Wrestlers extend streak to 80 duals without loss; Brands wins 100th at Iowa
The Iowa wrestling team extended its streak without a dual loss to 80 when the Hawkeyes swept the Iowa City Duals on Nov. 25.
The Black and Gold defeated Baker (47-3), Cornell (42-0), and Iowa Central (37-6), to give head coach Tom Brands his milestone 100th win at Iowa.
Seven Hawkeyes went undefeated in Carver-Hawkeye Arena for the weekend: 125-pound Matt McDonough, 133-pound Tony Ramos, 141-pound Montell Marion, 157-pound Derek St. John, 165-pound Mike Evans, 174-pound Ethen Lofthouse, and heavyweight Bobby Telford.
Iowa recorded nine pins; McDonough, Lofthouse, and Telford each recorded two.
Iowa also crowned seven tournament champions at the Lindenwood Joe Parisi Open on Nov. 19: McDonough, Ramos, Marion, St. John, Evans, Telford, and 149-pound freshman Brody Grothus, who wrestled unattached.
Telford defended his wrestle-off win against teammate Blake Rasing in St. Charles, Mo. The two heavyweights challenged each other in the finals, but Telford won a 1-0 decision and took the tournament title.
Ramos, Marion, St. John, and Evans, also won their titles by defeating Hawkeye teammates Tyler Clark, Nick Trizzino, Joey Trizzino, and Nick Moore.
— by Molly Irene Olmstead
Women’s hoops finishes second at Junkanoo Jam
The Iowa women’s basketball team went 1-1 last week at the Junkanoo Jam tournament in the Bahamas.
The Hawkeyes (4-2) lost to fifth-ranked Texas A&M on Nov. 26, 74-58, in the championship game of the tournament. The Aggies (6-0) won the national title last season and returned three starters from that 2010-11 team.
Iowa was down by only 9 at halftime, but A&M put the game out of reach in the second half, partly because of forcing 25 total turnovers.
Hawkeye junior Jaime Printy went 5-of-10 from the field for 14 points, and freshman Samantha Logic finished with 16 points and 9 rebounds against the Aggies. Both players were named to the Junkanoo Jam All-Tournament team.
On Nov. 25, head coach Lisa Bluder’s squad defeated St. John’s, 60-52, in the opening-round game of the holiday tournament.
Printy led the Hawkeyes in scoring with 17 points against the Red Storm, and senior point guard Kamille Wahlin added 7 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Iowa will return to action on Wednesday against Virginia Tech as a part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
— by Matt Cozzi
Volleyball season ends with 3-1 loss
The Iowa volleyball team finished its season with a 3-1 loss to No. 7 Illinois on Nov. 26.
The Hawkeyes finished their season with a 11-22 overall record, 1-19 mark in the Big Ten.
Iowa entered its final game dragging along a 14-game losing streak and found itself trailing, 2-0, after two sets. But the Hawkeyes managed to win the third set, 25-18, against the powerhouse Fighting Illini.
Head coach Sharon Dingman called her team’s final game a "gutty performance" and said she was proud of Iowa’s ability to finish the season strong.
"At this point, we didn’t have much to play for other than pride and heart," Dingman said in a release. "And that is what we are made of."
She repeatedly praised the freshman class during the season, including outside hitter Alex Lovell. Lovell tallied 13 kills in the season’s final game and boosted her season total to 312, becoming the first Hawkeye freshman to rack up more than 300 kills since 2005.
Setter Nikki Daily also reached a landmark when her season total of 1,152 assists made her the first Iowa player to reach 1,000 since 2008. Libero Bethany Yeager’s 527 digs on the season is the highest team total since 2006.
None of those players will graduate this spring, and Dingman said the Hawkeyes have "a lot to look forward to" next season.
— by Molly Irene Olmstead
Thode misses All-American status
Junior harrier Jeff Thode ended what was a disappointing season when he failed to reach his goal of earning his second straight All-American status at the NCAA cross-country championship on Nov. 21.
Thode had the chance to become only the third Hawkeye runner to ever record two-straight All-American seasons, which he stated was his goal prior to the race.
Thode — who finished 30th last year — placed 78th overall at Indiana State’s Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute, Ind. The first 40 finishers earn the title of All-American.
The meet, which has been held on the Indiana State campus since 2002, is composed of 31 teams and an additional 38 runners who qualified individually; Thode fit into the latter category.
The Schaumburg, Ill., native won’t get much time to rest his legs. Thode is also a distance runner for the track and field team, and the Hawkeyes have been preparing for the season over the last couple months. He will get a short break leading up to the Black and Gold intrasquad meet on Dec. 3, but will have to be ready on Jan. 14, 2012; that’s when Illinois travels to Iowa City for the first meet of the season.
— by Ben Ross
