Hawk Talk Monthly — November | Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | I-Club Events Page | 24 Hawkeyes to Watch 2018-19 | Hawk Talk Daily | Match Notes
| #3 IOWA vs. #14 PURDUE |
| DATE | Saturday, Nov. 24 | 12:03 p.m. CT |
| LOCATION | Iowa City, Iowa | Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,077) |
| TICKETS | hawkeyesports.com |
| RADIO | LISTEN | Hawkeye Radio Network | Hawkeye All-Access |
| TELEVISION | BTN (BTN Plus) |
| LIVE UPDATES | @IowaWRLive |
ON THE MAT
The third-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team hosts Purdue at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday at 12 p.m. (CT) in its 2018-19 Big Ten opener. Admission is $12 for adults and $8 for youth. Children five-years-old and younger and UI students are admitted free.
IOWA VS. PURDUE
Iowa leads the all-time series 41-4-3 and has won the last 29 meetings. The teams battled to a 14-14 tie in 1966, the last time Iowa walked away without a win.
The Hawkeyes are 21-1-2 all-time against the Boilermakers in Iowa City. Purdue’s only win in Iowa City was a 23-9 victory in 1961. That dual was their last win in the series. The Boilermakers have never won inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
IOWA COACHING TREE
Purdue head coach Tony Ersland is one of five Big Ten coaches to graduate from Iowa (Tom Brands, Iowa; Tony Ersland, Purdue; Duane Goldman, Indiana; Jim Heffernan, Illinois; Tom Ryan, Ohio State). Ersland was part of three NCAA championship teams from 1995-97.
BIG TEN OPENERS
Iowa has won 20 straight conference openers, including 12 in a row under head coach Tom Brands. Iowa’s last loss in a Big Ten opener was a 25-17 defeat to Penn State to open the 1997-98 conference season.
TOP OF THE BATTING ORDER
Iowa’s 1-2-3 punch at the top of the lineup has combined for a 9-0 record with eight bonus point victories.
Sophomore Spencer Lee, the nation’s top-ranked 125-pounder, is 3-0 with three technical falls. Lee has been on the mat a combined seven minutes, 28 seconds, and has outscored his opponents 54-2.
Sophomore Austin DeSanto is 3-0 with one technical fall and one pin at 133. DeSanto is ranked 10th nationally, and has one win over a ranked opponent (22-6 tech. fall over No. 18 Sean Nickell).
Murin is ranked No. 16 at 141. He is the highest rated (redshirt) freshman on the board. He is 3-0 with one major decision and two pins.
BEHIND THE SCENES
The Hawkeyes have won seven individual tournament titles in 2018-19. Freshmen Nelson Brands (165) and Tony Cassioppi (285), and sophomore Justin Stickley (141) won titles at the Grand View Open on Nov. 10. Brands, Cassioppi, junior Vince Turk (141), and redshirt freshman Zach Axmear (149) won championships Nov. 17 at the Lindenwood Open.
Cassioppi is 8-0 with seven falls and one major decision. Six of his seven pins have been in the first period. Brands is 8-0 with one fall, one major decision, and two technical falls.
A LITTLE EXTRA ON TOP
Sophomore Spencer Lee has a team-high 10-match winning streak. It is a career-long for Lee. He had a nine-match winning streak in 2017-18. The 10-match streak includes nine bonus point victories (one major decision, six technical falls, two pins), eight wins over ranked opponents, and a decision in the 2018 NCAA finals.
HELLO, MY NAME IS:
Iowa has opened the season with three projected starters on the bench, including redshirt freshman Jacob Warner (197) and All-Americans Michael Kemerer (174) and Sam Stoll (285).
Their lineup spots have been filled by three redshirt freshmen. Aaron Costello is undefeated in three decisions at 285. Myles Wilson is 2-1 at 174 with a major decision, and Connor Corbin is 1-1 at 197. Senior Mitch Bowman has also wrestled a match at 197. Bowman bumped up a weight class in the season opener and registers a 6-2 decision.
Warner is listed in the probable lineup against Purdue. If he wrestles, it would be his collegiate debut. Warner was 15-6 wrestling unattached last season. He lost to Purdue’s Christian Brunner, 9-6, at the 2017 Midlands.
TOP 10 PERFORMERS
The Hawkeyes have a ranked wrestler at each weight class, and five wrestlers ranked in the Intermat top 10. Sixth-ranked Michael Kemerer (174) and top-ranked Sam Stoll (285) have yet to wrestle in 2018-19, while Spencer Lee (No. 1, 125), Austin DeSanto (No. 10, 133), and Alex Marinelli (No. 4, 165), have combined for nine wins in as many matches, with eight bonus-point victories.
Marinelli, a sixth-place finisher at the 2018 NCAA Championships, is 3-0 with a major decision and two falls. Lee has three wins by technical fall and DeSanto has wins by decision, technical fall, and pin.
