IOWA CITY – University of Iowa wrestling won 9-of-10 matches against Northwestern on Mediacom Mat inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena to record a 38-3 final victory Friday night. The Hawkeyes (10-0, 5-0) allowed just two Wildcat (9-5, 1-4) takedowns in the competition.
Highlighting the match were wins by No. 3 Brandon Sorensen over No. 1 Jason Tsirtsis at 149, and No. 9 Nick Moore over No. 6 Pierce Harger at 165.
After a scoreless first period, Tsirtsis opened scoring with an escape in the second. After choosing down, Sorensen evened it up with an escape in the third to force overtime. After two more escapes and a second overtime, Sorensen escaped then rode it out in the second tie break period to record the 3-2 final win and hand defending national champion Tsirtsis his first loss of the season.
“I was keeping my pressure on him high and I could feel him starting to fade, but I don’t like close matches like that,” Sorensen said. “I need to get to my offense and really focus on getting my shots.
“I had to really stay heavy and keep my hips behind his, keeping the pressure forward. Returning him to the mat at the end, that was big.”
Sorensen is now 4-1 against ranked opponents — defeating the last four he’s met — and improves 3-0 all-time in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Hawkeye head coach Tom Brands is excited with what he has done with his opportunity at 149.
“I think when you get an opportunity, you seize it and that’s what he’s done,” Brands said. “Good for him, good for the weight class, and it doesn’t reflect anything on Brody Grothus. We’ve still got a guy there that has a couple of different options so we’ve got to keep getting building off of the injury, and he’s been live this week so we’ve got to keep him moving forward as well.
“Sorenson has done a good job with his opportunity and that’s what you want from young guys.”
Moore earned his first victory over a top 10 opponent this season with his defeat of Harger at 165. With the score knotted 2-2 following a pair of escapes by Moore and a Harger reversal, the match headed into overtime where Moore secured the 4-2 win with a takedown at the 20 second mark.
“Those guys are pretty stingy,” Moore said. “You just have to stay focused for seven minutes and you have to refocus during the match and make sure you’re where you need to be. When something opens up, you need to be ready for it, and I was ready for it tonight. I have to build on this. It’s about opening things up instead of waiting for them to open up.”
“Our snaps are strong, he’s strong, that was a match that we pointed to and we owed him a little bit,” Brands said. “That helps us for the end of the year when you’re looking at seeding in the Big Ten and rankings. You’ve got an opportunity when you’re in on that leg, seize it.”
Also recording a win over a ranked opponent was No. 4 Nathan Burak at 197. He remains unblemished at 13-0 following a 4-3 win over No. 13 Alex Polizzi. Trailing 3-1 heading to the third period, Burak used an escape and a takedown with 13 seconds left to complete the come from behind win. It marks his 13th straight victory.
A tech fall win at 125, pin at 133, decision at 141, tech fall at 157, forfeit at 174, and major decision at 184 rounded out scoring for the Hawkeyes.
No. 5 Thomas Gilman set an aggressive tone, opening the dual with a 21-6 win over Garrison White at 125. He used six takedowns — four of which came in the first minute — and five nearfall points to close out the match and remain an undefeated 10-0 in dual action.
At 133, No. 5 Cory Clark rebounded from his first loss in Carver-Hawkeye Arena a week ago, pinning his opponent Dominic Malone at the 2:56 mark. It was his 16th win of the season and his eighth by pin.
No. 6 Josh Dziewa shut out Jameson Oster 6-0 with a take down, nearfall and 3:59 of riding time at 141, stretching his win streak to three in a row.
Following Sorensen with a tech fall victory at 157 was No. 17 Michael Kelly. He used five takedowns, a pair of nearfalls and an escape to secure his 16-3 win. After a forfeit at 174, No. 8 Sammy Brooks recorded a major decision win over Mitch Sliga 18-6 with eight takedowns and 2:38 of riding time at 184.
The lone loss for the Hawkeyes came in double overtime at 285. No. 4 Mike McMullan defeated No. 1 Bobby Telford 3-1 in double overtime, ending the fight with a takedown at the 17 second mark. The loss is the first of the season for Telford and ends his 18-match win streak.
Top-ranked Iowa travels to Minneapolis to face No. 2 Minnesota in dual action on Friday, Jan. 30. The 6 p.m. (CT) competition will be shown live on the Big Ten Network.
NOTES: Attendance was 8,104… #3 Brandon Sorensen defeated defending national champion and #1 ranked Jason Tsirtsis, handing him his first loss of the season… Sorensen is 4-1 against ranked opponents, defeating the last four he’s met (#17 Ken Theobold – Rutgers, #5 Hunter Stieber – Ohio State, #2 Josh Kindig – Oklahoma State, #1 Jason Tsirtsis)… Sorensen is 3-0 all-time in Carver-Hawkeye Arena… #9 Nick more defeated his first top 10 ranked opponent of the season with an overtime win over #6 Pierce Harger… Nathan Burak (13-0) remains undefeated on the season with a 4-3 win over #13 Alex Polizzi… Bobby Telford lost his first match of the year 3-1 in double overtime to #4 ranked Mike McMullan, ending his 18-match win streak.
#1 IOWA 38, #24 Northwestern 3
125 – #5 Thomas Gilman (IA) tech. fall Garrison White (NW), 21-6 in 4:16; 5-0
133 – #5 Cory Clark (IA) pinned Dominic Malone (NW), 2:56; 11-0
141 – #6 Josh Dziewa (IA) dec. Jameson Oster (NW), 6-0; 14-0
149 – #3 Brandon Sorensen (IA) dec. #1 Jason Tsirtsis (NW), 3-2 TB-2; 17-0
157 – #17 Michael Kelly (IA) tech. fall Ben Sullivan (NW), 18-3; 22-0
165 – #9 Nick Moore (IA) dec. #6 Pierce Harger (NW), 4-2 OT; 25-0
174 – #2 Mike Evans (IA) wins by forfeit, 31-0
184 – #8 Sammy Brooks (IA) maj. dec. Mitch Sliga (NW), 18-6; 35-0
197 – #4 Nathan Burak (IA) dec. #13 Alex Polizzi (NW), 4-3; 38-0
285 – #4 Mike McMullan (NW) dec. #1 Bobby Telford (IA), 3-1 2OT; 38-3
