By pete ruden
When Thomas Gilman is doing what he does best, wrestling at a high level, the Hawkeyes are a very tough team to beat, and Jan. 27 was no exception.
In a 21-13 win over No. 4 Ohio State, Gilman used 10 takedowns to beat No. 18 Jose Rodriguez by technical fall, 23-8. The win increased No. 1 Gilman’s record to 19-0 on the season, while scoring bonus points in 17 of those matches.
“If I already had a tech fall, and they let me wrestle the last minute, I would’ve worked for the pin,” Gilman said. “I looked up, I was looking at the clock to see how much time I had, and the ref said it was over, so my bad.“I could go all night, but these guys, they can’t hold up, so they gotta keep it to seven minutes. That’s for their benefit.”
Iowa almost always has a good one-two punch at 125 and 133 pounds with Gilman and Cory Clark, but head coach Tom Brands was cautious about Clark, who has been battling a shoulder injury, and put junior Phillip Laux into the lineup.
Laux did what he needed to: He kept No. 1 Nathan Tomasello from scoring bonus points on him.
When Clark is out, which has happened a few times this year, a little more pressure is added to Gilman and Laux, but both handled it with poise.
No matter who is behind Gilman in the lineup, though, he is usually a sure bet to get the Hawkeyes off to a good start. With someone as dominant as Gilman on the team, Iowa can afford to be more conservative and cautious when it comes to injuries.
“It’s the right thing to do,” Brands said. “You want your best lineup, but we’re very conservative, and we’re going to do the right thing.”
Because Gilman has had prior experience wrestling Tomasello, Clark said he learned from watching their matches that he had to wrestle Tomasello hard.
He didn’t end up getting the chance to do that, and even though moving Gilman up to 133 for a night to take on Tomasello wasn’t discussed, it is something that went through Gilman’s head when it was official that Clark was out.
“There wasn’t [any discussion],” Gilman said. “In my mind there was. I was ready to wrestle Tomasello tonight. I would’ve wrestled him right after my match. It’s always fun wrestling that guy. Everyone loves watching us wrestle. But there was no correspondence between me and the coaching staff.”
With as well as Gilman has been competing since the season started, there are plenty of his teammates who have been competing at high levels as well.
On the roster right now, there are seven Hawkeyes who are ranked. After suffering two setbacks in losses to No. 1 Oklahoma State and No. 2 Penn State, Iowa needed a win over the Buckeyes, and that’s exactly what it got.
Now, back on the right track, the team has made it through the toughest part of its schedule. Coming off a much-needed win, the Hawkeyes will try to get the streak going once again.
“You get a win over a good team like that, and it’s been a tough couple weeks, but it shows the perseverance and the system,” said senior 184-pounder Sammy Brooks, who is ranked No. 5 by Intermat. “If we do what the coaches have set in place for us, then good things will happen.”