Minnesota (7-1) and Penn State (7-1). Iowa has won or shared six of the last seven Big Ten regular season titles.
