DETROIT— Iowa men’s wrestlers Austin DeSanto and Jacob Warner advanced to the 133-pound and 197-pound NCAA Championship Semifinals, respectively, Friday afternoon at Little Caesars Arena.

The fifth-seeded DeSanto defeated his quarterfinal opponent, No. 4 Korbin Myers of Virginia Tech, via 9-0 major decision. The sixth-seeded Warner beat Nebraska’s Eric Schultz, who was seeded third, 2-0, in the quarterfinals.

Although DeSanto told reporters he was nervous at the start of his quarterfinal bout, the senior earned two takedowns, four nearfall points, and a riding time point. 

DeSanto will face top-seeded Roman-Bravo Young of Penn State in Friday night’s semifinals.

In seven career matches against “RBY,” DeSanto is 2-5. The now-four-time All-American has lost his last five bouts against Bravo-Young.

Four of the last five matches DeSanto has lost to Bravo-Young have been decided by three points or fewer.

Ahead of his matchup with “RBY” tonight, DeSanto isn’t overcomplicating his strategy.

“Just effort and pace,” DeSanto said Friday afternoon. “Wrestle hard, stay in there, don’t let anything rattle me.”

Warner lost three consecutive bouts to Schultz before Friday. The now-four-time All-American extinguished Schultz today with help from a ride that spanned the entire second period.

“I knew the last three times [I faced Schultz], I was in the match until the very end,” Warner said. “I knew I had to stay in there. I knew when he chose bottom, I had to put a tough ride on him. And I can ride guys. I can turn guys. Eric’s a great competitor … We’ve been wrestling since middle school. He’s a great opponent. He wrestles hard the whole time. He’s always been that way.”

Warner also noted that wins don’t come easy against Schultz and that a full seven-minute effort is required to reign victorious.

“Closing out the third period [was key],” Warner said. “Wrestling the whole match, getting my hands on him. I knew I could crack him. That third period, he fired off a couple of attacks, didn’t get any of them. I just felt his energy drain and I knew right then and there that he wasn’t going to snip my legs. I knew I could get it done.”

In the second period, Warner used several powerful mat returns and an unwavering self-belief to stay on top of Schultz.

“I rode him in Nebraska this year for like 1:15,  so I knew I could do it again,” Warner said. “… I knew my momentum was going up [when I hit a big mat return]. The match may have started in his favor a little bit, and I started turning it my way with my ride on top.”

Warner will face Wyoming’s Steven Buchanan, who he’s only wrestled once, in Friday’s semifinals. Warner downed Buchanan, 6-3, at last year’s NCAA Championships.