Iowa men’s wrestling 125-pounder Drake Ayala returned to the mat against Nebraska on Sunday. He’d missed the Hawkeyes previous three duals with an injury.

Ayala took on Jeremiah Reno in Lincoln. He picked up a 13-6 win while sporting a brace on his left shoulder.

Ayala’s victory was the first of six the Hawkeyes picked up on their way to a 20-15 win Sunday.

“Great,” Iowa head coach Tom Brands said of Ayala’s performance in a post-match press conference. “I think he wrestles with a high pace that favors him. Doesn’t have a lot of practice time but it doesn’t matter, he’s a competitor.”

Iowa then won its next two matches at 133 and 141 pounds. Hawkeye 133-pounder Austin DeSanto won via technical fall. Senior 141-pounder Jaydin Eierman picked up a 6-3 victory over No. 10 Chad Red Jr.

Iowa lost the 149-pound bout Sunday. The Hawkeyes’ usual starter, senior Max Murin, didn’t make the trip to Lincoln. So, Murin’s fellow senior, Vince Turk, started at 149 pounds for Iowa.

Nebraska’s Ridge Lovett, who is ranked seventh in the nation at 149-pounds, dispatched Turk, 3-1.

Hawkeye seniors Kaleb Young and Alex Marinelli picked up wins at 157 and 165 pounds, respectively. Then, Cornhuskers came to life in front of a sold-out home crowd at the Devaney Center. 

Nebraska picked up two upsets at 174 and 184 pounds, and another victory at 197.

At 174, Nebraska’s No. 6 Mikey Labriola defeated No. 2 Michael Kemerer. The Cornhuskers’ 184-pounder, No. 20 Taylor Venz, pinned No. 18 Abe Assad, packing up six team points for Nebraska. 

At 197 pounds, Nebraska’s No. 3 Eric Shultz defeated No. 4 Jacob Warner to close the dual gap to 17-15. 

Kemerer is now 1-1 against Labriola. Assad is 0-2 versus Venz, and Warner is 1-3 in four bouts with Shultz. 

“We made it really, really exciting,” Brands said of the three straight defeats. “Our fans stuck with us until the end and I know their teammates stuck with it until the end. We definitely gotta keep getting better and improving. We gotta make sure that we’re going down this home-stretch of the season, we gotta be strong getting stronger.

“We got work to do at every match and every weight class,” Brands added. “… Kemerer’s gonna be fine, Assad’s gonna have to pick it up a little bit, and Warner’s gotta wrestle the third period. If we can wrestle full matches we’re gonna be great.”

Warner gave up the deciding takedown late in the third period.

At heavyweight, Iowa’s Tony Cassioppi secured the Hawkeyes’ third straight dual win. The fourth-ranked Cassioppi disposed of No. 12 Christian Lance, 3-0.

Big Picture

The Hawkeyes’ 20-15 win was their closest margin of victory over any Big Ten team this season.

Iowa is now 14-1 overall and 7-1 in conference, with its lone loss coming to Penn State on Jan. 28.

Up next

Iowa will begin the postseason in two weeks, heading to the 2022 Big Ten Wrestling Championships in Lincoln, Nebraska, March 5-6.