Match Notes: Iowa at Minnesota

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ON THE MAT
The fourth-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team competes at No. 8 Minnesota on Sunday at 12 p.m. (CT) at Maturi Pavilion. 

WHERE TO WATCH
Sunday’s dual is televised by BTN. Tim Johnson, Jim Gibbons, and Shane Sparks will call the action.

THE SERIES — MINNESOTA
Sunday’s dual is the 104th meeting between Minnesota and Iowa. The schools first met in 1921, a 39-3 Iowa victory in Iowa City. 
    The Hawkeyes lead the all-time series 74-28-1. Iowa has won four straight in the series. Minnesota’s last win in the series was 19-15 on Jan. 25, 2014, in Iowa City. 
    Iowa is 32-10-1 all-time at Minnesota and has won its last two trips to Minneapolis, including a 23-12 win in 2015, and a 27-11 win in 2017.
    The schools have met 16 times since 2006-07, Tom Brands’ first season as Iowa’s head coach. The Hawkeyes own a 12-4 advantage during that stretch. 

MOVING UP THE RANKINGS
Sophomore Kaleb Young and redshirt freshman Jacob Warner continue to ascend the rankings. 
    Young opened the season ranked 15th in the country by Intermat and has climbed to No. 5 entering Sunday’s dual at Minnesota. Young is 11-1 with three pins, three technical falls, and a major decision. He has wins over No. 14 Griffin Parriott (Pin 3:37), No. 15 Josh Humphreys (4-1), and No. 16 Luke Weiland (15-0). He was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week following his win over Parriott.  
    Warner opened the season ranked No. 13 by Intermat, but is ranked No. 6 heading into this weekend. He is 6-2 this year with a 5-4 decision over No. 5 Willie Miklus. 

MARINELLI CLIMBS TO NO. 2
Sophomore Alex Marinelli climbed to No. 2 in the national rankings following his Midlands Championship on Dec. 30. Marenilli defeated Evan Wick, 4-3, in the 165-pound Midlands finals. It was his second straight Midlands title. He was 5-0 in the tournament with wins over Wick, No. 5 Joshua Shields (4-1), and No. 19 Jonathan Viruet (8-6 SV1). The No. 2 ranking matches his career best. He was ranked No. 2 the final two weeks of the 2018 regular season. 

NEXT MAN IN
Fourteen Hawkeyes have at least one dual win this season. Iowa 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).
    Starters Spencer Lee (125) and Pat Lugo (149) have missed one dual this season. 
    In their absence, Carter Happel, Myles Wilson, Connor Corbin, Mitch Bowman, and Aaron Costello have picked up wins for Iowa.
    Happel bumped up a weight class and shut out Parker Filius of Purdue, 2-0, at 149. 
    Bowman, a national qualifier at 184 in 2018, has two wins at 174 and two at 197. He opened the season filling in at 197, earning a 6-2 decision in the season opener, and later a 7-5 win over No. 11 Christian Brunner of Purdue. When Kemerer was ruled out for the season, and Wilson medically forfeited against Iowa State, Bowman began a cut to 174. He debuted at 174 at Midlands, going 2-2 overall. Jeremiah Moody has also wrestled at 174 for Iowa (0-1). 
    Costello has posted a 6-4 mark at heavyweight. He has appeared in five of Iowa’s six duals (3-2). 
    Corbin and Wilson also have dual wins. Corbin is 1-1 at 197, and Wilson is 2-3 at 174.

HAWKEYES CROWN 2 MIDLANDS CHAMPIONS
Sophomores Austin DeSanto and Alex Marinelli won individual titles to help Iowa capture the team race at the 56th Ken Kraft Midlands Championships on Dec. 30.
    Iowa scored 184 points to win its 28th Midlands title, 10 of which have been led by head coach Tom Brands. Northern Iowa followed the Hawkeyes with 119.5 points, Northwestern came in third with 110 points and Wisconsin followed in fourth with 97.5 points. 
    The second-seeded DeSanto grabbed his first Midlands title, winning the 133-pound bracket with a 15-5 major decision over the fourth seed. DeSanto scored 28.5 team points in the tournament, more than any other wrestler in the tournament. 
    Second-seeded Alex Marinelli earned his second Midlands title in as many seasons, defeating the No. 1 seed Evan Wick, 4-3, in the 165-pound finals. 

A LITTLE EXTRA ON TOP
Sophomore Spencer Lee opened the season with nine straight wins before falling to then-No. 2 Sebastian Rivera in the Midlands 125-pound finals. The loss snapped Lee’s career long 16 match winning streak.
    Lee is 9-1 overall with eight bonus-point victories. He leads the team with six technical falls. He has one major decision and one pin (2:34). 
    Lee is 10-3 all-time against top 10 opponents. Among those 10 wins, he has three technical falls, two pins, and one major decision. 
    Minnesota’s Sean Russell is ranked No. 6 by Intermat. Lee won by a 15-0 technical fall in his only career meeting with Russell (2017 Midlands).

TOP OF THE BATTING ORDER
Iowa’s 1-2-3 punch at the top of the lineup has combined for a 28-4 record with 21 bonus point victories. 
    Sophomore Spencer Lee, the nation’s second-ranked 125-pounder, is 9-1 with a team-high six technical falls, one pin, and one major decision.
    Sophomore Austin DeSanto is 10-1 with three major decisions, two technical falls, and two falls. DeSanto is ranked 10th nationally at 133, and has three wins over ranked opponents. 
    Murin is ranked No. 15 at 141. He is 9-2 with three major decisions and three falls.