Match Notes: Nebraska

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IOWA vs. NEBRASKA
DATE  Saturday, Dec. 18 | 8:03 p.m. CT
LOCATION  Iowa City, Iowa | Carver-Hawkeye Arena
TV  BTN
LISTEN  Hawkeye All-Access | KXIC
TICKETS  hawkeyesports.com
LIVE UPDATES  @Hawks_Wrestling

ON THE MAT
The University of Iowa wrestling team hosts No. 7 Nebraska on Saturday at  8:03 p.m. (CT) at Carver-Hawkeyes Arena.  Tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for youth 18-years old and younger. Children five-years old and under and UI Students are admitted free to all matches.

THE SERIES — NEBRASKA
Iowa leads the all-time series 32-10-1 and has won the last 10 meetings overall. The Hawkeyes are 14-3 all-time against the Huskers in Iowa City and won the most recent meeting in Iowa City, 27-9, in 2017.
Nebraska’s last win in the series was a 24-13 victory at the National Duals on Nov. 19, 2005. The Huskers’ last win in Iowa City was in 1937, 15.5-14.5.

#SORENSENSTRONG
The wrestling program will distribute #SorensenStrong bandanas to the first 3,000 fans through the doors of Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Jan. 18. The #SorensenStrong bandanas are a symbol of support for former All-American Brandon Sorensen, who is battling acute lymphoblastic leukemia.  For mor information about the headbands, visit SorensenStrong.org.

LUGO CLIMBS TO NO. 1
Senior Pat Lugo climbed to the top spot of the 149-pound rankings Jan. 7 following the Midlands Championships on Dec. 29-30.
Lugo won the 149-pound title, going 6-0 and using one pin, one technical fall, and two major decisions to reach the semifinals. He defeated No. 7 Max Thomsen, 3-2, in the semis, and defeated top-ranked Austin O’Conner, 8-4, in the finals.
Lugo is 12-0 this season with five wins over ranked opponents, including three in the top seven. He is 17-9 all-time against ranked opponents.
The No. 1 billing is the first of Lugo’s career. He has spent all season in the top 5 after finishing the 2019 season with an eighth-place All-America finish. Prior to the 2019 national tournament, Lugo had not been ranked higher than 10th.

FORCEFUL-LEE
Junior Spencer Lee enters Saturday’s dual ranked No. 1 at 125 with a 8-0 record. Lee has scored bonus points in each match, winning once by major decision, twice by fall, and five times by technical fall.
Only four times this season has Lee wrestled into the second period. His two pins are both in under a minute, 0:54 and 0:52. He has two first-period technical falls, and the other three were in 3:13, 3:32, and 3:16.

ANOTHER TOP 10 AT 184
Freshman Abe Assad is ranked ninth in the nation in the Jan. 14 Track Wrestling rankings. Assad is the third Hawkeye this year to crack the top 10 at 184 pounds.
Senior Cash Wilcke opened the season ranked ninth, and was ranked 10th in the Jan. 7 poll. Redshirt freshman Nelson Brands was ranked ninth in the Dec. 3 poll, and 10th in the Dec. 17 poll.
The Hawkeyes 184-pounders have a combined record of 32-8. Assad is 17-3 overall, recording a runner-up finish at the 2019 Midlands Championships. He made his Hawkeye debut with a 6-2 win at Indiana on Jan. 10.
Wilcke is 11-2 overall and placed third at Midlands. Brands is 4-3 overall with one win over a top 10 opponent, No. 7 Sam Colbray of Iowa State (4-2 SV1).

BIG TEN & 0
Junior Spencer Lee (16-0), junior Austin DeSanto (10-0), junior Alex Marinelli (20-0), freshman Abe Assad (2-0), and redshirt freshman Tony Cassioppi (3-0) are all undefeated in their careers in Big Ten duals.
Among Lee’s 16 Big Ten dual wins are seven falls, five in the first period, five technical falls, and one major decision.
Junior Michael Kemerer has a career mark of 19-1 in Big Ten duals, and senior Pat Lugo is 10-1 in his career in Big Ten duals.

HOME SWEET HOME
Spencer Lee, Alex Marinelli, and Jacob Warner are undefeated in their careers at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Marinelli is 14-0 all-time at Carver. Lee owns a record of 13-0. Warner is undefeated in six home matches.
In Lee’s 14 home wins, he has four pins, six technical falls, and two major decisions. Four of the wins are against top 10 opponents.
Among Marinelli’s 14 wins, he has five pins, three technical falls, and one major decision.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
Saturday’s dual begins a stretch of three duals in 14 days against three of the top seven teams in the country. Nebraska is ranked No. 7 in the NWCA Coaches Poll. No. 4 Ohio State visits Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Jan. 24, and No. 2 Penn State is in Iowa City on Jan. 31. Those three teams have a combined record of 15-3. All three duals are televised on BTN.
The Hawkeyes close the regular season hosting No. 11 Minnesota on Feb. 15, and No. 9 Oklahoma State on Feb. 23. Those duals are also televised on BTN.

 

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