University of Iowa Sports Information
The University of Iowa wrestling team crowned four individual champions en route to winning the 2007 Midlands team title Sunday night in Evanston, IL. The Hawkeyes won their 19th team title in school history and their first since 2002. Iowa scored 185 points to win the 45th annual tournament. Defending team champion Iowa State placed second with 139.
The Hawkeyes went four-for-five in the finals with junior Mark Perry (165) and sophomores Joe Slaton (133), Dan LeClere (141) and Brent Metcalf (149) each winning individual titles. It was Perry's second career title and his fourth appearance in the finals. It was the first title for Slaton, LeClere and Metcalf.
Slaton set the tone for Iowa in the finals with a 6-2 upset over top seed Franklin Gomez of Indiana to remain undefeated at 12-0. LeClere followed with a narrow 5-4 upset over second seed Zack Bailey of Oklahoma. Metcalf won Iowa's third straight title, racking up third-period points to beat fifth seed Jake Patascil of Purdue by an 18-5 major decision. Perry made Iowa four-for-four in the finals with his 8-0 major decision over fifth seed Jonathan Reader of Iowa State. Perry led the tournament field with four pins in a total time of 8:10. Sophomore Jay Borschel wrestled above his sixth seed, but could not pull the upset over top seed Keith Gavin of Pittsburgh and lost Iowa's final championship match, 13-4.
Also placing for the Hawkeyes were seniors Alex Tsirtsis (141-3rd) and Matt Fields (Hwt.-8th), junior Charlie Falck (125-3rd), and sophomores Phillip Keddy (184-4th) and Ryan Morningstar (157-5th). Tsirtsis was wrestling as an unattached Hawkeye.
Top-ranked Iowa (7-0) will return to Iowa City to host fifth-ranked Oklahoma State (5-1) Saturday at 7 p.m. in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The UI Athletics Ticket Office has already sold almost 7,000 tickets for the dual meet and encourages fans to purchase tickets in advance. Tickets purchased in advance are $8 for adults and $4 for youth. Prices increase to $10 for adults and $5 for youth on match night. Tickets can be purchased online at www.hawkeyesports.com, over the telephone at 1-800 IA-HAWKS, and at the UI Athletics Ticket Office in Carver-Hawkeye. The ticket office is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, but will be closed on New Year's Day.
Minnesota wins Southern Scuffle with four champions
University of Minnesota Sports Information
The defending national champion Minnesota Golden Gopher wrestling team lived up to its billing Sunday at the 2007 Southern Scuffle in Greensboro, N.C. The Gophers ran away with the team title, topping runner-up Edinboro by over 50 points and crowned four individual champions: Jayson Ness, Mack Reiter, Manuel Rivera and C.P. Schlatter all finished first in their respective weight classes.
The Gophers' main highlights on the event's second day easily belonged to third-ranked Ness (125 pounds) and Schlatter, currently ranked 10th at 157 pounds. Ness recorded pins in all six of his matches during the tournament, bumping his season total to 15. He appears on pace to shatter the Gophers' single season pin record of 20, set by current head assistant coach Marty Morgan in 1989-90. Ness has pinned all 12 opponents he has faced in tournament competition so far this season.
C.P. Schlatter earned a form of family redemption in the 157-pound championship match on Sunday, defeating second-ranked Gregor Gillespie of Edinboro by a 5-2 decision. Gillespie was the national champion at 149 pounds last season and ended Dustin Schlatter's 65-match winning streak in the NCAA semifinals.
Reiter cruised to a victory in the 133-pound bracket with a perfect 5-0 tournament record, including a hard-fought 5-4 win over Cornell's Mike Grey in the final. The senior picked up bonus points in three of five matches and won his first-ever Southern Scuffle title. Reiter missed the 2006 tournament due to an injury and finished second in 2005.
Rivera, another Gopher senior enjoying a stellar season, entered the final 30 seconds of his championship match with third-ranked Charles Griffin of Hofstra down 3-2, but scored a reversal with just 10 seconds remaining to emerge with a dramatic 5-3 win. Rivera recorded three pins and a tech fall in six matches during the two-day tournament, improving his season record to 19-1 while picking up his second straight Southern Scuffle title.
Top-ranked 149-pounder Dustin Schlatter was upset in the championship match by unranked Mike Roberts of Boston University, who went on to win the tournament's most outstanding wrestler award. Gophers Gabe Dretsch (fifth place at 174 pounds), Tyler Safratowich (fifth place at 165 pounds) and Yura Malamura (sixth at 197 pounds) also placed for the Gophers. Malamura won four straight matches after dropping down to the consolation bracket before losing to nationally-ranked Joseph Rovelli of Hofstra and Patrick Bradshaw of Edinboro to end his run.
The Southern Scuffle marks the end of Minnesota's regular season tournament schedule, as the team enters the bulk of its dual meet slate with the 2008 NWCA National Duals Jan. 12-13. The Gophers won the event last year with a perfect 4-0 record, including a victory over then-No. 1 Missouri for the championship. The University of Northern Iowa will once again host the 2008 National Duals in Cedar Falls.
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