EVANSTON, Illinois — Top 10 wins from Drake Ayala and Max Murin highlighted the University of Iowa wrestling team’s 33-6 win over No. 23 Northwestern on Friday night at Welsh Ryan Arena.
Ayala topped seventh-ranked Michael DeAugustino, 6-5, at 125 pounds and Max Murin defeated No. 4 Yahya Thomas, 4-3, at 149.
Ayala used a cradle to turn a 3-1 deficit into a 5-3 advantage in the second period. He opened the third with an escape to build his lead to 6-3, finished with a 6-5 decision, his second consecutive win over a top 10 opponent.
“We like what we have there,” said Iowa head coach Tom Brands. “The story is going to keep writing itself. He will keep writing his own story.”
Northwestern won decisions at 133 and 141 before Murin got the Hawkeyes rolling at 149. Trailing 3-1 in the third, Murin opened with an escape and closed with a takedown in the final 20 seconds to get the 4-3 win.
“Short time left, nothing to lose, let it fly,” Murin said. “I got in there and got the quick finish. It felt good. He’s a really good opponent but I definitely have to get to my scoring opportunities earlier.”
“Sometimes we let guys win with the first takedown. Sometimes we try to win with the first takedown,” Brands said. “Murin, match was slow. First takedown, the way it was going, could have beat him. He didn’t let it come to that.
“My point is, you can wrestle four, five, six, seven minutes like he wrestled the last 45 seconds. When we have guys that do that our chances go way up. Not to win, but to dominate.”
Murin’s win was the first of seven in a row for Iowa. Kaleb Young used a first-period reversal, third-period takedown and more than two minutes of riding time to win 6-4 at 157.
The Hawkeyes then strung together a variety of bonus points.
Alex Marinelli won by forfeit at 165. Michael Kemerer led 10-0 before securing a first-period fall in two minutes, 36 seconds at 174. Abe Assad ended his 184-pound match early in the second period with a 16-0 technical fall, and Jacob Warner scored nine points in the third period to earn an 11-2 major decision at 197.
Tony Cassioppi scored seven of the final eight points to close the dual with a 7-3 decision at 285. It was his fourth ranked win of the season.
“You let guys squeeze, you’re vulnerable. You squeeze, you’re vulnerable,” Brands said. “That is a long answer to a (question) when you look at it from both sides of the coin for us. They don’t have to be close matches.”
UP NEXT
The No. 2 Hawkeyes travel to Champaign, Illinois to face No. 21 Illinois on Sunday at 3 p.m. (CT). The dual is televised live on BTN.
NOTABLES
• Iowa has won 27 straight duals.
• Iowa has won 26 straight conference duals, its longest streak since winning 39 straight from 2007-12.
• Ayala won his second straight match against a top 10 opponent and is 5-3 against ranked opponents this season.
• Cullan Schriever removed his redshirt and made his varsity dual debut.
• Drew Bennett made his dual debut.
• Murin defeated a top-five opponent for the fourth time in his career.
• Kemerer registered his first fall of the season and the 20th of his career.
#2 IOWA 33, #23 NORTHWESTERN 6
125 #12 Drake Ayala (IA) dec. #7 Michael DeAugustino (NU), 6-5; 3-0
133 #9 Chris Cannon (NU) dec. Cullan Schriever (IA), 4-3; 3-3
141 #32 Frankie Tal Shahar (NU) dec. Drew Bennett (IA), 10-6; 3-6
149 #12 Max Murin (IA) dec. #5 Yayha Thomas (NU), 4-3; 6-6
157 #12 Kaleb Young (IA) dec. Trevor Chumbley (NU), 6-4; 9-6
165 #1 Alex Marinelli (IA) won by forfeit; 15-6
174 #2 Michael Kemerer (IA) pinned Jack Jessen (NU), 2:36; 21-6
184 #18 Abe Assad dec. (IA) tech. fall Jon Halvorsen (NU), 16-0; 26-6
197 #5 Jacob Warner (IA) major dec. #28 Andrew Davison (NU), 11-2; 30-6
285 #6 Tony Cassioppi (IA) dec. #17 Lucas Davison (NU), 7-3; 33-6
Records: Iowa (9-0, 3-0), Northwestern (2-3, 0-3)
Attendance: 1,133
Date: Jan. 14, 2022
