Match Notes: #1 Iowa vs. #11 Illinois

Jan. 15, 2015

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ON THE MAT
The top-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team hosts No. 11 Illinois on Friday at 7:07 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Mat inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

THE SERIES
Iowa has won the last five meetings and leads the all-time series, 48-26-1. The Hawkeyes lost 21 of the first 22 meetings in the series, but have since won 47-of-53 with one tie (12-12 in 1952). Iowa won the last meeting, 25-12, in 2013. Iowa is 21-9-1 against Illinois in Iowa City. Illinois’ last win in Iowa City was a 24-13 victory in 2006, one year before Iowa head coach Tom Brands arrived on campus. Under Brands, the Hawkeyes are 5-0 against the Illini. Iowa’s largest win in the series was 52-0 in 1984. Illinois’ largest win of the series was 34-8 in 1922.

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HAWKEYES ON TV
MC22 will televise the Illinois dual beginning at 7:07 p.m. (CT). Rob Brooks and Mike Duroe have the call from Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa’s regular season duals Minnesota, and Penn State will air live on BTN. The Hawkeyes wrestle 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 televised the final round of the Midlands Championships, and will televise the final round of the Big Ten Championships on March 8, 2015, at 2 p.m. The 2015 conference tournament is hosted by Ohio State.

POTENTIAL REMATCH
The probable lineups include five rematches from the 2014 Midlands, including two finals rematches. Cory Clark defeated Zain Richards, 3-1, in the 133-pound finals, handing Richards (17-1) his only loss of the season. Evans defeated Zac Brunson, 2-1, in the 174-pound finals, handing Brunson (18-1) his only loss of the season. Three Hawkeyes look to avenge Midlands losses. Josh Dziewa lost to Steven Rodriguez, 3-1, in the semifinals at 141. Michael Kelly lost, 16-5, to Isaiah Martinez in the semifinals at 157, and Nick Moore lost, 5-2, to Jackson Morse in the 165-pound consolation finals.

HAWKEYE TRAINED
Illinois head coach Jim Heffernan and associate head coach Mark Perry were both standout wrestlers at the University of Iowa. Heffernan was a four-time All-American from 1983-87 and won the 150-pound NCAA championship in 1986. Perry won national titles at Iowa in 2007 and 2008. He was a four-time All-American, placing runner-up in 2005 and third in 2006.

SORENSEN EARNS B1G HONOR
Redshirt freshman Brandon Sorensen was named Big Ten Co-Wrestler of the Week by the conference office Jan. 13. Sorensen, a native of Cedar Falls, Iowa, scored a pair of takedowns and added 1:58 of riding time to defeat second-ranked Josh Kindig of Oklahoma State, 6-1, on Sunday. The win helped top-ranked Iowa roll to a 30-7 win at No. 8 Oklahoma State, and vaulted Sorensen to No. 3 in the national rankings at 149 pounds, the highest ranking of his career. Sorensen leads Iowa with 22 wins, including six major decisions, five pins, and two technical falls. He is 22-2 overall, and his last three wins have been against ranked opponents, including two in the top five. The weekly honor is the first of his career and the second for Iowa this season — Bobby Telford was honored Dec. 31. Sorensen shares the weekly honor with Ohio State’s Kyle Snyder.

LAST OF THE UNBEATENS
Mike Evans (17-0), Nathan Burak (17-0), and Bobby Telford (11-0) enter with undefeated records. All three streaks are career bests. In the history of Iowa wrestling, 15 wrestlers have finished the season with a perfect record (minimum 20 matches). Four of those wrestlers were able to perform the feat twice. They include Mark Ironside, Lincoln McIlravy, T.J. Williams and Jim Zalesky. Iowa coaches Tom Brands and Terry Brands are among the 15 wrestlers. Tom went 45-0 in 1990-91 and Terry went 35-0 in 1991-92.

EVANS, BLACK, AND BLAIR ACADEMY
Iowa senior Mike Evans and Illinois’ redshirt freshman Brooks Black attended Blair Academy in Blairstown, N.J. Black was a freshman at Blair Academy when Evans put together a senior campaign that included a 52-0 record, and state and national championships at 189 pounds.

UNDEFEATED ALL-AMERICANS
Three of Iowa’s four returning All-Americans — Mike Evans (174), Nathan Burak (197), and Bobby Telford (285) — are a combined 45-0 this season with 22 pins. Evans, and Telford are both 17-0. Telford has nine pins, one major decision, and one win via medial forfeit. Evans has 10 wins by bonus points. Burak is 11-0 with two pins, one major decision, and one technical fall. He has claimed two tournament titles wrestling unattached at the Luther Open and Midlands Championships. He wrestled attached for the first time Jan. 4 at Ohio State and earned a 2-1 win over No. 7 Kyle Snyder. Clark, Iowa’s other returning All-American, was 14-0 before losing for the first time to Ohio State’s ninth-ranked Johnny DiJulius, 7-5. Clark is 15-1 overall with seven falls, one technical fall, and one major decision. All four returning All-Americans won Midlands individual titles on Dec. 30. 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.

HAWKEYES IN THE RANKINGS
Iowa has nine wrestlers ranked in the top 10 of the latest Intermat rankings (Jan. 13), more than any other school. Six of Iowa’s wrestlers are ranked in the top 5, including Thomas Gilman (5), Cory Clark (4), Brandon Sorensen (3), Mike Evans (2), Nathan Burak (4) and Bobby Telford (1). Two more Hawkeyes are projected in the top eight, including Josh Dziewa (8) and Sammy Brooks (7). Nick Moore is ranked No. 9 at 165, and Michael Kelly is ranked No. 15 at 157.

EVANS LEADS ACTIVE HAWKEYES
Senior Mike Evans recorded a 16-1 technical fall at Oklahoma State to improve to 17-0. The 17 consecutive wins is a career-long, and six better than his previous streak of 11 set in 2013-14. Evans has 94 career wins, more than any other active Hawkeye, and his 61 career dual starts are most on the team. He is 51-10 all-time in duals.

HAWKEYE WRESTLING HISTORY
Iowa’s overall dual meet record is 949-224-31 (.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.

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).

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.

CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA
The Hawkeyes are 5-0 inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena this season and have a 218-21 (.912) 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. BTN will televise the semifinals Saturday, Feb. 21, at 3 p.m. (CT), and the finals Sunday, Feb. 22, at 11:30 a.m. 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., 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.

TICKET INFORMATION
Single dual tickets are now available for purchase on hawkeyesports.com. Single dual tickets are $12 for duals against Illinois (Jan. 16), Northwestern (Jan. 23), and Michigan (Feb. 13). Youth tickets (18 and younger) are $8. UI students and kids five-years old and younger are admitted free. Adult tickets are $15 for Virginia (Feb. 15) — Iowa’s opening round opponent of the Cliff Keen National 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.

CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA
The Hawkeyes are 5-0 inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena this season and have a 218-21 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).

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