Iowa's No. 2 Drake Ayala avenges loss to Purdue's No. 1 Matt Ramos, places third at Big Ten Tournament

Iowa’s No. 2 Drake Ayala avenges loss to Purdue’s No. 1 Matt Ramos, places third at Big Ten Tournament

The 125-pounder beat Ramos, 4-1, on Sunday night.

March 10, 2024

Iowa’s No. 1 125-pound Drake Ayala wrestles Purdue’s No. 2 Matt Ramos during a wrestling dual between No. 3 Iowa and Purdue at Carver-Hawkeye Area on Friday, Jan. 19, 2024. The Hawkeyes defeated the Boilermakers, 34-6. Ramos defeated Ayala by decision, 4-1.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — After dropping his quarterfinals match on Saturday, Iowa’s Drake Ayala battled his way through the consolation bracket en route to a third-place finish.

He did so by avenging his regular season loss to top-ranked Matt Ramos of Purdue, who also was upset in the quarterfinal round. Ayala defeated Ramos, 4-1, in the third-place match Sunday night.

The Hawkeye scored a takedown as the buzzer sounded in the first period and earned an escape in the third to seal it, holding off any last shots from Ramos in the final two minutes.

Earlier this season, Ramos beat Ayala, 4-1, and blew a kiss to the Iowa crowd as he walked off the mat inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Ramos upset Iowa’s three-time national champion Spencer Lee in last season’s NCAA semifinals.

Ayala and Ramos have a good shot at facing each other again at the NCAA Tournament in Kansas City March 21-23.

B1G Third Place — Drake Ayala 🥉

125 | Drake Ayala dec. Matt Ramos (Purdue), 4-1#Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/R3XjOzQotc

— Iowa Hawkeye Wrestling (@Hawks_Wrestling) March 10, 2024

About the Contributor

Kenna Roering, Sports Editor

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Kenna Roering is The Daily Iowan's sports editor. She is a junior at the University of Iowa majoring in journalism with a minor in sports and recreation management. Kenna previously worked as a sports reporter for men's wrestling and volleyball and was the summer sports editor in 2023. This is her second year with the DI.