Match Notes: Iowa, Purdue, Ohio State Tri

ON THE MAT
The top-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team wrestles against No. 18 Purdue and No. 11 Ohio State on Sunday in West Lafayette, Indiana. Both duals are at Holloway Gymnasium and both duals are televised on BTN.
The Iowa-Purdue dual begins at 10:31 (CT). The Iowa-Ohio State dual follows at 1:01 p.m.

HAWKEYE HEAD COACHES
All three head coaches are former University of Iowa wrestlers. Iowa’s Tom Brands is a time NCAA Champion (90, 91, 92). Ohio State’s Tom Ryan is a two-time All-American (91, 92). Purdue’s Tony Ersland lettered from 1994-97.

FOLLOW THE HAWKEYES
Sunday’s duals are televised live on BTN and available at FoxSports.com and the Fox Sports mobile app.
Iowa will make eight appearances on BTN this season, including duals against Nebraska, Minnesota, Illinois, Ohio State, Purdue, Penn State and Wisconsin, and the Big Ten Championships at Penn State on March 6-7.

THE SERIES — PURDUE
Iowa leads the all-time series 43-4-3 and has won the last 31 meetings. Including the last meeting, 41-0, on Jan. 12, 2020. The teams battled to a 14-14 tie in 1966, the last time Iowa walked away without a win. That dual was in Iowa City. Purdue’s last win in the series was a 23-9 victory in 1961 in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes are 20-3-1 all-time against the Boilermakers in West Lafayette, Indiana. Purdue has not won a home dual against Iowa since Feb. 27, 1954 (16-10). Iowa head coach Tom Brands is 10-0 all-time against the Boilermakers.

THE SERIES — OHIO STATE
Iowa leads the all-time series against Ohio State, 40-4. The schools split the first four meetings, 2-2, before Iowa rattled off 34 consecutive victories from 1967-2011. Ohio State ended the streak with a 21-9 win in 2012 at Columbus.
The Hawkeyes won the last meeting, 24-10, on Jan. 24 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa is 6-0 all-time against the Buckeyes on a neutral mat. Iowa head coach Tom Brands is 8-2 all-time against Ohio State.

WINNING STREAK
Iowa has won 16 straight overall and 21 consecutive Big Ten duals. The Hawkeyes’ 16-dual winning streak is the second longest active streak in the country behind North Carolina State (22). Iowa’s Big Ten winning streak is its longest since winning 24 straight from 2014-17.

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 24-0 in five minutes and 40 seconds of mat time.
Lee opened the season with a fall in one minute, 21 seconds against No. 11 Liam Cronin (Nebraska). He ended his match against No. 9 Patrick McKee (Minnesota) with a fall in one minute, 53 seconds. He pinned Illinois’s No. 13 Justin Cardani in 2 minutes, 27 seconds. He led 6-0 in his first match, 14-0 in his second match, and 4-0 in his third match before securing the pins. Since the start of the 2019-20 season, Lee has outscored his 21 opponents 258-18. He has scored bonus points in 20 of those 21 matches.

TOP 10 MATCHUP — 125 POUNDS
Top-ranked Spencer Lee faces Ohio State’s 10th-ranked Malik Heinselman. Lee won the only previous meeting by fall (2:34) at the 2018 Midlands. It was one of Lee’s 19 career first-period falls. Lee is 36-5 in his career against ranked opponents, including a 3-0 mark this season, all by first-period fall. Lee has won 14 straight against ranked foes.

TOP 10 MATCHUP — 157 POUNDS
Fifth-ranked Kaleb Young faces Purdue’s seventh-ranked Kendall Coleman. Young is 2-0 all-time against Coleman. He won by fall in overtime at the 2019 Midlands and by decision, 4-3, at the 2020 dual in West Lafayette. Young is 20-18 all-time against ranked opponents, including a 4-3 win in the first tiebreak against Minnesota’s No. 6 Brayton Lee on Jan. 22.

TOP 10 MATCHUP — 149 POUNDS
Fifth-ranked Max Murin faces No. 2 Sammy Sasso of Ohio State. It is the first meeting between the two. He will also face Purdue’s Griffin Parriott, who is ranked No. 10 by WIN Magazine. It is also their first meeting. Murin is 3-0 this year with three ranked wins, all decisions against No. 20, No. 17 and No 8. He is 15-12 all-time against ranked opponents. His highest ranked win was a 6-4 decision in sudden victory against No. 4 Mitch McKee of Minnesota in 2020.

TOP 10 MATCHUP — 174 POUNDS
Top-ranked Michael Kemerer faces No. 4 Kaleb Romero of Ohio State. Kemerer is 1-0 all-time against Romero, with a 7-1 decision at the 2020 dual in Iowa City. Kemerer is 2-0 this season with a pair of major decisions against ranked opponents. He is 36-7 all-time in his career against ranked opponents, including a 9-4 mark against opponents in the top five.
Kemerer has scored bonus points in his last eight wins dating back to 2020 (MD, TF, Pin, MD, Pin MD, MD, MD).

TOP 10 MATCHUP — 285 POUNDS
No. 3 Tony Cassioppi faces Ohio State’s No. 10 Tate Orndorff. It is the first meeting between the two.
Cassioppi is 2-1 this year with two wins over ranked opponents and a loss to No. 1 Gable Steveson. He pinned No. 5 Luke Luffman in three minutes, 30 seconds on Jan. 31. Cassioppi is 11-4 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 3-0 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 registered his first fall as a Hawkeye on Jan. 31, locking up a cradle against No. 13 Dylan Duncan (ILL). It was the 39th pin of his career.

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.