Bonus points helped propel Iowa to victory.
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Third-ranked Iowa won six of 10 matches and scored bonus points at 125 and 157 to defeat No. 4 Ohio State 21-13 on Friday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Top-ranked Thomas Gilman opened the dual with a 23-8 technical fall over No. 18 Jose Rodriguez at 125, and second-ranked Michael Kemerer won by 14-3 major decision over Jake Ryan at 157.
ICYMI on @BigTenNetwork Friday, a look back at the 21-13 Hawkeye win that included "urgent patience." https://t.co/yvjiILE5Pb
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“Bonus points are big,” said UI head coach Tom Brands. “They can be the difference in a dual like this and they will be the difference in March. We ironed some things out but there is still work to do.”
Iowa sent four top-five wrestlers to the mat and all four came away with wins. Third-ranked Brandon Sorensen used a second-period escape and a two-minute ride in the third to hand No. 5 Micah Jordan his first loss of the season, 2-0 at 149. The match was Sorensen’s third in 13 days against a top-five opponent. He had previously dropped one-point overtime decisions against Oklahoma State and Penn State.
“It’s nice to be on the other side,” Sorensen said. “But here’s the thing, you’re getting talked to the same way. Win or lose that, you’re getting talked to the same way. That’s not how we want it done.”
— Hawkeye Wrestling (@Hawks_Wrestling) January 28, 2017
“There are a lot of ways to win that match and one of the ways is 2-0,” Brands said. “He put a ride on him. He didn’t just get riding time and let him up, he kept him down. That is a gutsy way to win but we can score more points.”
Fifth-ranked Sammy Brooks turned a 3-1 deficit into a 5-3 win against defending NCAA champion Myles Martin at 184. Brooks escaped to start the third and finished the period on top after taking Martin to the mat at the 1:30 mark, earning a point for riding time.
“[Brooks] has gotten better at not getting rattled,” Brands said. “He was wrestling extremely hard, he got a stall call, and then scores and finishes. He was patient on the leg. He didn’t just dive for the ankle. I liked his patience and he also had urgency. So urgent patience.”
The Hawkeyes also got wins from redshirt freshmen at 165 and 285. They were the only two bouts that didn’t feature a ranked wrestler, and they both went to Iowa. Joey Gunther scored a takedown in the final minute of the second period and opened the third with an escape to win 3-0 at 165. Steven Holloway used two takedowns in the third to win 6-1 at 285. It was the first Big Ten win of Holloway’s career.
RANKINGS: USA Today/NWCA Coaches | NWCA/NCS Mid-Major Top 20
The Buckeyes picked up decisions at 133, 141 and 174 and won by major decision at 197. Topher Carton and Alex Meyer lost one-point decisions to ranked opponents. Carton, ranked 15th at 141, ran out of time in a 5-4 loss to No. 14 Luke Pletcher, and No. 11 Meyer surrendered a late takedown to top-ranked Bo Jordan in a 3-2 loss at 174. Phillip Laux dropped a 10-3 decision to No. 1 Nathan Tomasello at 133, and Cash Wilcke lost 19-7 to No. 4 Kollin Moore at 197. Laux was wrestling in place of fourth-ranked Cory Clark, who was held out for precautionary reasons.
“It’s the smart thing to do and the right thing to do,” Brands said. “We’re very conservative and we’re going to do the right thing. The call was mine.”
