EVANSTON, Ill. – Cory Clark and Tony Ramos opened with bonus points and the University of Iowa wrestling team won eight of 10 matches to defeat No. 19 Northwestern, 31-6, Friday night inside Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Clark opened with a major decision, Ramos followed with a pin, and Iowa (12-2, 5-1) won eight of 10 matches to win its ninth straight in the series and improve to 5-0 on the road against top 25 teams.
Clark — who was making his first appearance since Dec. 30 — used two takedowns, a reversal, three nearfall points and 3:34 of riding time to win his Big Ten debut, 10-1, at 125.
Ramos, ranked No. 3 at 133 pounds, led 2-1 after the first period before scoring five takedowns in the second to build a 13-5 lead. He started on top in the third and locked up an inside cradle to record a fall in 5:24. It was his team-high 10th pin of the season.
Ninth-ranked Josh Dziewa had a takedown erased after at the end of regulation, but he escaped at the 18-second mark of the first tiebreak to win, 5-4, at 141.
Fourth-ranked Jason Tsirtsis put the Wildcats on the board with a 5-2 win over No. 12 Brody Grothus at 149. Top-ranked Derek St. John then extended Iowa’s lead to 16-3 with an 8-3 decision at 157. St. John used three takedowns and 1:46 of riding time to earn his 97th career win.
Following the intermission, fourth-ranked Nick Moore and No. 16 Nathan Burak both earned wins over ranked opponents. Moore never trailed in his 7-3 win over No. 6 Pierce Harger, and Burak finished a single-leg in the first sudden victory to defeat No. 17 Alex Polizzi, 3-1.
Northwestern (6-6, 1-6) forfeited at 174, and Ethen Lofthouse returned to the lineup with an 11-5 win at 184 . Lofthouse, who was making his first appearance in nearly four weeks, scored two takedowns in the first, two in the second, and piled 2:30 of riding time.
Northwestern won the final bout when No. 3 Mike McMullan defeated top-ranked Bobby Telford, 3-1, in overtime.
Iowa returns to the mat Sunday, Feb. 9 at 2 p.m. when No. 11 Michigan visits Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Hawkeye seniors Joe DuCharme, Tomas Lira, Ethen Lofthouse, Tony Ramos, Derek St. John, and Nick Trizzino will be recognized at the dual. Tickets are $12 for adults,
$8 for youth, and free for UI students and children five years and under.
Notes: Attendance was 1,832… the dual will be broadcast Monday at 9 a.m. CT on BTN… Iowa has won nine straight in the series… Iowa held an 18-5 advantage in takedowns… Iowa improved to 5-0 on the road against top 25 schools… Clark improved to 13-0 with 10 wins by bonus points… St. John needs three wins to become the 40th Hawkeye in program history to reach 100 career wins..
#3 IOWA 31, #19 Northwestern 6
125 – Cory Clark (IA) major dec. Garrison White, 10-1; 4-0 (NW)
133 – #3 Tony Ramos (IA) pinned Dominic Malone (NW), 5:24; 10-0
141 – #9 Josh Dziewa (IA) dec. Pat Greco (NW), 5-4 (TB1); 13-0
149 – #4 Jason Tsirtsis (NW) dec. #12 Brody Grothus (IA), 5-2; 13-3
157 – #2 Derek St. John (IA) dec. Ben Sullivan (NW), 8-3; 16-3
165 – #4 Nick Moore (IA) dec. #7 Pierce Harger (NW), 7-3; 19-3
174 – #5 Mike Evans (IA) win by forfeit; 25-3
184 – #4 Ethen Lofthouse (IA) dec. Jacob Berkowitz (NW), 11-5; 28-3
197 – #16 Nathan Burak (IA) dec. #17 Alex Polizzi (NW), 3-1 (SV1); 31-3
285 – #3 Mike McMullan (NW) dec. #1 Bobby Telford (IA), 3-1 (SV1; 31-6
