No. 4 Hawkeyes Blank Bellarmine in Season Opener

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa wrestling team won all 10 matches and shut out Bellarmine, 44-0, Friday night in its season opener on Mediacom Mat at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The Hawkeyes (1-0) had a 31-1 advantage in takedowns over the Knights (1-1) and a 137-21 advantage in match points.

“You saw some adjustments out there,” said head coach Tom Brands. “Where it wasn't like the same frustration over and over again. Schubert, you know, kind of getting to him and then the trick knee and the lock and whatever. And then you throw your legs back. You learn those lessons and you make those adjustments. And that's how you keep your wrestling fast in your favor. A week from this Sunday, we’ve got Iowa State coming to town and that's what we're looking forward to. We meet tomorrow and we're moving forward.”

With the dual starting at 125 pounds, eighth-ranked Leo DeLuca made his Carver-Hawkeye Arena debut with a 15-0 technical fall over Joe Calvin, needing only 2:58 to lock up the bonus-point win.

“The game plan was just to go out there and score points,” said DeLuca. “That's all the game plan really was. Nine times out of 10, I might not get that low single off the whistle, but I'm going forward. Even if I didn't get that, it was going to be the same pace, steady. Just going out there excited. Like you said, adrenaline, but yeah, just going out there moving forward and just trying to score, no matter where the clock is and not waiting.”

At 133 pounds, Kael Petersen added bonus points with a major decision, defeating Shay Korhorn, 14-2, before No. 7 Nasir Bailey added an 8-1 win over Trayce Eckman at 141 pounds.

Sixth-ranked Ryder Block notched a major decision over AJ Rallo at 149 pounds, winning 19-5, and Kael Voinovich sent it to the break with a 10-4 decision over Isaac Johns at 157 pounds.

Coming out of the break at 165 pounds, eighth-ranked Carter Schubert made his Iowa debut with a technical fall over Noah Hall, winning 19-4 in 5:45.

“It's definitely very important to get out there,” said Schubert. “It's just the beginning of the season and, you know, building for March starts way before even this moment, so it was nice to finally get back on the mat and see we're going in the right direction.”

At 174 pounds, No. 5 Gabe Arnold tallied a major decision over Jack Ring, winning 16-4. Third-ranked Angelo Ferrari followed it up at 184 pounds with a pin over Gavin Ricketts in 5:38.

No. 29 Harvey Ludington continued the strong second half for the Hawkeyes with bonus points at 197 pounds, defeating Andrew Liber via a 13-2 major decision.

Ben Kueter put an exclamation point on the dual, needing only 32 seconds to pin Justin Hoffer at heavyweight and send the Hawkeye fans home happy.

No. 4 Iowa 44, Bellarmine 0
125 – No. 18 Leo DeLuca (I) tech. fall Joe Calvin (B), 15-0
133 – Kael Petersen (I) major dec. Shay Korhorn (B), 14-2
141 – No. 7 Nasir Bailey (I) dec. Trayce Eckman (B), 8-1
149 – No. 6 Ryder Block (I) major dec. AJ Rallo (B), 19-5
157 – Kael Voinovich (I) dec. Isaac Johns (B), 10-4
165 – No. 8 Carter Schubert (I) tech. fall Noah Hall (B), 19-4
174 – No. 5 Gabe Arnold (I) major dec. Jack Ring (B), 16-4
184 – No. 3 Angelo Ferrari (I) pinned Gavin Ricketts (B), 5:38
197 – No. 29 Harvey Ludington (I) major dec. Andrew Liber (B), 13-2
285 – No. 2 Ben Kueter (I) pinned Justin Hoffer (B), 0:32

Attendance: 9,281
Officials: Peter Mankowich, Jaime George