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IOWA CITY, Iowa — The third-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team won seven-of-10 matches to defeat No. 6 Nebraska, 27-9, on Sunday afternoon at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
After splitting the first two matches, Iowa won six in a row to clinch the dual and top the Huskers for the ninth straight time.
“That was a good Nebraska team that came into Carver today,” said UI head coach Tom Brands. “They came for blood. They didn’t put their best team out there on the mat (today) but they came for blood and you saw it. It thought we responded well.”
The dual featured three bouts pitting top five opponents, and the Hawkeyes came out on top of two of the three. Top-ranked Thomas Gilman recorded the only three takedowns of the 125-pound match and defeated No. 5 Tim Lambert, 6-3; and second-ranked Michael Kemerer made a first-period takedown standup in his 3-2 win over third-ranked Tyler Berger at 157.
Gilman’s win was his 23rd straight, a new career-high, and Kemerer’s win was his fifth over a top 10 opponent this season, and his second win over Berger.
“We had a lot of fun scrambles and you want to avoid those,” Kemerer said. “When you have a shot you want to finish it and start working on your top stuff. I got him on that first shot and finished clean right away, but I want to score more than one takedown so I still have to focus on finishing those shots clean. Overall I thought it was a good win. Now it’s time to move on.”
The Huskers’ top-five win came at 133, where No. 5 Eric Montoya defeated fourth-ranked Cory Clark, 9-6. Montoya reversed Clark in the final minute to take a 5-4 lead and added four nearfall to win for the first time in three meetings between the two. The Nebraska decision temporarily tied the dual, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Montoya gave Iowa a 3-2 advantage and the Hawkeyes extended the gap from there.
Joey Gunther won 4-1 at 165; Brandon Sorensen (149), Alex Meyer (174), and Sammy Brooks (184) won by major decision, technical fall, and pin — in that order — and Topher Carton won for the first time over a top 10 opponent at 141. Carton, ranked 18th, used a third-period escape and takedown to defeat No. 10 Colton McCrystal, 6-4.
“It’s always good to win, especially in front of the Carver crowd, but I I need to do more,” said Carton, who was one of four Hawkeyes to win on Senior Day. “I need to widen the gap. You know, one more takedown and you never know what it can do to somebody’s psychological edge. It was good to get out there and compete and win, but I need to do it more.”
Brooks’ pin at 184 gave Iowa a 27-2 lead, and a major decision by Nebraska at 197 and a decision at 285 made the final score 27-9.
The Hawkeyes close the regular season with a 12-2 record overall, 8-1 in the Big Ten. The postseason begins next weekend against an opponent yet to be determined. The NWCA will announce the National Duals Championships Series schedule Sunday at 9:30 p.m. (CT). The Big Ten Championships follow March 4-5 in Bloomington, Indiana, and the NCAA Championships are March 16-18 in St. Louis.
NOTES: Attendance was 9,830… Iowa recognized seniors Thomas Gilman, Cory Clark, Topher Carton, Alex Meyer, and Sammy Brooks following the dual… Gilman has won a career-high 23 straight matches… Clark lost for just the second time in 34 matches at Carver-Hawkeye Arena… Carton earned his first win over a top 10 opponent… Sorensen has a team-high 10 major decisions… Kemerer has a team-high 24 wins… Meyer’s technical fall was his fourth of the season, tying Brooks and Kemerer for second on the team… Brooks is 20-2 and has scored bonus points in 15 matches.
#3 Iowa 27, #6 Nebraska 9
125 — #1 Thomas Gilman (IA) dec. #5 Tim Lambert (N), 6-3; 3-0
133 — #5 Eric Montoya (N) dec. #4 Cory Clark (IA), 9-6; 3-2*
141 — #18 Topher Carton (IA) dec. #10 Colton McCrystal (N), 6-4; 6-2
149 — #4 Brandon Sorensen (IA) major dec. Collin Purinton (N), 13-5; 10-2
157 — #2 Michael Kemerer (IA) dec. #3 Tyler Berger (N), 3-2; 13-2
165 — #17 Joey Gunther (IA) dec. Dustin Williams (N), 4-1; 16-2
174 — #11 Alex Meyer (IA) tech. fall Eric Engler (N), 17-1; 21-2
184 — #5 Sammy Brooks (IA) pinned Jaquan Sowell (N), 5:46; 27-2
197 — #6 Aaron Studebaker (N) major dec. Cash Wilcke (IA), 12-2; 27-6
285 — #14 Collin Jensen (N) Steven Holloway (IA), 3-1; 32-7
*Nebraska deducted team point for unsportsmanlike conduct after 133 pounds
Team Records:
Iowa: 12-2, 8-1
Nebraska: 12-3, 6-3
