Hawkeye wrestling handles first weekend test

After a 37-9 win over Indiana, Iowa wrestling is only one meet away from an undefeated Big Ten record in dual meets.

Iowas+Mitch+Bowman+wrestles+Indianas+Jacob+Covaciu+during+a+wrestling+match+between+Iowa+and+Indiana+at+Carver-Hawkeye+Arena+on+Friday%2C+February+19%2C+2019.+The+Hawkeyes%2C+celebrating+senior+night%2C+defeated+the+Hoosiers+37-9.

Shivansh Ahuja

Iowa’s Mitch Bowman wrestles Indiana’s Jacob Covaciu during a wrestling match between Iowa and Indiana at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Friday, February 19, 2019. The Hawkeyes, celebrating senior night, defeated the Hoosiers 37-9.

Sarah Altemeier, Sports Reporter

With the help of seniors Mitch Bowman and Sam Stoll on Friday night, Iowa wrestling beat Indiana and took one more step toward an undefeated record in Big Ten dual meets.

“[Our seniors are] great ambassadors for our program, unselfish, [have] good leadership qualities, are going to do well in life, and [have learned] from some mistakes they’ve made,” head coach Tom Brands said.

Bowman took on Jacob Covaciu in his final match at Carver-Hawkeye. After a scoreless first period, Iowa’s 174-pounder tallied the first point of the match on an escape in the second period. Covaciu tied it up with an escape in the third, but Bowman would finish in style, with a takedown with eight seconds to go.

“It feels incredible to get a win on senior night — the last time out,” Bowman said. “[There were a] ton of fans out here tonight, and it was awesome to go out to that. Carver is known for great finishes and I thought that was a pretty good finish.”

Stoll also took care of business on senior night, winning on a major decision, defeating Fletcher Miller, 16-6. Stoll scored 6 takedowns, 2 points for stalling, an escape, and a point for riding time in the win.

“There’s just no other place like [Carver-Hawkeye],” Stoll said. “The fans are awesome. It’s an indescribable atmosphere, walking out there and hearing the fans.”

No. 2 Spencer Lee, No. 12 Pat Lugo, and No. 2 Alex Marinelli all pinned their opponents. No. 3 Austin DeSanto, in his first bout since suspension, won on a technical fall.

No. 14 Max Murin, however, left disappointed. He was upset by unranked Kyle Lugis, who pinned Murin at the 6:15 mark.  Based off what Brand’s said in his press release, it seemed as though the Hawkeye may have left the building after his match.

“We probably underperformed tonight overall” Brands said. “Here’s the thing — no matter what happens in life, if you don’t get what you want, you don’t jettison everything and just quit. We had to track a guy down that left the building, and that doesn’t sit well with me. When you get beat, you have to be able to get back on the horse seat and gallop, and gallop with a purpose.”

Nonetheless, No. 11 Cash Wilcke and No. 4 Jacob Warner also both tallied wins, sealing a Hawkeye victory over the Hoosiers, 37-9.

But Sunday’s match-up against No. 16 Wisconsin might not be so easy. The Badgers have five top-20 wrestlers in their probable line-up, one of whom is 165-pounder No. 3 Evan Wick.

“I think [Wisconsin will] have their guys ready,” Stoll said. “They’ll be ready to fight. We’ve got to know that when we wrestle teams they are going to give us everything they have. It’s a big deal whenever teams wrestle the Iowa Hawkeyes — they don’t want guys to feel good. This will be a big test for us.”

The Hawkeyes will travel to Madison, Wisconsin and wrestle the Badgers on Feb. 17, beginning at 2 p.m.