The fifth-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team hosts No. 4 Ohio State on Friday at 7:04 p.m. (CT). The Hawkeyes (10-0) and Buckeyes (6-0) will meet on Mediacom Mat inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena in the Big Ten opener for both schools. The Hawkeyes have nine wrestlers ranked in the top 20 in at least one national poll. The Buckeyes have nine wrestlers ranked in the top 20 in at least one national poll. Tickets to the dual are $15 for adults, $8 for youth and $2 for kids five-years old and younger.
TELEVISION COVERAGE
Iowa's dual vs. Ohio State will be televised live on BTN. Tim Johnson and Jim Gibbons will have the call. Shane Sparks will report matside.
AUDIO COVERAGE
This weekend's competition 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.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Live Hawkeye wrestling updates are available @IowaWRLive; @Hawks_Wrestling; facebook.com/iowahawkeyewrestling.
LIVE RESULTS
Live results will be available on the wrestling schedule page at hawkeyesports.com.
BACK POINTS
• Tonight's dual features 18 wrestlers ranked in at least one of three national polls. Iowa and Ohio State each have nine wrestlers ranked among the top 20 in at least one national poll.
• Four Hawkeyes in the probable lineup have unblemished records at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Tony Ramos (19-0), Derek St. John (18-0), Brody Grothus (1-0) and Mike Evans (11-0) are a combined 49-0 on their home mat.
• Matt McDonough (125) has won 36 consecutive matches, a career-best. He is 32-1 all-time at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
• The Hawkeyes are 23-1 in Big Ten home duals since 2006-07, Tom Brands first season as head coach.
• The Hawkeyes own the series lead against Ohio State, 36-3.
THE SERIES -- OHIO STATE
The Hawkeyes lead the all-time series 36-3. Ohio State won the most recent meeting, 21-9, on Jan. 20, 2012 in Columbus, Ohio. Iowa is 14-1 all-time at home against the Buckeyes. Ohio State's lone win in Iowa City was in the series' first meeting, a 17-13 win in 1929.
IOWA VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
The Hawkeyes are 2-0 this season in duals against ranked opponents. Iowa defeated No. 17 Virginia 26-12 on Nov. 16, and No. 23 Lehigh 26-9 on Dec. 6. Including No. 4 Ohio State, nine of Iowa's remaining 10 opponents are ranked in the latest NWCA Division I Coaches Poll. Individually, the Hawkeyes own a 12-4 mark against ranked opponents. Matt McDonough (125) leads all Hawkeyes with victories over four rated foes (4-0). Mark Ballweg (141) is 3-0 against ranked competition, and Michael Kelly (149), Derek St. John (157) and Bobby Telford (285) are all 1-0 against ranked opponents. Other records against rated foes include Brody Grothus (0-1), Nick Moore (1-1), Ethen Lofthouse (1-1) and Nathan Burak (0-1).
BRANDS IN THE BIG TEN
Head Coach Tom Brands owns a 43-5 Big Ten record in six seasons, including 6-0 in conference openers. He is 23-1 all-time at home in Big Ten duals.
MCDONOUGH STREAK HITS 36
Senior Matt McDonough extended his win streak to a career-best 36 matches when he scored a major decision against No. 18 Steve Bonanno of Hofstra at the Grapple at the Garden on Dec. 16. McDonough finished last season with an NCAA title and a 28-match winning streak. He is a perfect 8-0 this season. McDonough's last loss was an 11-7 overtime decision to Illinois' Jesse Delgado (Dec. 2, 2011). He has since defeated Delgado twice -- first at the National Duals tournament (6-3) and most recently in the semifinals at the 2012 Big Ten Tournament (4-3).
3 ON THE BOARD IS JUST NOT ENOUGH
Junior Tony Ramos has scored bonus points in all 10 matches this season, including five pins and five major decisions. He leads the team with 50 dual points. His five pins tie for the team lead and his five major decisions rank second to Mark Ballweg (7). Ramos has won 39 of 40 career duals and owns a perfect 19-0 record at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
HAVING A BALL-WEG @ 141
Senior Mark Ballweg has won his last 24 bouts and owns a career record of 35-3 competing at 141 pounds. He is 10-0 with a team-high seven major decisions this season. He has scored bonus points in eight of 10 matches and is 3-0 against ranked opponents.
6-FOR-6 IN 2012-13
Sophomore Michael Kelly is one of eight Hawkeyes with a perfect dual record this season. Kelly is 6-0 in dual competition, doubling his dual win total from a year ago when he was 3-9 at 149 pounds. Kelly's 10-2 overall record includes two pins, five major decisions and one technical fall.
MOUNT ST. JOHN
Junior Derek St. John, rated No. 1 at 157, is 10-0 this season with two pins, four major decisions, and a team-best two technical falls. St. John is undefeated in 18 career matches inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. He owns a career dual record of 34-3 and an overall career record of 55-9.
165 WANTS MOORE
Sophomore Nick Moore is 6-2 this season and has scored 26 dual points, more than two and one-half times his total from a year ago (10). Moore has scored bonus points in five bouts, including three falls and one major decision. Moore was 3-1 competing at 165 pounds last season. Including his 11-2 mark wrestling unattached in 2010-11, Moore is 20-5 all-time while competing at 165.
EVANS HAS FOUND A BIGGER HOME
Sophomore Mike Evans has started five of Iowa's last six duals at 174 pounds after opening the season at 165. Evans owned a 2-0 record at 165, and since moving up a weight class he has gone 5-0 with one pin, one technical fall and three major decisions to raise his season record to 7-0. Including his redshirt freshman season in 2011-12, Evans is 24-2 with 16 bonus point victories at 174 pounds.
LOFTHOUSE MAKING WAVES AT 184
Junior Ethen Lofthouse owns a 9-1 record in his first season competing at 184 pounds. Lofthouse has scored bonus points in seven of his nine wins, including three pins and four major decisions. His only loss of the season was a 9-4 decision to No. 2 Robert Hamlin of Lehigh. Lofthouse owned a 28-9 record and placed seventh at the NCAA Championships last season while competing at 174 pounds.
BURAK ON THE BRINK
Freshman Nathan Burak is 9-5 this year with five bonus point victories. Among Burak's five losses, four have been decided by one point. His dual record sits at 2-4, but he's coming off his most impressive dual win of the season, a 12-4 major decision against Angelo Malvestuto at Buffalo. Burak opened the season with a third place finish at the Lindenwood Open before being inserted into the varsity lineup Nov. 24.
TELFORD WITH A SOPHOMORE SURGE
Sophomore Bobby Telford owns a 10-0 dual record with 47 dual points scored this season, a mark that ranks second on the team behind Tony Ramos (50). Entering conference action, Telford has already surpassed his dual win total and his dual points scored from last season. Telford owned a 9-5 dual mark and netted 36 dual points during his 2011-12 All-American campaign.
THREE WITH AN EYE ON FOUR
Senior Matt McDonough is a three-time NCAA finalist. He won NCAA titles in 2010 and 2012, and finished runner-up in 2011. With a top eight finish at the 2013 NCAA tournament, McDonough would become the 18th four-time All-American in school history. With a trip to the NCAA finals he would join Ed Banach, Duane Goldman and Lincoln McIlravy as the school's only four-time NCAA finalists. A third national title would make McDonough the seventh wrestler in school history to earn three NCAA Championships (Ed Banach, Tom Brands, Barry Davis, Lincoln McIlravy, Joe Williams, Jim Zalesky).
MCDONOUGH CHASES HISTORY
Senior Matt McDonough has four pins this season and a career total of 39. He scored nine falls as a freshman, 14 as a sophomore and 12 as a junior. He is five falls from matching Chuck Yagla (44) for 10th on the all-time career falls list. Ed Banach owns the school record with 73. Terry Brands sits No. 6 with 48 and Tom Brands ranks No. 8 with 46.
MCDONOUGH AMONG THE BEST
Senior Matt McDonough owns a career record of 108-4. His .964 winning percentage ranks fourth in program history among wrestlers with a minimum 95 decisions. 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) .973
3. Lincoln McIlravy (96-3-0) .970
4. Matt McDonough (108-4) .964
5. Tom Brands (158-7-2) .952
6. Terry Brands (137-7) .951
39 YEARS OF DOMINANCE
Since 1974, only seven schools have captured the NCAA Championship. During that 38-year span, the Hawkeyes have won 23 team titles, including nine straight from 1978-86. The other schools include Oklahoma State (7), Minnesota (3), Iowa State (2), Penn State (2), Arizona State (1) and Oklahoma (1).
ATTENDANCE LEADERS AT IT AGAIN
The Hawkeye drew 9,623 fans to its season opening dual against Iowa State. That number topped the average attendance from last year's national record of 9,014. Last year Iowa's 9,014 average marked the fourth straight year the Hawkeyes averaged over 8,000 fans per dual and the sixth straight season Iowa led the nation in attendance.
THE LAST MEETING-
No. 2 Iowa dropped a 21-9 decision to No. 7 Ohio State on Jan. 20, 2012 inside St. John Arena. Ohio State won seven of 10 matches to end a 34-dual losing streak to the Hawkeyes. The loss was Iowa's first in 50 road duals and the first against a Big Ten opponent in 39 duals
#2 IOWA 9, #7 Ohio State 21 -- Jan. 20, 2012
125 - #2 Matt McDonough (I) dec. #15 Johnni Dijulius (O), 5-2
133 - #4 Logan Stieber (O) dec. #2 Tony Ramos (I), 7-0
141 - #7 Hunter Stieber (O) dec. #3 Montell Marion (I), 4-2
149 - #16 Cam Tessari (O) dec. Mike Kelly (I), 9-4
157 - Josh Demas (O) dec. #2 Derek St. John (I), 7-3
165 - Derek Garcia (O) dec. #6 Mike Evans (I), 6-5
174 - #9 Ethen Lofthouse (I) dec. Joe Grandominico (O), 7-1
184 - #8 Nick Heflin (O) dec. Vinnie Wagner (I), 7-4
197 - Andrew Campolattano (O) dec. Grant Gambrall (I), 8-6
285 - Blake Rasing (I) dec. #15 Peter Capone (O), 6-2
HAWKEYE WRESTLING HISTORY
Iowa's overall dual meet record is 916-219-31 (.799) in 102 seasons. The Hawkeyes have won 23 national titles and 34 Big Ten titles. Iowa's 51 NCAA Champions have won a total of 79 NCAA individual titles, crowning six three-time and 16 two-time champions. The Hawkeyes' 105 Big Ten champions have won a total of 190 conference titles. There have been seven four-time, 18 three-time and 28 two-time Iowa winners. Iowa's 147 All-Americans have earned All-America status 297 times, including 17 four-time, 31 three-time and 37 two-time honorees.
TICKET INFORMATION
Single-meet tickets are available for purchase on hawkeyesports.com. Tickets for Purdue (1/6), Nebraska (2/10) and Edinboro (2/16) are $12 for adults, $8 for youth, and free for kids five-years old and younger. Single-meet tickets to the Penn State (2/1) dual are $15 for adults, $8 for youth and $2 for kids five-years old and younger.
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