Jan. 19, 2016
- IowaCitytoRio.com
- 2016 Olympic Trails at Carver-Hawkeye Arena
- Read the January issue of Hawk Talk Monthly
- Big Ten Network: Free Hawkeye Video
- 24 Hawkeyes to Watch
ON THE MAT
The University of Iowa wrestling team hosts No. 20 Purdue on Friday at 8 p.m. (CT) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes travel to Lincoln, Nebraska, to face the 11th-ranked Cornhuskers on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Devaney Sports Center. Both duals are streamed live on BTN Plus.
SCHEDULE NOTE
The Iowa-Purdue dual was originally scheduled for 7 p.m. (CT) but has been rescheduled for 8 p.m. to accommodate a special wrestle-off for the United States women’s freestyle team. Four freestyle matches will be contested beginning at 6:30 p.m. at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The special wrestle-off is included with procurement of Iowa-Purdue dual ticket.
IOWA VS. PURDUE
Iowa leads the all-time series, 39-4-3, and has won the last 27 meetings. Iowa is 19-1-2 all-time at home against the Boilermakers. Purdue hasn’t won in Iowa City since a 23-9 victory in 1961. Purdue head coach Tony Ersland is a 1997 graduate of the University of Iowa. He is one of six Big Ten coaches to graduate from Iowa. He was a part of three NCAA championship teams from 1995-97.
IOWA VS. NEBRASKA
Iowa leads the all-time series, 29-10-2 and have won the last seven meetings overall and the last four meetings in Lincoln. The Hawkeyes are 12-6-2 all-time in Lincoln. The Hawkeyes haven’t lost in Lincoln since 1993 (24-20).
IOWA VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
Iowa is 4-0 against ranked opponents, with two wins at home and two on the road. Individually, Iowa’s probable lineup is 26-19 against ranked opponents. Three Hawkeyes are undefeated against ranked opponents. They include Thomas Gilman (4-0), Brandon Sorensen (5-2), and Nathan Burak (2-0).
STREAKING THROUGH THE BIG TEN
The Hawkeyes are 5-0 in the Big Ten, and 41-9 in individual conference matches. The Hawkeyes have won 17 consecutive Big Ten duals. Their last loss was at home against Minnesota (19-15) on Jan. 25, 2014. Iowa has won 16 straight conference road duals. The Hawkeyes last road defeat was Jan. 22, 2012, at Penn State (22-12). Iowa is 5-0 in the Big Ten for the seventh time since 2006-07, Tom Brands‘ first season as head coach. The Hawkeyes have started 6-0 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 Brandon Sorensen, and senior Nathan Burak are all riding career-best winning streaks. All three wrestlers are undefeated this season. Sorensen has won 17 straight to open the season. He is 13-0 all-time in Big Ten duals. Burak has won 15 straight to open the season, and 16 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 15 in a row to open the season. He has won his last 14 Big Ten duals.
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A LITTLE EXTRA
Junior Thomas Gilman has delivered bonus points in 14 of 16 matches of the season. Gilman, ranked No. 2 at 125, has six pins, four technical falls, and three major decisions. His 58 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 13-1 record includes a 4-1 mark against ranked opponents. He’ll face his sixth ranked opponent Sunday at Nebraska. The Huskers’ Eric Montoya is ranked 14th. Sunday is the first career meeting between the two. 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, scored a major decision over Rutgers’ No. 17 Anthony Giraldo on Dec. 10, and won by 7-3 decision against Wisconsin’s No. 7 Ryan Taylor. He lost for the first time this season Jan. 8 to Illinois’ No. 7 Zane Richards, 5-3. Clark is 27-10 all-time and has won nine of his last 11 matches against ranked opponents.
GROTHUS RETURNS TO PROBABLE LINEUP
Senior Brody Grothus is in the probable lineup for the first time in nearly 13 months, and for the first time in his career at 141 pounds. He shared the lineup spot with Topher Carton, who has started the last four duals and is 3-1 in the Big Ten. Grothus suffered an injury at the 2014 Midlands Championships and missed the remainder of the 2014-15 season. Grothus returned to the mat Jan. 9 at the Pat Flanagan Open and went 1-2 at 141 pounds. He is the fourth Hawkeye to toe the probable lineup spot at 141 pounds, joining Carton, Logan Ryan, who started six of Iowa’s first seven duals (2-4), and Jake Kadel (1-0). Grothus hasn’t appeared in a conference dual meet since Dec. 6, 2014, when he recorded a technical fall against Michigan State.
BATTLE TESTED AT 149
For the third time this season, sophomore Brandon Sorensen has a top five opponent on his schedule. Nebraska’s Jake Sueflohn is ranked fifth by Intermat. Sorensen has two wins this season over No. 3 Jason Tsirtsis. He defeated Sueflohn 7-4 at the Midlands semifinals when Sueflohn was ranked seventh. Sorensen is 17-0 overall 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), Sueflohn (5), and Michigan’s Alex Pantaleo (6). 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 top rated wrestlers. He has never faced Retherford. Sorensen’s 17 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.
BURAK RETURNS TOP 3
Senior Nathan Burak is ranked No. 3 by Intermat for the third 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 15-0 for the first time in his career. He started 13-0 last season. He has nine wins by bonus points, including five 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), Brandon Sorensen (149), and Nathan Burak (197) — are a combined 60-1 with 41 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 16-1 against top 20 wrestlers, with two technical falls and three major decisions.
DUAL DOMINANT
Junior Thomas Gilman has scored 58 of a possible 66 points in 11 duals. He leads Sammy Brooks by two points for most dual points scored on the team. Brooks has 56 dual points. He has two major decisions, one technical fall, and five pins. Redshirt freshman Sam Stoll is third with 51 points. Stoll and Gilman share the team lead with six falls, while Brooks is tied for second with five (Cory Clark).
54-0 IS A PROGRAM RECORD
Iowa recorded the largest margin of victory against a Big Ten opponent in school history on Jan. 10 at Northwestern. 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).
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), Brandon Sorensen (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 Brandon Sorensen (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 967-225-31 (.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.
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets to the 2016 Big Ten Championships hosted by the University of Iowa went 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.
