By Courtney Baumann | [email protected]
This weekend will bring Iowa wrestling’s regular season to a close. The team will travel to Bloomington on Friday to take on Indiana, then head back home for a Big Ten season finale against No. 6 Nebraska two days later.
The Hawkeyes’ last home competition of the season will be the Nebraska dual, and it will be the last time the team’s seniors see the mat in Carver-Hawkeye. Naturally, they will be honored on Senior Day.
Thomas Gilman, Cory Clark, Topher Carton, Alex Meyer, and Sammy Brooks will be recognized. All five not only hold a spot in the lineup, they also are ranked in the top-20 of their respective weight classes.
Needless to say, the class has made an impact throughout its five years.
“It’s been a great five years with this group of seniors; all of us are in the lineup right now, and I’m looking forward to going out with a win and having fun doing it,” said Meyer, the team’s 174-pounder. “I love wrestling in Carver. I love wrestling anyway, but here is special. Our fans make it so loud and so much fun … Everytime just gets a little bit better.”
Say it, don’t tweet it
Nebraska wrestler Tyler Berger has been famous for speaking his mind on Twitter, and he recently called out Michael Kemerer in a tweet. The No. 3 ranked 157-pounder took to the social media website and said “How does it feel to be a marked man @Kem_Dawg65 #10days,” tagging Kemerer, ranked No. 2 in the tweet.
The two faced each other for the first time at the Midlands Championships. Kemerer earned the top spot on the podium after going two sudden-victory rounds and two tiebreaker rounds with Berger in the championship bout.
Kemerer did not respond to Berger’s tweet, but Gilman wasn’t quiet about it.
“Who’s Tyler Berger? I don’t even know who that is,” Gilman jokingly said about the Husker. “I’m being funny, I know who Berger is. He runs his mouth a lot on social media … I’d like to see him say some of that stuff to Terry Brands’ face or Kemerer’s face … If you’re going to run your mouth, do it to the guy’s face or in the media where they can watch the video or in the locker room before the weigh-in.”
Gilman named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week
After a 21-8 major decision over Jens Lantz and explosive come-from-behind win over No. 6 Ethan Lizak last weekend, Gilman was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week.
Trailing 8-2 heading into the third period on Sunday, Gilman managed to fight his way back into the match and scored 6 more points before pinning Lizak with more than a minute left.
“It was domination-minded. Even when he was down, he’s still trying to beat the guy as bad as he can,” Iowa head coach Tom Brands said. “It wasn’t just to eke it out, ‘Can I get myself back in it,’ catch him and lay on the guy. The biggest thing is his composure. It didn’t matter what the score was, there was still 1:05 left when he pinned him.”
Nineteen of Gilman’s 21 wins this season have come with bonus points. The senior has notched eight falls, seven technical falls, and four major decisions in his undefeated season.
It is the second time this season Gilman has been a Big Ten Wrestler of the Week, the third in his career.
