The sixth-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team hosts No. 3 Minnesota on Mediacom Mat inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday at 3 p.m. (CT).
CAMO DAY
Sunday's dual is "Camo Day" at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Fans can register to win an IOWA camouflage hat, and the first 1,000 fans at the dual will receive a FREE camouflage bandana. Hawkeye wrestlers will also be available to sign autographs for a limited time following to the dual.
AUDIO COVERAGE
Sunday's dual will be broadcast on AM-800 KXIC and streamed online at hawkeyesports.com via Hawkeye All-Access. Steven Grace and Mark Ironside will have the call live from Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
TELEVISION COVERAGE
Sunday's dual will be televised live on BTN. Tim Johnson, Jim Gibbons and Shane Sparks will have the call.
TOP 10 FOES
The No. 6 Hawkeyes will face their sixth top 10 opponent when they host No. 3 Minnesota. The Hawkeyes are 2-3 against top 10 teams. They defeated No. 7 Illinois, 20-13 (12/2), and won at No. 7 Nebraska, 24-9 (1/13). Iowa's losses include No. 2 Oklahoma State, 17-16 (1/7), No. 7 Ohio State, 21-9 (1/20) and No. 3 Penn State (1/22).
1-2-3 SHOOT
Iowa's three lightest weights have a combined 59-5 (.922) record this season with 39 bonus-point victories. Junior Matt McDonough (125) leads Iowa with nine pins. Sophomore Tony Ramos (133) owns a team-best five technical falls and senior Montell Marion (141) leads the Hawkeyes with seven major decisions.
RAMOS IS DUAL DOMINANT
Sophomore Tony Ramos has recorded five falls and four major decisions in 12 duals this season, racking up a team-high 52 points and an 11-1 record. He owns a 23-1 career dual record and has never lost in 13 matches inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
BIG MEETING
Senior Blake Rasing is 3-0 in his career vs. Minnesota's Tony Nelson, the nation's No. 4 ranked heavyweight. Rasing won a 7-5 decision at the Duhawk Open in 2010, and swept a pair of bouts in 2011, including a 4-2 decision in the dual and a 5-2 victory in the finals of the Big Ten Championships.
MCDONOUGH AMONG THE BEST
Junior Matt McDonough owns a career record of 85-4 (.955). Iowa's top wrestlers in program history based on winning percentage include:
1. T.J. Williams (98-1-0) .990
2. Brent Metcalf (108-3-0) .972
3. Lincoln McIlravy (96-3-0) .970
4. Tom Brands (158-7-2) .952
5. Terry Brands (137-7) .951
1 vs. 2
Hawkeye junior Matt McDonough and Minnesota senior Zach Sanders will meet in a battle of the nation's top ranked 125-pounders. McDonough is ranked No. 1 in one national poll (WIN), while Sanders holds the top spot in two national polls (Amateur Wrestling News and Intermat). McDonough is 4-0 in his career vs. Sanders with a pair of major decisions. He was undefeated in three meetings in 2009-10 and won the most recent bout, 10-3, last year in Minneapolis.
1ST AT 197
Iowa junior Grant Gambrall split a pair of decisions against Minnesota's Sonny Yohn when the two previously competed at 184 pounds. Gambrall defeated Yohn, 11-4, at the Northern Iowa Open in 2008 before dropping a 4-0 decision to Yohn at the Kaufman-Brand Open in 2009. Yohn competed at 197 pounds last season when the teams met. Gambrall moved up to 197 this season.
#900
The Hawkeyes topped Nebraska, 24-9, Jan. 13 to earn the 900th dual win in program history. Iowa owns a 901-217-31 (.797) dual record in 101 seasons. Iowa State, Oklahoma State and Oregon State are the only other schools to record at least 900 dual wins.
THE SERIES
Iowa has won the last six meetings and owns a 68-24-1 dual record in the all-time series vs. Minnesota. Five Hawkeyes could potentially make their series debut against the Gophers. Redshirt freshmen Michael Kelly, Nick Moore, Mike Evans and Bobby Telford, and senior Vinnie Wagner have never wrestled a Minnesota opponent. On the flip side, Matt McDonough (4-0), Tony Ramos (3-0), Montell Marion (4-4), Derek St. John (1-0), Ethen Lofthouse (1-1), Grant Gambrall (1-3) and Blake Rasing (3-1) have a combined 17-9 career record vs. Minnesota opponents.
LAST MEETING
No. 2 Iowa 19, No. 5 Minnesota 12 -- Feb. 20, 2011
125 - Matt McDonough (I) dec. Zach Sanders (M), 10-3
133 - Tony Ramos (I) dec. David Thorn (M), 7-3
141 - Montell Marion (I) dec. Mike Thorn (M), 4-3
149 - Danny Zilverberg (M) dec. Mark Ballweg (I), 5-3 SV
157 - Derek St. John (I) maj. dec. Matt Mincey (M), 20-8
165 - Cody Yohn (M) dec. Aaron Janssen (I), 6-4
174 - Scott Glasser (M) dec. Ethen Lofthouse (I), 7-5
184 - Kevin Steinhaus (M) dec. Grant Gambrall (I), 5-4
197 - Luke Lofthouse (I) dec. Sonny Yohn (M), 7-4
Hwt. - Blake Rasing (I) dec. Tony Nelson (M), 4-2
ST. JOHN MAKES AN APPEARANCE
Sophomore Derek St. John won his first 11 bouts of the season before suffering a knee injury Dec. 8 against Northern Iowa. He missed five Hawkeye events before returning Jan. 20 at Ohio State, where he suffered a 7-3 loss to Josh Demas. St. John suffered a minor setback in the dual and missed the next event at Penn State.
RAMOS NABS 2ND BIG TEN HONOR
Tony Ramos earned his second career conference honor when he was named Big Ten Co-Wrestler of the Week on Jan. 10 Ramos, a sophomore from Carol Stream, Ill., pinned Indiana's Joe Duca in the second period at Indiana (1/6) before earning a 4-3 overtime decision against Oklahoma State's top-ranked Jordan Oliver (1/7). He had previously won the award after a pair of bonus point victories against No. 7 Illinois (12/2) and Iowa State (12/4). He posted a 13-5 major decision over the Illini's B.J. Futrell, then-ranked No. 2 in the country, and recorded a second period pin against Iowa State's Shayden Terukina. Ramos, currently ranked No. 4, owns an 20-2 record with four major decisions, five technical falls and six pins.
HAWKEYES BUILD ON RECORD
Iowa grabbed its record 22nd Midlands team title Dec. 30, scoring 152 points and putting 11 wrestlers on the medal stand at the 49th annual event. Matt McDonough (125) earned his second career Midlands title. Tony Ramos (2nd, 133) Tyler Clark (4th, 133), Montell Marion (2nd, 141), Mike Kelly (5th, 149), Nick Moore (7th, 157), Mike Evans (7th, 165), Ethen Lofthouse (2nd, 174), Vinnie Wagner (7th, 184), Grant Gambrall (7th, 197) and Bobby Telford (2nd, Hwt.) placed for the Hawkeyes.
GAMBRALL AT 197
Junior Grant Gambrall has started at 197 pounds in seven of Iowa's 12 duals (3-4). Gambrall, a junior from Iowa City, Iowa, made his first career appearance at 197 pounds on Nov. 25, recording a 4-3 decision over Cornell College's Alex Coolidge. He is 7-6 this season and earned a seventh-place finish at the Midlands Championships competing at 197. Gambrall was an All-American while competing at 184 pounds in 2010-11.
CARVER-HAWKEYE ARENA
Iowa is 6-1 in dual competition inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,400) this season, outscoring their opponents 200-43. The 2010-11 Hawkeyes posted a perfect 8-0 dual record in their home venue, marking Iowa's 19th undefeated season in the facility since moving from the UI Fieldhouse in 1983. Iowa has a 194-19 (.910) record in the arena. The 2009-10 Hawkeyes went 11-0 at Carver-Hawkeye, which is the school record for most home wins in a single season. The dual wrestling attendance record for Carver-Hawkeye Arena is 15,955, set when Iowa defeated Iowa State (20-15) on Dec. 6, 2008.
BRANDS HITS 100
Iowa head coach Tom Brands earned his 100th career dual win as Iowa's head coach Nov. 25 vs. Iowa Central (37-6). It took Brands 107 duals to reach 100 career victories. Only Dan Gable, Iowa's all-time winningest coach, reached win No. 100 faster. Gable hit the century mark in his 105th dual. Brands owns a 106-9-1 career record since taking over the Iowa program in 2006.
MCDONOUGH'S MIDLANDS SUCCESS
Junior Matt McDonough won his second Midlands title in three years Dec. 30 at the 49th annual event in Evanston, Ill. McDonough recorded two pins, including a second period fall in the finals, and one major decision en route to the title. Since 2009, McDonough owns a 15-1 record at the Midlands, including two championships (2009, 2011) and a runner-up finish (2010). McDonough is 20-1 this season with five major decisions and a team-high nine pins.
NCAA EXPERIENCE
The Hawkeyes have seven wrestlers with previous NCAA championships experience. Junior Matt McDonough has advanced to the NCAA finals each of the past two seasons, winning the championship in 2010 and finishing runner-up in 2011. Montell Marion is a two-time All-American at 141 pounds. The senior from Des Moines, Iowa, placed second in 2010 and earned a fourth place finish in 2011. Sophomore Derek St. John and junior Grant Gambrall also earned All-America honors in 2011. St. John placed fourth at 157 pounds, and Gambrall earned third place at 184 pounds. Sophomores Tony Ramos (133) and Ethen Lofthouse (174), and senior Blake Rasing (Hwt.) also earned NCAA berths last season.
HAWKEYE WRESTLING HISTORY
Iowa's overall dual meet record is 901-217-31 (.797) in 101 seasons. The Hawkeyes have won 23 national titles and 34 Big Ten titles. Iowa's 51 NCAA Champions have won a total of 78 NCAA Individual titles, crowning six three-time and 15 two-time champions. The Hawkeyes' 104 Big Ten champions have won a total of 188 conference titles. There have been seven four-time, 18 three-time and 27 two-time Iowa winners. Iowa's 144 All-Americans have earned All-America status 291 times, including 17 four-time, 29 three-time and 38 two-time honorees.
HOME MAT ADVANTAGE
The Hawkeyes have won their last 18 Big Ten duals inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The school record for consecutive Big Ten home wins is 63, when Iowa went nearly 23 years without a loss at home from January 17, 1975 to January 3, 1998. Iowa has topped Minnesota once during the 18-dual home winning streak, a 25-9 victory Feb. 15, 2009. The Gophers are the last Big Ten team to beat Iowa inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. They earned a 29-13 decision Feb. 18, 2007.
TIEBREAK CRITERIA
The Hawkeyes saw their 84-match dual unbeaten streak end Jan. 7, 2012, when Oklahoma State topped Iowa, 17-16. The two teams were tied at 16 after splitting 10 bouts, so officials used the NCAA tiebreak criteria inserted during the offseason to determine a winner. The first tiebreak is match victories (5-5) and the second is falls/tech. falls (0-0). Oklahoma State eventually won on the third tiebreak criteria, match points (54-51).
ATTENDANCE LEADERS AT IT AGAIN
The third largest dual crowd in NCAA history (15,400) watched Iowa host Oklahoma State on Jan. 7, 2012. Through five home dates, the Hawkeyes have averaged 9,257 fans. That includes duals vs. Oklahoma State, the Iowa City Duals* (8,527), Illinois (7,330), Northern Iowa (7,078) and Northwestern (7,954). Iowa has led the nation in attendance for five straight seasons. The Hawkeyes averaged a national record 8,209 fans in six home duals last season. It marked the third straight year Iowa averaged over 8,000 fans per dual. Iowa's dual vs. Iowa State (Dec. 3, 2010) was the largest dual crowd in the country last year (11,895). *The IC Duals do not count towards attendance figures.
TICKET INFORMATION
Single-meet tickets are now available for purchase on hawkeyesports.com. Single-meet tickets to the Minnesota dual are $13 for adults, $7 for children and $2 for kids five and under. Tickets to the Wisconsin dual (2/5) are $10 for adults, $5 for children and free for kids five and under.
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes return to Carver-Hawkeye Arena to host Wisconsin on Sunday, Feb. 5, at 1 p.m. (CT). The contest will be broadcast by AM-800 KXIC and streamed online at btn.com and hawkeyesports.com via Hawkeye All-Access.
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