After downing Illinois, 26-12, on Jan. 8, the Hawkeyes put on a show against Northwestern on Jan. 10.
By Jordan Hansen
Eight days after winning the Midlands Championships in Evanston, Illinois, the Hawkeye wrestlers were back in that state for two dual meets with Illinois and Northwestern.
The Iowa wrestling team won both, topping the Illini, 26-12, on Jan. 8 and then thoroughly dismantling the Wildcats, 54-0. The win against Northwestern was the largest margin of victory Iowa has won by in a Big Ten dual meet. The Hawkeyes managed bonus points in nine matches, which included 5 pins and a technical fall.
“It was more than going out and scoring points,” Iowa head coach Tom Brands said in a release. “This was about wrestling opponents that we could have overlooked, and we didn’t, and that was good.”
The Hawkeyes started things off strong against the Wildcats, with pins from both 125-pounder Thomas Gilman and 133-pounder Cory Clark in 0:56 and 6:41, respectively. It was an especially nice rebound for Clark, who lost to fourth-ranked Zane Richards in overtime against Illinois. Clark, ranked second in the latest Flowrestling rankings, might see his ranking fall a bit after also medically forfeiting his final two matches in the Midlands.
Iowa 149-pounder Brandon Sorensen recorded his second-straight win over No. 3 ranked Jason Tsirtsis, though it came by medical forfeit in the second period. The pair have now faced each other five times, with Sorensen owning a 3-2 advantage in those matches.
“My goal is not to hurt the guy,” Sorensen said in a release. “I wanted to finish the match. I rode him longer this time, took him down earlier this time, so that’s good; now we need to do multiple, even in the first period.”
Edwin Cooper (157), Sammy Brooks (184), and Sam Stoll (285) all notched pins. The Hawkeyes also got bonus-point victories out of 197-pounder Nathan Burak and 174-pounder Alex Meyer.
In fact, the only place Iowa didn’t get bonus points was at 165, in which Patrick Rhoads won, 9-3.
“The only thing we need to work on was scoring bonus points at 165,” Brands said in a release. “We could have had bonus points at every weight; that would have made a better statement, in my mind.”
Iowa will be back on the mat Jan. 15 against Wisconsin in Madison. The meet is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. in the Kohl Center.
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Match results (Iowa in bold)
Iowa 26, Illinois 12
125 — No. 2 Thomas Gilman technical fall Francis Edelen, 22-5; (5-0 Iowa)
133 —  No. 4 Zane Richards decision No. 2 Cory Clark, 5-3 SV; (5-3 Iowa)
141 — Topher Carton decision Brock Irvin, 5-4; (8-3 Iowa)
149 — No. 2 Brandon Sorensen major decision Kyle Langenderfer, 16-4; (12-3 Iowa)
157 — No. 1 Isaiah Martinez technical fall Edwin Cooper Jr, 21-5; (12-8 Iowa)
165 — No. 4 Steven Rodrigues major decision Patrick Rhoads, 12-4; (12-12 PUSH)
174 — No. 8 Alex Meyer technical fall Isaac Reinemann, 24-9; (17-12 Iowa)
184 — No. 8 Sammy Brooks decision No. 18 Jeff Koepke, 6-1; (20-12 Iowa)
197 — No. 3 Nathan Burak decision Andre Lee, 13-6; (23-12 Iowa)
Heavyweight — No. 8 Sam Stoll decision No. 20 Brooks Black, 2-0; (26-12 Iowa)
Iowa 54, Northwestern 0
125 — No. 2 Thomas Gilman pinned Garrison White in 0:56 (6-0 Iowa)
133 — No. 2 Cory Clark pinned Dominick Malone in 6:41 (12-0 Iowa)
141 — Toper Carton by forfeit (18-0 Iowa)
149 — No. 2 Brandon Sorensen by medical forfeit over No. 3 Jason Tsirtsis (24-0 Iowa)
157 — Edwin Cooper Jr. pinned Anthony Petrone (30-0 Iowa)
165 — Patrick Rhoads decision Luke Norland, 9-3; (33-0 Iowa)
174 — No. 8 Alex Meyer technical fall Mitch Sliga, 15-0; (38-0 Iowa)
184 — No. 8 Sammy Brooks pinned Regis Durbin in 4:10; (44-0 Iowa)
197 — No. 3 Nathan Burak major decision Jacob Berkowitz, 13-3; (48-0 Iowa)
HWT — No. 8 Sam Stoll pinned Conan Jennings in 3:46; (54-0 Iowa)