Match Notes: No. 2 Iowa at Wisconsin

Jan. 12, 2016

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ON THE MAT
The University of Iowa wrestling team meets Wisconsin on Friday at 8 p.m. (CT) at the Kohl Center. The dual will air live on BTN.

IOWA VS. WISCONSIN
Iowa leads the all-time series, 75-8-3, including a 37-4-2 all-time record in Madison. The Hawkeyes have won the last five meetings and 36 of the last 37 dating back to 1975. Wisconsin’s only win during that time was a 21-14 decision inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Jan. 27, 2007. The Hawkeyes haven’t dropped a dual in Madison since 1945 (L, 18-16). The series dates back to 1923, an 8-6 Iowa win. The teams had met every year from 1934-2010 before being omitted from the schedule in 2011. Wisconsin head coach Barry Davis is a 1985 graduate of the University of Iowa. He is one of six Big Ten coaches to graduate from Iowa. Davis was a four-time All-American at Iowa and won three NCAA championships for the Hawkeyes (1982, 1983, 1985). His wife, Nan, won the 1985 NCAA title in the 10,000 meters while competing for the Hawkeyes.

BRANDS AND DAVIS ARE 1-2
Wisconsin head coach Barry Davis and Iowa head coach Tom Brands rank 1-2 on Iowa’s all-time wins list. Davis won 162 matches from 1981-85, and Brands won 158 from 1988-92. Both wrestlers were four-time All-Americans and three-time NCAA champions.

ON THE HEELS OF HISTORY
Iowa recorded the largest margin of victory against a Big Ten opponent in school history its last time out against Northwestern on Jan. 10. The Hawkeyes scored bonus points in nine matches — including five pins and a technical fall — to win 54-0, topping the previous mark of 53-0 against Illinois in 1992. The 54 points scored are the most against a Big Ten team in program history, and the 54-0 win is the largest win in series history (50-0, 1979).

STREAKING THROUGH THE BIG TEN
The Hawkeyes have won 16 consecutive Big Ten duals. Their last loss was a 19-15 at home against Minnesota on Jan. 25, 2014. Iowa has won 15 straight conference road duals. The Hawkeyes last road defeat was Jan. 22, 2012 at Penn State (22-12). Iowa is 4-0 in the Big Ten for the seventh time since 2006-07, Tom Brands first season as head coach. The Hawkeyes have started 5-0 six times, and each time they went on to finish with an undefeated conference record while winning the Big Ten regular season dual title (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015). The Hawkeyes have won or shared seven of the last eight Big Ten dual championships, and have won or shared the regular season title eight times since the conference started recognizing a dual meet champion in 1999. Iowa won the title outright in 2000, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2015, and shared the title in 2003 and 2014.

HAWKEYES HIT CAREER LONGS
Junior Thomas Gilman, sophomore , and senior Nathan Burak are all riding career best winning streaks. All three wrestlers are undefeated this season. Sorensen has won 16 straight to open the season. He is 12-0 all-time in Big Ten duals. Burak has won 14 straight to open the season, and 15 in a row dating back to his seventh place match at the NCAA Championships. His previous career-long win streak was 13, set in the first 13 matches of 2014-15. Gilman has won 14 in a row to open the season. He has won his last 13 Big Ten duals.

A LITTLE EXTRA
Junior Thomas Gilman has delivered bonus points in 13 of 15 matches of the season. Gilman, ranked No. 2 at 125, has three technical falls, three major decisions, and six pins. His 53 dual points scored lead the team. Gilman has six falls this season, tying redshirt freshman Sam Stoll for the team lead. The six pins are a single-season career high. He pinned five opponents in 2014-15.

FALLS BIG AND SMALL
Junior 125-pounder Thomas Gilman and redshirt freshman 285-pounder Sam Stoll share the team lead with six pins. Five of Gilman’s six falls have occurred in the first period, with his quickest coming in 56 seconds. The six falls are a new career high, he had five pins in 2014-15. Four of Stoll’s first five career wins came via fall, three in the first period. His fifth fall came at the 6:42 mark in the consolation semifinals at the Midlands Championships and eventually set him up for a third place finish. He pinned his last opponent in 3:46. Stoll finished his high school career with a national record 63 consecutive pins. He pinned every opponent he faced his senior season. As a true freshman in 2014-15, Stoll was 18-5 with 11 pins competing unattached.

ANOTHER RANKED FOE
Junior Cory Clark‘s 12-1 record includes a 3-1 mark against ranked opponents. Clark defeated No. 7 Earl Hall of Iowa State, 9-2, on Nov. 29, earned a decision against No. 15 Brance Simms of SDSU on Dec. 4, and scored a major decision over Rutgers’ No. 17 Anthony Giraldo on Dec. 10. He lost for the first time this season Jan. 8 to Illinois’ No. 7 Zane Richards, 5-3. Clark is 26-10 all-time and has won eight of his last 10 matches against ranked opponents. Clark and Wisconsin’s Ryan Taylor met twice in 2014 while competing at 125 pounds. Clark pinned Taylor at Wisconsin in 2:03, but lost a 9-5 decision one week later at the Big Ten Championships (also at Wisconsin). Both wrestlers bumped up a weight class in 2014-15 and both earned All-America honors (Clark placed second, Taylor placed seventh). Friday is their first meeting at 133 pounds.

BATTLE TESTED AT 149
Sophomore Brandon Sorensen is 16-0 with five major decisions, three technical falls, and two pins at arguable the toughest weight class in the Big Ten. According to Intermat rankings, five of the top six wrestlers in the country are in the Big Ten. Sorensen is ranked No. 2 by Intermat, one spot behind Penn State’s Zain Retherford, and ahead of Northwestern’s Jason Tsirtsis (4), Nebraska’s Jake Sueflohn (5), and Michigan’s Alex Pantaleo (6). Sorensen has two wins this season against Tsirtsis, and one win against Sueflohn. He’ll meet the Nebraska senior at least one more time on Jan. 24. Two more Big Ten wrestlers crack the top 12, including Minnesota’s Jake Short (9) and Ohio State’s Hunter Steiber (12). Sorensen is 10-2 all-time against the Big Ten’s best. He’s never faced Retherford. Sorensen’s 16 wins are a team high. He has five wins over ranked opponents this season, including No. 12 Anthony Collica (OKST), 6-1; No. 16 Gabe Moreno (ISU), 11-3; No. 7 Jake Sueflohn (NEB), 7-4; and No. 3 Jason Tsirtsis (NW), 3-1; MFF. Sorensen has one career meeting against Wisconsin’s Andrew Crone. He defeated Crone, 6-4, in sudden victory in the opening round of the 2013 Midlands Championship.

BURAK RETURNS TOP 3
Senior Nathan Burak is ranked No. 3 by Intermat for the second week in a row. It is the second time in his career he cracked the top three. He spent one week ranked No. 3 in January 2015 before falling to Minnesota’s sixth-ranked Scott Schiller. Burak is 14-0 for the first time in his career. He started 13-0 last season. He has eight wins by bonus points, including four major decisions, two technical falls, and two falls. The two technical falls are a single-season career high, and the two falls match his single-season career high.

ALL-AMERICAN DOMINANCE
Iowa’s four returning All-Americans — Thomas Gilman (125), Cory Clark (133), (149), and Nathan Burak (197) — are a combined 56-1 with 39 wins by bonus points. Gilman, Sorensen, and Burak each won their respective brackets at the 2015 Midlands. Clark was 3-0 before withdrawing prior to the semifinals. The group is 15-1 against top 20 wrestlers, with two technical falls and three major decisions.

DUAL POINTS RACE
Junior Thomas Gilman has scored 53 of a possible 60 points in 10 duals. He leads Sammy Brooks by one point for most dual points scored on the team. Brooks has 52 of a possible 60 points in 10 duals. Redshirt freshman Sam Stoll is third with 48. Stoll and Gilman share the team lead with six falls, while Brooks is tied for second with five (Cory Clark).

DOMINANT SINCE NO. 1
Gary Kurdelmeier led Iowa to its first NCAA Championship in 1975, and in the 41 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), Ohio State (1) and Arizona State (1).

ALL-AMERICAN STREAK
Iowa returns four All-Americans this year — Thomas Gilman (125), Cory Clark (133), (149), and Nathan Burak (197). The Hawkeyes had a tournament-high six All-Americans in 2015. Mike Evans (6th/174) and Bobby Telford (5th/285) won All-America honors for the third time, Nathan Burak (7th/197) and Cory Clark (2nd/133) became two-time All-Americans, and Thomas Gilman (4th/125) and (4th/149) are first-time All-Americans. The Hawkeyes crowned at least one All-American for the 44th consecutive season, a stretch dating back to 1972. Iowa has totaled 267 All-America honors during that stretch.

CLARK EXTENDS RUN TO 26
Sophomore Cory Clark advanced to the finals at 133 pounds in 2015 to extend Iowa’s streak of NCAA finalists to 26 consecutive years. Iowa has had at least one wrestler in the national finals every year since 1990, and in 40 of the last 41 seasons dating back to 1975.

HAWKEYE WRESTLING HISTORY
Iowa’s overall dual meet record is 966-225-31 (.799) in 104 seasons. The Hawkeyes have won 23 national titles and 35 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’ 109 Big Ten champions have combined for 195 conference titles. There have been seven four-time, 18 three-time, and 29 two-time Iowa winners. Iowa’s 152 All-Americans have earned All-America status 313 times, including 18 four-time, 34 three-time and 40 two-time honorees.

IOWA ON THE AIR
Iowa wrestling events are broadcast by KXIC and streamed online at Hawkeye All-Access throughout the 2015-16 season. Steven Grace and Mark Ironside will call the action for Hawkeye Sports Properties, a property of Learfield Sports.

TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets to the 2016 Big Ten Championships hosted by the University of Iowa go on sale Tuesday, Jan. 19. Single dual tickets for Iowa’s remaining three conference duals are also available for purchase. Tickets are $12 for duals against Purdue (Jan. 22), and Indiana (Feb. 5), and $15 for the Minnesota dual (Jan. 29). Youth tickets (18 and younger) are $10 for the Minnesota dual, and $8 for other duals. Iowa will host the National Duals on one of two dates yet to be determined (Feb. 21 or Feb. 22). Visit hawkeyesports.com or call the UI Athletics Ticket Office at 1-800-IA-HAWKS for ticket information.