IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa wrestling team improved to 2-0 in conference duals with a 29-9 win over No. 21 Purdue today at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes won seven of 10 matches and outscored the Boilermakers in total takedowns, 35-4.
“It was a good win and now we move forward,” said head coach Tom Brands. “I was looking for energy on the mat and we saw some of that today. We need to keep it going.”
Iowa sent seven ranked wrestlers to the mat and won all seven. Tony Ramos (No.2, 133), Mark Ballweg (No. 8, 141), Nick Moore (No. 19, 165), Mike Evans (No. 7, 174) and Ethen Lofthouse (No. 9, 184) all put up bonus points for Iowa. Derek St. John (No. 1, 157) and Bobby Telford (No. 4, 285) both won by decision.
Evans put Chad Welch on his back in 4:52 to improve to 9-0 this season. Ballweg recorded his first technical fall of the year, totaling nine takedowns and three nearfall points to beat Brandon Nelson, 22-7. Ramos, Moore and Lofthouse all scored major decisions.
Purdue (10-3, 1-1) held a brief 3-0 lead in the dual when No. 17 Camden Eppert topped Iowa’s Matt Gurule at 125 pounds. Ramos and Ballweg quickly turned the score 9-3 in Iowa’s favor, and after Purdue’s Ivan Lopouchanski (No. 13, 149) edged out Brody Grothus, 10-9, St. John gave the Hawkeyes a 12-6 locker room lead with a 7-3 decision over No. 20 Tommy Churchard.
The Hawkeyes (12-0, 2-0) extended their lead to 26-6 with three straight bonus point wins after the break. Purdue eventually got back on the board at 197 pounds when No. 17 Braden Atwood topped Nathan Burak, 4-1, but Telford ended the day with an Iowa victory by piling up 3:55 of riding time in a 4-1 win over Alex White at 285.
The Hawkeyes return to the mat Jan. 13 when they face No. 2 Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla.
Notes: Attendance was 6,043 … Iowa is 4-4 against ranked opponents this season… Iowa has won the last 26 meetings against Purdue… Ramos (21-0), St. John (20-0) and Evans (13-0) preserved their undefeated records at Carver-Hawkeye Arena… Ballweg’s victory was the 50th of his career.
#5 IOWA 29, #21 Purdue 9
125 – #17 Camden Eppert (PU) dec. Matt Gurule (IA), 4-2; 3-0
133 – #2 Tony Ramos (IA) major dec. Danny Sabatello (PU), 13-4; 4-3
141 – #8 Mark Ballweg (IA) tech. fall Brandon Nelson (PU), 22-7; 9-3
149 – #13 Ivan Lopouchanski (PU) dec. Brody Grothus (IA), 10-9; 9-6
157 – #1 Derek St. John (IA) dec. #20 Tommy Churchard (PU), 7-3; 12-6
165 – #19 Nick Moore (IA) major dec. Pat Robinson (PU), 12-4; 16-6
174 – #7 Mike Evans (IA) pinned Chad Welch (PU), 4:52; 22-6
184 – #9 Ethen Lofthouse (IA) major dec. Andy Wiseman (PU), 16-5; 26-6
197 – #17 Braden Atwood (PU) dec. Nathan Burak (IA), 4-1; 26-9
285 – #4 Bobby Telford (IA) dec. Alex White (PU), 4-1; 29-9
