MINNEAPOLIS – The University of Iowa wrestling team outscored Minnesota, 41-33, in match points to defeat Minnesota, 16-15, today at Williams Arena. Iowa and Minnesota were tied 15-15 after splitting 10 bouts, but the Hawkeyes earned the deciding team point based on the advantage in match points — the third tiebreak criteria.
“I don’t want to nitpick here but we could have scored some bonus points,” said head coach Tom Brands. “You have to get bonus points when you can. We had some close matches that came down to finishing. If we finish we’ll see more things go our way.”
Iowa raced to a 9-0 team lead by opening the dual with three straight wins at 125, 133 and 141. Top-ranked Matt McDonough erased a 3-0 deficit by scoring takedowns in the second and third periods and building 1:37 of riding time to win 6-3 over No. 13 David Thorn.
Ramos scored takedowns in each of his three periods, but was unable to finish a pair of shots in the final frame and had to settle for an 8-2 win over ninth-ranked Chris Dardanes. Ballweg and No 10. Nick Dardanes traded escapes while battling to a 1-1 tie before Ballweg finished a shot with 22 seconds on the clock to win 3-1.
Minnesota’s 10th-ranked Dylan Ness cut the Iowa lead to 9-3 with an 8-2 win at 149 pounds, but Derek St. John answered with a decision at 157 to send Iowa into intermission with a 12-3 advantage in the team race. St. John scored a pair of first period takedowns and used 1:37 of riding time to cruise to a 6-2 win over Danny Zilverberg.
For the second straight season a victory from Nick Moore helped Iowa retain the Iowa-Minnesota Border Belt. Moore scored a major decision to help lead Iowa to a 19-17 win in 2012, and this afternoon he recorded an 8-2 win over No. 10 Cody Yohn to push the Iowa lead to 15-3. Moore earned a takedown in the first period and opened the second with an escape to build a 3-0 lead. He opened the second period with a takedown and a pair of nearfall points to extend his lead to 7-0, and nearly finished the bout with a major decision before allowing a reversal in the final seconds in the third period. His 3:41 of riding time accounted for the final tally.
Minnesota eventually tied the team score with decisions at the final four weights, among them two one-point wins and a contested win in sudden victory.
Mike Evans opened the 174 bout with a first-period takedown against No. 2 Logan Storley. He looked on his way to a 4-2 lead in the second frame before the officials reviewed a takedown near the edge of the mat and took two points off the board. Storley answered the reversed call with his own takedown and eventually fought off Evans’ final attack as time expired in the third.
No. 5 Kevin Steinhaus pulled Minnesota within six points with a 6-3 win at 184, and Iowa’s Nathan Burak was unable to finish an array of leg attacks and dropped a 3-1 decision at 197 to let Minnesota within three points, 15-12. Burak and No. 11 Scott Schiller traded escapes to enter sudden victory tied, 1-1. Schiller was awarded the win when Burak surrendered a takedown as time expired in the overtime period. The officials reviewed play but eventually upheld the call.
The Gophers tied the team score with a 2-1 win at 285 pounds. No. 5 Bobby Telford and No. 2 Tony Nelson exchanged escapes in the second and third period, but Nelson earned the win with a point for riding time.
“It’s a team win and winning 16-15 on criteria is better than not,” said Brands, “but we had a lot of situations we could’ve controlled and we have room for improvement. Now we go forward and look at Penn State.”
The Hawkeyes return to the mat Friday, Feb. 1 when they host top-ranked Penn State on Mediacom Mat at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The dual will begin at 8:04 p.m. (CT). Tickets are available by calling 800-IA-HAWKS or visiting hawkeyesports.com
Notes: Attendance was 8,254… replay was used twice today… (1) Iowa takedown at 174 was reversed… (2) Minnesota takedown at 197 was upheld… McDonough extended his winning streak to 41 matches… Iowa had 11 takedowns to Minnesota’s seven… Iowa has won eight of its last nine duals against Minnesota.
#4 IOWA 16, #3 Minnesota 15
125 – #1 Matt McDonough (IA) dec. #13 David Thorn (UM), 6-3; 3-0
133 – #2 Tony Ramos (IA) dec. #9 Chris Dardanes (UM), 8-2; 6-0
141 – #9 Mark Ballweg (IA) dec. #10 Nick Dardanes (UM), 3-1; 9-0
149 – #10 Dylan Ness (UM) dec. Michael Kelly (IA), 8-2; 9-3
157 – #1 Derek St. John (IA) dec. Danny Zilverberg (UM), 6-2; 12-3
165 – #18 Nick Moore (IA) dec. #10 Cody Yohn (UM), 8-2; 15-3
174 – #2 Logan Storley (UM) dec. #6 Mike Evans (IA), 4-3; 15-6
184 – #5 Kevin Steinhaus (UM) dec. #14 Ethen Lofthouse (IA), 6-3; 15-9
197 – #12 Scott Schiller (UM) dec. #20 Nathan Burak (IA), 3-1 (SV); 15-12
285 – #2 Tony Nelson (UM) dec. #5 Bobby Telford (IA), 2-1; 15-15*; 16-15
*Iowa earns one team point on the third criteria – total match points (41-33)
