Iowa men’s wrestler Abe Assad made his return to the mat on Sunday in the No. 2 Hawkeyes’ 28-7 victory over the No. 10 Oklahoma State Cowboys at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. 

In his first match back since getting pinned by Wisconsin’s unranked Tyler Dow in 1:24 on Jan. 22, Assad earned a 4-2 decision over the Cowboys’ 10th-ranked Travis Wittlake. The victory moved Assad to 15-2 overall, while the Hawkeyes closed out the 2022-23 regular season 15-1. 

The 12th-ranked 184-pounder missed Iowa’s dual meets against Penn State, Minnesota, and Michigan because of an undisclosed injury.

While Assad tried to wrestle in the Hawkeyes’ bout against the Nittany Lions, head coach Tom Brands told him to make a smart decision and that the postseason is what’s important.

“The injury I had happened a week before Penn State,” Assad said after Sunday’s dual meet. “I was really itching to get back out there. I was like, ‘Just let me wrestle Penn State, Tom. Let me wrestle Penn State. I don’t care if I hurt it more, I just want to wrestle Penn State.’”

Assad ultimately chose not to wrestle against the Nittany Lions. He doesn’t regret his decision as he feels healthier now and “ready to roll into the postseason.”

After a scoreless first period on Sunday, Wittlake struck first with a reversal to take the lead. Assad escaped and scrambled to a late second-period takedown to grab a 3-2 advantage heading into the third period. 

He then fought off Wittlake’s late shots to seal his fifth ranked victory of the season. Assad said he felt he started slow in Sunday’s bout but got in his groove as the match went on. 

“It’s a gutsy win,” Brands said of Assad’s victory on Sunday. “He’s been off the mat, and I’m not going to get into details and all that, but he has approached it like a journeyman. There’s been no sucking the thumb. It’s all been tough, positive, smart, aggressive in his own mind … And we got great medical people too, by the way.”

Throughout the bout, Assad stayed in his comfort zone and consistently went for low shots on Wittlake’s lead leg, which he said he repeatedly works on in the practice room. 

“I have the most confidence in that attack,” Assad said of his low shots. “But I know I have other offense too, and I think that’s something I got to start tapping into this postseason, especially wrestling better guys.”

Assad was just one of four Hawkeyes to win by two points or fewer on Sunday. Iowa’s 14th-ranked 174-pounder Nelson Brands upset 11th-ranked Dustin Plott, 3-2. 12th-ranked 197-pounder Jacob Warner earned a 3-2 decision victory over the Cowboys’ 17th-ranked Luke Surber, and 10th-ranked Max Murin defeated Oklahoma State’s 18th-ranked Victor Voinovich, 4-3. 

Assad said the key to winning close matches is being stingy, which he feels he’s gotten better at over the years. While close matches aren’t ideal, the Hawkeyes know nothing comes easy in March.

“Winning close matches is important. Getting your hand raised the right way is important,” Brands said. “We want to emphasize that we’re a dominant team, and sometimes dominant wrestlers have to win close matches. This time of the year, it’s even more important to do what you do best.”