Match Notes: Iowa vs. Illinois

THE SERIES — ILLINOIS
Iowa leads the all-time series 52-26-1 and has won the last nine meetings. The Hawkeyes won the last meeting, 31-8, on Jan. 25, 2019, in Champaign.  Iowa is 23-9-1 at home in the all-time series. Illinois has not won in Iowa City since Feb. 10, 2006 (24-13). That was the Illini’s last win in the series. Iowa head coach Tom Brands is 9-0 all-time against Illinois.

WINNING STREAK
Iowa has won 15 straight overall and 20 consecutive Big Ten duals. Iowa has won 17 straight at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.  The Hawkeyes’ 15-dual winning streak is the second longest active streak in the country behind North Carolina State (21). Iowa’s Big Ten winning streak is its longest since winning 24 straight from 2014-17. Iowa’s 17-dual winning streak at Carver-Hawkeye Arena is its longest since winning 38 straight from 2008-12. The Hawkeyes’ last loss at Carver-Hawkeye Arena was Jan. 27, 2018 (19-17 versus No. 7 Michigan).

EXTRA MATCHES
Iowa and Illinois will wrestle “extra” matches beginning at 9 a.m. (CT). Those matches will be streamed on BTN Plus. Matchups will be announced when available.

HOME SWEET HOME
Top-ranked Spencer Lee is 19-0 all-time at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. In Lee’s 19 home wins, he has five pins, eight technical falls and three major decisions. Five of the wins are against top 10 opponents.

TOP HEAVY
Iowa has 10 wrestlers ranked in the top eight of the national polls, more than any other school.
The Hawkeyes have three wrestlers ranked at the top of their respective weight class. Spencer Lee (125), Jaydin Eierman (141) and Michael Kemerer (174) are all ranked No. 1. No other school has more than one wrestler ranked No. 1 or better.

QUICK WORK
Top-ranked Spencer Lee has outscored his opponents 20-0 in three minutes and 14 seconds of mat time. Lee opened the season with a fall in one minute, 21 seconds, and ended his last match with a fall in one minute, 53 seconds. He led 6-0 in his first match and 14-0 in his second match before securing the pins.
Since the start of the 2019-20 season, Lee has outscored his 20 opponents 254-18.

TOP 10 MATCHUP — 149 POUNDS
Fifth-ranked Max Murin faces No. 8 Michael Carr. It is the fourth matchup between the two, but the first at 149 pounds. Murin holds a 2-1 advantage in three previous meetings, all at 141. He defeated Carr, 3-1, as a true freshman at the 2016 Midlands and won the most recent meeting, 3-1, at the 2019 Big Ten Championships. Carr’s lone win was a 6-3 decision at Illinois in a 2019 dual. Murin is 2-0 this year with two ranked wins. He is 14-12 all-time against ranked opponents. Carr is 3-1 overall in 2021.

TOP 10 MATCHUP — 285 POUNDS
No. 3 Tony Cassioppi faces No. 5 Luke Loffman. Cassioppi in the first career meeting between the two.
Cassioppi is 1-1 this year with one ranked win and a loss to No. 1 Gable Steveson. Loffman is 4-0 with a pair of wins over ranked opponents. Cassioppi is 10-4 all-time against ranked opponents, with three losses to Steveson and a third to Michigan’s Mason Paris.

NEW KID IN TOWN
Senior Jaydin Eierman is 2-0 in his young career as a Hawkeye. Eierman won by 8-4 decision against No. 7 Chad Red on Jan. 15 in his Hawkeye debut. He improved to 27-12 all-time against ranked opponents. He defeated Marco Polanco by 22-9 major decision Jan. 22 at Minnesota. Eierman transferred to Iowa in 2020 from the University of Missouri, where he was a three-time All-American. Eierman placed fifth at the NCAA Championships as a freshman, fourth as a sophomore and third as a junior in 2019. He used an Olympic redshirt in 2019-20. Eierman has a career record of 91-11. He was the 2019 MAC Wrestler of the Year and 2017 MAC Freshman of the Year.

HAWKEYES AND CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA
Iowa is 113-12 (.904) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena since Tom Brands took over the program prior to 2006-07. The Hawkeyes are 263-25 (.913) all-time at Carver-Hawkeye Arena since moving from the UI Field House in 1983. Iowa was 7-0 at home in 2019-20, completing its 22nd undefeated season in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

LEE EARNS BIG TEN WEEKLY HONORS
Senior Spencer Lee was recognized on consecutive weeks as Big Ten Co-Wrestler of the Week. Le first earned the honor on Jan. 19. Lee after opening the 2021 season with a first-period fall against Indiana’s 11th-ranked Liam Cronin on Jan. 15. Lee led 6-0 before securing the fall in one minute, 21 seconds. Lee was honored one week later after pinning Minnesota’s ninth-ranked Mitch McKee in 1:53. Lee led 14-0 before securing that fall. The pins were No. 22 and 23 of Lee’s career, his 17th and 18th in the first period.

LAST MEETING — Jan. 25, 2019 (Huff Hall)
#4 IOWA 31, #20 Illinois 8
125 — #2 Spencer Lee (IA) pinned #15 Travis Piotrowski (ILL), 6:06; 6-0
133 – Paul Glynn (IA) dec. #17 Dylan Duncan (ILL), 3-1 SV1; 9-0
141 — #4 Mike Carr (ILL) dec. #15 Max Murin (IA), 6-3; 9-3
149 — #13 Pat Lugo (IA) major dec. Mousa Jodeh (ILL), 14-4; 13-3
157 — #12 Eric Barone (ILL) dec. #5 Kaleb Young (IA), 3-1 SV1; 13-5*
165 — #2 Alex Marinelli (IA) winner by stalling disqualification Joey Gunther (ILL), 9-3; 19-5
174 — Keegan Shaw (IA) dec. Nick Gasbarro (ILL), 6-2; 22-5
184 — #2 Emery Parker (ILL) dec. #14 Cash Wilcke (IA), 4-1; 22-8
197 — #6 Jacob Warner (IA) dec. Andre Lee (ILL), 5-1; 25-8
285 — #3 Sam Stoll (IA) pinned Deuce Rachal (ILL), 4:37; 31-8