Jan. 4, 2015
RELATED INFO
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Top-ranked Iowa won the final four matches to rally past seventh-ranked Ohio State, 18-14, in wrestling action on Sunday afternoon in front of 6,558 fans at St. John Arena. The Hawkeyes improve to 7-0 on the year (2-0 Big Ten) while the Buckeyes are 4-3 overall, 0-1 in the Big Ten.
Redshirt freshman Bo Jordan made his first appearance since the beginning of November and quickly made up for lost time, notching a 9-2 decision over seventh-ranked Nick Moore to give Ohio State a 14-8 lead in the overall team score. Iowa, however, responded with decisions in the next four matches, including two that were decided by a single point, to eke out the victory.
At 174 pounds, Mike Evans, ranked third nationally, started the Iowa rally with a 5-2 decision over 12th-ranked Mark Martin. Evans had a key reversal in the third period while holding a precarious 3-2 lead. In the next match at 184 pounds, Kenny Courts fell behind against Sam Brooks 2-1 at the end of the first period and Brooks added a third point with an escape in the second period. Courts cut the deficit to 3-2 in the third on an escape but could get no closer.
The 197 pound match featured seventh-ranked Kyle Snyder against sixth-ranked Nathan Burak. Snyder was changed with a stalling warning late in the second period and Burak scored his only points on escapes in the second and third periods, respectively.
Burak’s victory gave Iowa a 15-14 lead in the match and Bobby Telford, ranked third nationally, defeated Nick Tavanello 4-0 in the final match of the day at 285 pounds.
The match started at 125 pounds with a tightly-contested match between eighth-ranked Nathan Tomasello and fourth-ranked Thomas Gillman. Each wrestler had a single escape through three periods and Gilman won it with an escape in overtime.
At 133 pounds, Johnni DiJulius won his season-high 17th match of the year as be disposed of fourth-ranked Cory Clark, 7-5. DiJulius took a 5-2 lead after the first period on the strength of two takedowns and then had escapes in both the second and third periods.
Defending national champion Logan Stieber moved to 12-0 on the year with a dominating 15-0 technical fall over sixth-ranked Josh Dziewa. Stieber, 102-3 in his career, scored eight points in the first period (two three-point near falls, a two-point near fall and a takedown) and then finished Dziewa off in the second with a three-point near fall and two-point near fall.
In one of the most tightly-contested matches of the day, redshirt junior Hunter Stieber lost to Brandon Sorenson 9-7 on a takedown late in the third period. Stieber led 4-2 entering the third period and tied the match at 7-7 on an escape just before Sorenson’s final takedown.
At 165 pounds, redshirt senior Josh Demas ran his record to 10-0 this season with a 5-2 decision over Mike Kelly. Tied 2-2 entering the third, Demas had an escape and takedown in the final two minutes to secure the victory.
Ohio State returns to action next Sunday, January 11, when it hosts fourth-ranked Penn State at 2 p.m.
Ohio State Wrestling
No. 1 Iowa 18, No. 7 Ohio State 14
Attendance: 6,558
Records: Iowa (7-0, 2-0) | Ohio State (4-3, 0-1)
125: Thomas Gilman (Iowa) over Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State) (TB-1 2-1) Iowa 3, OSU 0
133: Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State) over Cory Clark (Iowa) (Dec 7-5) OSU 3, Iowa 3
141: Logan Stieber (Ohio State) over Josh Dziewa (Iowa) (TF 15-0 4:37) OSU 8, Iowa 3
149: Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) over Hunter Stieber (Ohio State) (Dec 9-7) OSU 8, Iowa 6
157: Josh Demas (Ohio State) over Mike Kelly (Iowa) (Dec 5-2) OSU 11, Iowa 6
165: Bo Jordan (Ohio State) over Nick Moore (Iowa) (Dec 9-2) OSU 14, Iowa 6
174: Michael Evans (Iowa) over Mark Martin (Ohio State) (Dec 5-2) OSU 14, Iowa 9
184: Sam Brooks (Iowa) over Kenny Courts (Ohio State) (Dec 3-2) OSU 14, Iowa 12
197: Nathan Burak (Iowa) over Kyle Snyder (Ohio State) (Dec 2-1) Iowa 15, OSU 14
285: Bobby Telford (Iowa) over Nick Tavanello (Ohio State) (Dec 4-0) Iowa 18, OSU 14
Postmatch Quotes:
Head coach Tom Ryan
On message to his team
“We need to stick together and lean on each other, hold each other accountable, work harder. Most problems in life can be fixed with working harder. Every man has the same demons; those who conquer them go on to big things, those who don’t lose by a point. Overall I’m happy though.”
Senior Logan Stieber
On his match today
“I was excited for it. I knew my kid was good, and I needed to score a lot of points for my team. But it was a good week of training, so I was excited for the match.”
On team match today
“I think we are close but we have to fix some things, and I think we still need to fix them now after the match. It’s crunch time now, but I’m still positive and I think we can still go places if we fix those things.”
Redshirt freshman Bo Jordan
On his match today
“I tried to come out and score as many points as I could. I had some takedowns, but I got a little tired, I still went out there and got it done. I’m looking forward to getting back in the practice room though.”
