North Carolina State put up a fight.
In fact, it was the first true test Iowa had to face as a team since its “Grapple on the Gridiron” dual with Oklahoma State.
This one, though, did not have a similar result. The Wolfpack handed the Iowa wrestlers their first team loss of the season Monday night.
In many ways, the dual paralleled the one that took place in Kinnick Stadium on Nov. 14.
Thomas Gilman started both duals out with a major decision. Cory Clark then went out and tacked on 3 more points with a win — something he also did against the Cowboys.
In both meets, 141 lost. In November, Logan Ryan was the guy. Now, Brody Grothus has taken over after recovering from shoulder issues. Ryan lost his by a decision, but on Monday, Grothus lost by technical fall.
Rather than 7-3, it became 7-5.
Brandon Sorensen won his match — this time he put up a bonus point, unlike in the Oklahoma State dual — but a major decision loss by Edwin Cooper Jr. to No. 4 Tommy Gantt offset the extra point.
At the break, Iowa still led 11-9, and Gilman was not worried about his team in the second half.
“We were expecting a battle coming into here, and we got it,” he said during the break. “I’m not too worried about the score; we have a lot of guys coming up who are tough.”
Even with the confidence Gilman had in his teammates, things continued to go downhill after the break.
Patrick Rhoads lost to No. 6 Max Rohskopf, and for just the second time this season, the Hawkeyes trailed in a dual. The only other time was after Alex Meyer’s loss to Oklahoma State’s Kyle Crutchmer.
A key difference between the two duals was Sammy Brooks. The junior who shifted the momentum back in Iowa’s favor in November. He did not do the same Monday.
Rather than earning a 5-point technical fall, No. 10 Brooks lost a 7-3 decision to No. 16 Pete Renda. It was the only upset of the night.
With the exception of Brooks, everything worked out the way it looked like it would on paper. There were no other shocking victories, no shocking defeats.
There were, however, fewer bonus points scored by the Hawkeyes than fans have seen so far this season.
Both Clark and Meyer wrestled unranked opponents, but neither put up bonus points in their matches.
“We didn’t take it to them when there was a mismatch on paper,” head coach Tom Brands said.
He noted that the atmosphere was not what the team has been used to. Attendance was only 6,056, which is the smallest crowd Iowa has drawn at home this season. The Oklahoma State dual had nearly seven times that many fans.
The North Carolina State team felt differently about the mass that packed into Carver.