As a whole the Northwestern wrestling team only has those four ranked wrestlers while the Hawkeyes have a ranked wrestler at every weight class and a wrestler ranked in the top ten in all but one weight class (#17 Michael Kelly being the exception). So according to rankings Iowa was predicted to win all but two matches, but at the end of the meet the Hawks walked away winning every match they were supposed to except one but picked up the two they were not supposed to win.

Starting off the night was the 125 lb sophomore Thomas Gilman who was consistant as ever. He set the tone of the meet by going up 17-5 by the end of the first period. Needless to say it was not long into the second period when he put Northwestern’s Garrison White away for good.

Next at 133 Cory Clark sent a message of his own to the wildcats when he pinned his opponent, Dominick Malone, in the first period. Dziewa kept the ball rolling for the Hawks with a 5-0 decision over Jameson Oster, but it was Brandon Sorensen that really ignited Carver-Hawkeye this evening.

Just to get one thing clear, Brandon Sorensen is on fire. He has now won his last seven straight matches with four being against ranked opponents. Tonight he really kept that streak alive with a win against the number one ranked wrestler in the nation at 149, Jason Tsirtsis, whose streak had reached all the way up to fourty straight wins until he met Sorensen for the first time tonight in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The match was a contest between two incredibly disciplined individuals and it turned into a match of attrition as the competition extended all the way into the seventh period. The first scoring of the match came in the second period when Tsirtsis escaped and then again in the third when Sorensen answered with an escape of his own. Then during the tie breaker in the first overtime the same was the case when Tsirtsis escaped and then was answered by Sorensen’s own escape during his choice. It was not until after another scoreless overtime and in the 2nd tie breaker that Sorensen escaped first and then managed to keep Tsirtsis down during his choice for the win.

Yet another big match came at 165 where Iowa Senior, #9 Nick Moore, defeated Northwestern’s #6 Pierce Harger. This was another heated battle that drew itself out all the way until overtime just like the match at 149; only in this one Moore struck with a high crotch to win it in the only the first overtime.

The next ranked matchup was at 197 where Iowa’s #4 Nathan Burak took on the Wildcat’s #13 Alex Polizzi. Burak shot early and often bet kept being foiled by a mat-evading Polizzi. After looking so dominant for the majority of the first period Burak faltered, giving up a takedown to Polizzi but managed to escape before the end of the period. When Polizzi escaped in the second period after choosing down Burak answered with an escape of his own in the third but still remained down by one point. Finally with mere seconds left Burak finished on a deep high crotch consummating the win.

The final match of the night was between the Hawk’s #1 Bobby Telford and #4 Mike McMullan of Northwestern. This was their seventh time meeting with a career record between the two tied at 3-3. The match was another low scorer that ended up going into overtime tied at 1-1. It was not until a nailbiting second overtime when Telford was about to finish on a match winning shot that McMullan scrambled his way to a takedown and a victory.

After the meet head coach Tom Brands said that he thought that the score was indicative of the way that his team wrestled. He continued, “There were probably some mismatches in the rankings there, but you’re supposed to roll like that” speaking about the lopsided team rankings (Hawekeys are currently the top ranked team whereas the Wildcats are only #24). When asked about Telford’s loss Brands simply said, “We’ve got a guy upstairs (Telford) that’s not taking it well. He shouldn’t; I’m not taking it well either, but that’s a lesson.”

Even though it was a good night overall the Hawkeyes will need to have every wrestler at the top of their game next Friday because next up the the Iowa Wrestling team is a meet against the #2 team in the nation, Minnesota. The meet will be at Minnesota nonetheless so the Hawkeyes will need to execute at every weight class if they expect to win.

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It didn’t come easy though, not many Big Ten games do.

The Boilers were giving Iowa all they could handle for a majority of the game.  With about a minute left in the first half, the Hawkeyes led 43-37.  Over the next minute, Iowa went on a 7-0 run that was capped by a Melsahn Basabe bucket with 2 seconds left.  That would stretch Iowa’s lead to 13 going into the break.

That lead would disappear soon after the second half began.  Purdue would go on a 12-2 run over the course of the first four minutes of the half.  That cut the Iowa lead to 3.

Was it panic time for Iowa fans?

No.

Iowa would go back and forth with the Boilers over the next couple of minutes and sooner or later, Purdue took the lead again.  However, Purdue’s four point lead would vanish when they went 6 straight minutes without scoring a point.  Iowa would go on an 8-0 over that time span.

Purdue would cut the lead to 1 with four minutes left in the game, but Josh Oglesby would hit a big three point shot that gave Iowa a two possession lead.

After the Oglesby bucket, Roy Devyn Marble would hit a jumper, but after that it was a free throw game for Iowa.  The Hawkeyes would hit 8 of 11 free throws down the stretch to seal up the victory.

Iowa was led by Marble, who had 21 points and 5 assists.  Aaron White recorded his fifth double double of the year and his second in as many games.  The other Hawkeyes in double figures were, Mike Gesell, who had 15, and Oglesby, who had 11 points.

Rapheal Davis led Purdue with 18 points and big man A.J. Hammons had 16 points and 14 rebounds.

Hopefully with this win, the Hawkeyes get back on the winning track.  Some bright spots in this one were, turning the ball over just 5 times and making free throws down the stretch.

Iowa will now take their show in the road when they travel to East Lansing to take on the Michigan State Spartans on Thursday evening.  That game will tip off at 8:00 p.m.

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In the second half they crumbled under the added defensive pressure Penn State put on. Even head coach Lisa Bluder thinks that the Lady Lions’ defense late in the game forced the Hawkeyes to make some “mental mistakes.” Bluder was “defensively disappointed” and felt her team gave Penn State too many “easy scoring opportunities.” Penn State shut down Iowa 81-69; leaving them 11-1 in conference play.

As the second half ensued, Iowa let their yo-yo 2-4 point lead increase finding themselves in double digit deficits numerous times. Penn State ended the game with four players in the double digits. However, most impressive was junior guard Maggie Lucas. With 21 points on the night, Lucas’s shooting was always on time and she had incredible precision.

This is the fifth game in a row that Iowa has lost, and the first time this season they have lost to a ranked team. Prior to this loss, they were a strong 6-0 against ranked teams. Reeling from the loss against Nebraska Monday (February 11) night, it would seem like Iowa wouldn’t have let this game go un-won. However, they experienced numerous pitfalls in this game that seem to be the same issues they face each game, ultimately leading to their demise.

Large portions of their points go down the drain at the free throw line. When it comes to free points, you’ve just got to take them. One player the Hawkeys can count on to make free throws just about every time though is senior guard Jaime Printy. Printy currently ranks fifth nationally for her free throw percentage. Due to high ball pressure and amazing defense on Penn State’s end, much of Printy’s shine was dimmed this game. Her usual three point shots just weren’t there tonight.

The Hawkeyes do not have a break in schedule coming up for them and really need to work on strengthening their defense amongst other areas if they want to be successful. They take on number 13 Purdue, as well as Nebraska again—both on the road. It will be especially interesting to see if they hold their own against Nebraska since they struggled earlier this week from their own arena. The imperativeness cannot be stressed enough, the need to win at least one of these games.

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