Dec. 3, 2014
ON THE MAT
The University of Iowa (4-0, 0-0) wrestling team faces Michigan State (2-3, 0-1) on Saturday at 7 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Mat at Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,077). Admission is $12 for adults and $8 for youth (high school age and younger).
THE SERIES
Iowa leads the all-time series, 36-15-2, and has won the last six meetings, including a 41-0 win in Iowa City last season. The Hawkeyes have won the last six meetings by an average of 23.8 points. Iowa has won 15 straight meetings against the Spartans at home. Michigan State’s last win in Iowa City was a 20-13 decision in 1970. The teams tied, 16-16, in 1974 in Iowa City. The only other tie in series history was in 1973, 19-19. Since those consecutive ties, the Hawkeyes have won 30-of-32 meetings. Michigan State’s last win was a 19-17 win on Feb. 5, 2006, in East Lansing, Michigan.
BIG TEN OPENERS
Saturday is Iowa’s Big Ten opener. The Hawkeyes have won 16 straight conference openers since losing to Penn State, 25-17, at home in 1997-98.
SORENSEN WINS HOME OPENER
Redshirt freshman Brandon Sorensen won his Carver-Hawkeye Arena debut on Nov. 29, defeating Iowa State’s Gabe Moreno, 7-6. Moreno was a NCAA qualifier and Big 12 runner-up in 2014. The win pushed Sorensen into the ranking for the first time in his career. He is ranked No. 11 by Intermat and No. 16 by WIN Magazine. Sorensen is 10-1 overall with three pins, two major decisions and one technical fall. His only loss this season was a 3-2 decision to Brody Grothus in the Luther Open semifinals.
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7-FOR-7
Senior Bobby Telford has seven wins by fall against seven opponents this year. He also has a win via medical forfeit. Telford has 26 career pins, nearing his single-season high of nine set as a redshirt freshman in 2011-12.
A LITTLE EXTRA FROM BROOKS
Sophomore Sammy Brooks won for the seventh time this season, all bonus-point wins, when he recorded his first major decision of the season over No. 18 Lelund Weatherspoon of Iowa State. Brooks entered the Iowa State dual with three pins and three technical falls. Brooks is 8-0 overall including a win via medical forfeit. He has won 10 in a row dating back to last season.
KELLY RETURNS TO 157
Senior Michael Kelly is 9-0 with four falls this season at 157 pounds. Kelly has a 31-3 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 36 career dual starts under his belt, the fourth most on the team.
BRANDS GETS WIN NO. 150
The Hawkeyes’ 11th straight win over Iowa State was Tom Brands‘ 150th career win at Iowa. He is 150-15-1 (.910) in eight-plus seasons as Iowa’s head coach. Only Dave McCuskey (160) and Dan Gable (355) have more dual wins at Iowa.
UNDEFEATED ALL-AMERICANS
Iowa’s four returning All-Americans — Cory Clark (125), Mike Evans (174), Nathan Burak (197), and Bobby Telford (285) — are a combined 28-0 this season with 17 pins. Telford and Clark are both 8-0. Telford has seven pins and one win via medial forfeit. Clark has pinned six of his eight opponents. Evans has six wins by bonus points and a decision over a top 10 opponent. Burak was 4-0 with one pin, one major decision, and one technical fall at the Luther Open, but he has not seen action since due to injury. 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.
40 YEARS SINCE NO. 1
Iowa will celebrate the 40th anniversary of its first national championship on Friday, Jan. 23, at 7 p.m. against Northwestern. 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 have 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 are $12 for duals against Michigan State (Dec. 6), Illinois (Jan. 16), Northwestern (Jan. 23), and Michigan (Feb. 13). Adult tickets are $15 for 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. 21-22) — featuring eight teams and three rounds of competition — are $10 for Saturday’s quarterfinals and semifinals, and $20 for Sunday’s final round.
HAWKEYE WRESTLING HISTORY
Iowa’s overall dual meet record is 945-224-31 (.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
The Hawkeyes are 4-0 inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena this season and have a 217-21 all-time record since at home since Carver started hosting wrestling duals 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 21-22, 2015, Carver-Hawkeye Arena will host the National Duals for the third time (1998, 1999).
BTN TO TELEVISE NATIONAL DUALS
The National Wrestling Coaches Association reached an agreement with the Big Ten Network to televise the Cliff Keen National Duals Tournament in Iowa City, Iowa, on Feb. 21-22. Originally scheduled as a two-day event on Feb. 15 (regionals) and Feb. 22 (championship quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals), the tournament has expanded to three days to include live television coverage of semifinal and final round competition at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Feb. 21-22. Regional rounds will be contested at host schools on Feb. 15. BTN will televise the semifinals Saturday, Feb. 21, at 3 p.m. (CT), and the finals Sunday, Feb. 22, at 11:30 a.m. Quarterfinals begin Saturday, Feb. 21, at 12 p.m. at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Eight teams qualify for the quarterfinals following regional competition on Feb. 15. Iowa hosts Virginia in one of the regional rounds on Feb. 15 at 1 p.m. Tickets are $10 for Saturday, Feb. 21 (quarterfinals and semifinals), and $20 for Sunday, Feb. 22 (finals and consolation finals). Prices are for all ages, and everyone needs a ticket for entry.
HAWKEYES ON TV
University of Iowa wrestling team will make seven appearances on BTN this season, including a pair of dates hosting the Cliff Keen National Duals. Iowa’s regular season duals at Rutgers, Minnesota, and Penn State will air live on BTN. The Hawkeyes wrestle at Rutgers on Jan. 2 at 7 p.m. (CT), at Minnesota on Jan. 30 at 6 p.m., and at Penn State on Feb. 8 at 12 p.m. BTN will televise the semifinal and final rounds of the Cliff Keen National Duals, hosted by the University of Iowa on Feb. 21-22. The semifinals will air Saturday on BTN at 3 p.m. The finals will be televised Sunday at 11:30 a.m. BTN is televising the final round of the Midlands Championship on Dec. 30 at 7 p.m., and final round of the Big Ten Championships on March 8, 2015, at 2 p.m. The 2015 conference tournament is hosted by Ohio State.
