Hawkeyes Advance 7 to B1G Semis

March 7, 2015

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COLUMBUS, Ohio — The University of Iowa wrestling team advanced seven Hawkeyes to the semifinals of the 2015 Big Ten Championships on Saturday afternoon inside St. John Arena. Iowa leads the team race with 65 points after the opening session.

The Hawkeyes were 13-3 through the first two rounds and earned bonus points in six bouts.

Sophomores Thomas Gilman (125) and Cory Clark (133), senior Josh Dziewa (141), and junior Nathan Burak (197) all advanced to the quarterfinals with major decisions. Redshirt freshman Brandon Sorensen (149) led 8-0 before he won by medical forfeit, and senior Bobby Telford (285) won by fall to earn the 100th win of his career.

Seven of Iowa’s nine opening round winners advanced through the quarterfinals. Clark and Dziewa scored upsets at 133 and 141, but Iowa lost a top seed at 184 when Sammy Brooks lost 6-4 in sudden victory.

“We have a lot of work to do,” said UI head coach Tom Brands. “I think a lot of points are being left off the board as a team. We could score more takedowns.”

The Hawkeyes recorded 35 takedowns in the opening round, but only 10 in the quarterfinals.

Gilman protected his top seed with three takedowns and 1:20 of riding time in an 8-4 quarterfinal win. Sorensen did the same with a pair of takedowns in a 6-1 decision. Gilman and Sorensen are the only Hawkeyes favored in the semifinal round.

Gilman faces fifth-seeded Jordan Conaway of Penn State, and Sorensen wrestles Alec Pantaleo, the fifth-seed from Michigan.

Clark, Burak and Telford all face a top-seed in the semifinals. Clark gets a rematch with Minnesota’s Chris Dardanes, who defeated Clark, 5-3, in January. Burak wrestles Ohio State’s Kyle Snyder. Burak beat Snyder, 2-1, when Iowa wrestled at Ohio State on Jan. 4. Telford will face Connor Medbery for the fourth time in his career. He defeated Medbery in two of three previous meetings, including a 3-1 win at this year’s Midlands Championships.

Evans and Dziewa have opportunities to avenge losses from earlier this season. Evans faces Penn State’s Matt Brown, who defeated Evans 2-0 on Feb. 8 and owns a 4-3 advantage in head-to-head matches. Dziewa gets a second shot at Minnesota’s Nick Dardanes, who won 7-3 in their only previous meeting.

Iowa has three wrestlers competing in the consolation brackets. Nick Moore and Brooks were both upset in their first bouts. Brooks gave up a takedown in the final seconds and lost, 6-4, in sudden victory. Moore was never able to erase a 4-1 first-period deficit and eventually fell, 7-4.

Michael Kelly rallied from 6-1 down to defeat Maryland’s Lou Mascola, 11-10, in the first tiebreak of the opening round, but he was bounced from the championship bracket after a 15-6 loss to Minnesota’s Dylan Ness.

“The semifinals are coming up and that’s what we need to be ready for,” added Brands.

Session II begins at 6 p.m. (CT) inside St. John Arena. A round of consolations will precede the semifinals.

After the first session of competition the Hawkeyes led the team race with 65 points, followed by Minnesota (55), Ohio State (48), Penn State (48), and Wisconsin (41). Iowa’s seven semifinalists are a tournament best, followed by Minnesota with six, and Penn State and Ohio State with five.

SESSION I RESULTS (# indicates tournament seed)
125 – #1 Thomas Gilman (Iowa) major dec. Mitch Rogaliner (MSU), 23-10
133 – #5 Cory Clark (Iowa) major dec. #12 Geoffrey Alexander (MD), 12-1
141 – #6 Josh Dziewa (Iowa) major dec. #11 Javier Gasca III (MSU), 11-3
149 – #1 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) MFF Jake Short (MINN)
157 – #7 Michael Kelly (Iowa) dec. #10 Lou Mascola (MD), 11-10 TB1
165 – #10 Pat Robinson (PUR) dec. #7 Nick Moore (Iowa), 7-4
174 – #3 Mike Evans received a bye
184 – #1 Sammy Brooks received a bye
197 – #4 Nathan Burak (Iowa) major dec. #13 Rob Fitzgerald (MD), 14-3
285 – #4 Bobby Telford (Iowa) pinned #13 Garret Goldman (IND), 2:16

QUARTERFINAL RESULTS
125 – #1 Thomas Gilman (Iowa) dec. #8 Luke Welch (PUR), 8-4
133 – #5 Cory Clark (Iowa) dec. #4 Johnny DiJulius (OSU), 2-0
141 – #6 Josh Dziewa (Iowa) dec. #3 Anthony Abidin (NEB), 3-1
149 – #1 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) dec. #8 Rylan Lubeck (WIS), 6-1
157 – #2 Dylan Ness (MINN) major dec. #7 Michael Kelly (Iowa), 15-6
174 – #3 Mike Evans (Iowa) dec. #6 Mark Martin (OSU), 2-0
184 – #8 Matt McCutcheon (PSU) dec. #1 Sammy Brooks (Iowa), 6-4 SV
197 – #4 Nathan Burak (Iowa) dec. #12 Hayden Hrymack (RUT), 9-5
285 – #4 Bobby Telford (Iowa) dec. #5 Jimmy Lawson (PSU), 2-1

SEMIFINAL MATCHUPS
125 – #1 Thomas Gilman (Iowa) vs. #5 Jordan Conaway (PSU)
133 – #5 Cory Clark (Iowa) vs. #1 Chris Dardanes (MINN)
141 – #6 Josh Dziewa (Iowa) vs. #2 Nick Dardanes (MINN)
149 – #1 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) vs. #5 Alec Pantaleo (MICH)
174 – #3 Mike Evans (Iowa) vs. #2 Matt Brown (PSU)
197 – #4 Nathan Burak (Iowa) vs. #1 Kyle Snyder (OSU)
285 – #4 Bobby Telford (Iowa) vs. #1 Connor Medbery (WIS)

CONSOLATION MATCHUPS
157 – #7 Michael Kelly (Iowa) vs. #8 Anthony Perrotti (RUT)
165 – #7 Nick Moore (Iowa) vs. #9 Austin Wilson (NEB)
184 – #1 Sammy Brooks (Iowa) vs. #10 Patrick Kissel (PUR)

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