Iowa men’s wrestling ready for two-dual weekend
The No. 2 Hawkeyes face the No. 11 Cornhuskers and No. 16 Badgers on Friday and Sunday, respectively.
January 19, 2023
The No. 2 Iowa men’s wrestling squad is set for a two-dual weekend. Iowa will battle No. 11 Nebraska on Friday at 8 p.m at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Then on Sunday, the Hawkeyes will travel to Madison, Wisconsin, for a matchup with the 16th-ranked Badgers at 2 p.m at the UW Field House.
Iowa is 10-0 on the season, 3-0 in the Big Ten, and has won 13 consecutive dual meets.
“Our dialogue and rhetoric is always the same,” Hawkeye head coach Tom Brands said in a press conference on Wednesday. “We have to be ready to go.”
Both dual meets will be televised live on BTN with Shane Sparks and Jim Gibbons on the call.
Previewing Nebraska (6-2, 2-0)
The Hawkeyes have reigned victorious in the last 13 meetings against Nebraska and lead the all-time series, 35-10-1. Friday’s projected lineup features two top-10 matchups at 125 and 141 pounds.
After pinning Northwestern’s then-No.3 Michael DeAugustino last week, Iowa’s top-ranked 125-pounder Spencer Lee will face another top-five foe on Friday. Lee, who is riding a four-match pin streak, is projected to face the Cornhuskers’ third-ranked Liam Cronin. Lee pinned Cronin in 54 seconds in 2019-20.
Cronin earned his first NCAA and Big Ten Wrestler of the Week honors on Jan. 17 after picking up two top-five victories. Cronin defeated Minnesota’s then-No. 4 Patrick McKee by decision, 11-6, and Northwestern’s then-No. 3 DeAugustino by major decision, 11-1.
Iowa’s Cullan Schriever and Brody Teske are both listed on the probable bout sheet at 133 pounds for this weekend.
Brands said the decision at 133 will come down to health. Teske, a Northern Iowa transfer and Big 12 champion, has only wrestled two matches this season due to knee issues.
Iowa’s second-ranked 141-pounder Real Woods is coming off a 17-2 landslide victory over Northwestern’s then-No. 6 Frankie Tal-Shaha. Woods, a Stanford transfer, will meet with another top-five opponent on Friday — Nebraska’s fourth-ranked Brock Hardy.
Woods is 7-0 on the season with six bonus point victories. Woods’ next victory would mark his 50th collegiate win, 42 of which came at Stanford. Hardy is 19-2 on the season with six falls.
Iowa’s 21st-ranked 157-pounder Cobe Siebrecht is projected to face Nebraska’s top-ranked Peyton Robb. Robb placed fourth at the NCAA Championships in 2022 and is 17-0 on the season.
Siebrecht has defeated three ranked opponents this season, including the highest ranked victory of his career with a 6-3 decision over Northwestern’s then-No. 9 Trevor Chumbley last week.
“I just have to be focused,” Siebrecht said in a press conference on Wednesday. “I feel like when I’m focused and dialed in, I’m a whole new wrestler.”
The Hawkeyes’ eighth-ranked 197-pounder Jacob Warner is back on the probable bout sheet for this weekend after missing Iowa’s last dual meet against Northwestern for unspecified reasons.
RELATED: Iowa men’s wrestler Cobe Siebrecht earns upset victory in win over Northwestern
Previewing Wisconsin (6-4, 0-3)
Iowa has won 41 of the last 42 meetings against Wisconsin and leads the all-time series, 80-8-3. Sunday’s probable lineup features three top-10 bouts at 125, 149, and 165 pounds, respectively.
Lee, who has won 46 straight matches, will face his third consecutive top-10 opponent on Sunday against the Badgers’ sixth-ranked Eric Barnett.
Barnett finished seventh at last year’s NCAA Championships and is 13-2 on the season with seven bonus point victories.
Iowa’s seventh-ranked 149-pounder Max Murin, who is coming off a 3-2 loss to Northwestern’s then-No. 5 Yayha Thomas, is projected to face second-ranked Austin Gomez on Sunday.
Gomez won the Big Ten title at 149 pounds last season and placed fourth at the NCAA Championships. Gomez is 9-1 on the year while Murin is 12-2 with a career-high nine bonus point victories.
At 165 pounds, Iowa’s 10th-ranked Patrick Kennedy is projected to battle sixth-ranked Dean Hamiti. Hamiti was crowned the 2022 Big Ten Freshman Wrestler of the Year and placed sixth at the NCAA Championships, earning him All-American status.
Kennedy is 3-1 against ranked foes, including a 15-4 major decision over Illinois’ 11th-ranked Danny Braunagel on Jan. 6. Kennedy, the U23 national title holder at 74 kg, is 11-1 on the season and is racking up 13.3 points per match.
There will be potential rematches at 197 and 285 pounds on Sunday.
Warner is projected to clash with the Badgers’ 13th-ranked 197-pounder Braxton Amos. Warner is 1-0 all-time against Amos, defeating him, 4-1, in last year’s dual meet.
Iowa heavyweight Tony Cassioppi is expected to face No. 11 Trent Hillger. Cassioppi is 7-0 all-time against Hillger, earning major decision victories in three of their last four meetings.
Hillger is 10-4 on the season, including a victory over seventh-ranked Cornell’s then-No. 9 Lewis Fernandes in the Badgers’ 19-13 upset win on Nov. 19.