Brandon Sorensen is currently ranked No. 3 at 149 pounds (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)No. 3 Iowa hosts No. 4 Ohio State tonight at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. The dual meet is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT and will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.
The Hawkeyes are 7-2 this season and coming off a 26-11 home loss to No. 2 Penn State last Friday night. The Buckeyes are undefeated at 8-0, which is their best start since the 2009-10 season when they won their first 10 dual meets. Iowa has won 38 of 41 meetings between the two programs. Ohio State's last and only victory over Iowa in Iowa City came in 1929.
Below are five matchups to watch in the dual meet.
133: No. 4 Cory Clark (Iowa) vs. No. 1 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State)
This is one of the premier matchups of the dual meet, pitting two multiple-time All-Americans against each other. Tomasello, a 2015 NCAA champion, is the lone undefeated wrestler at 133 pounds. He started his season by winning the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, and has carried that momentum into late January. A little less than two weeks ago he hammered Zane Richards of Illinois 12-4 in a home dual meet. Clark, who started the season ranked No. 1, missed the Midlands Championships due to injury. After winning his first nine matches this season, Clark suffered a close loss to Oklahoma State's Kaid Brock, 6-4, in Stillwater on Jan. 15, which dropped him from his No. 1 ranking. He came back last weekend to earn a technical fall against Penn State.
141: Topher Carton (Iowa) vs. No. 14 Luke Pletcher (Ohio State)
Pletcher, a three-time Pennsylvania state champion, started his season in redshirt, but was called on after Ke-Shawn Hayes suffered a season-ending injury. Pletcher started his Ohio State wrestling career by winning his first 17 matches. He took his first loss at the Midlands, where he went 3-2. Pletcher has since reeled off three consecutive Big Ten victories, including one over Cole Martin of Wisconsin, to improve his record to 20-2. Carton won his first 13 matches this season before losing to NC State's Kevin Jack at the Midlands Championships. He would go on to earn a seventh-place finish in Evanston. Carton cracked the rankings earlier this month but fell out of the rankings after losing his last two matches. In his most recent match, Carton led Penn State's Jimmy Gulibon 3-0 heading into the final period, but gave up four takedowns in the final period to lose 8-6.
149: No. 3 Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) vs. No. 5 Micah Jordan (Ohio State)
Like the match at 125 pounds, this match features two wrestlers ranked in the top five. Sorensen is a two-time All-American and returning national finalist, while Jordan enters the match undefeated. Sorensen is coming off arguably his best effort of the season despite losing. He scored two takedowns on returning NCAA champion Zain Retherford of Penn State and pushed him to the brink, but ultimately fell 9-8 in the second tiebreaker period in a rematch of last year's NCAA finals. Sorensen's only other loss this season came to Oklahoma State's Anthony Collica. Jordan, a round of 12 finisher last season at 141 pounds, won the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational title in early December. His run to the Vegas title included wins over two wrestlers ranked in the top 10. He is currently 21-0 with 14 bonus point victories.
174: No. 11 Alex Meyer (Iowa) vs. No. 1 Bo Jordan (Ohio State)
Two-time All-American Bo Jordan has been hampered by an injury this season, which has caused him to miss some competitions. He has won all eight of his matches this season, but lacks notable wins. Half of his wins this season have come over non-Division I competitors, and he has not beaten a wrestler currently ranked in Division I. Meyer will be his first major test this season. The Hawkeye fifth-year senior All-American is coming off a big win over Penn State true freshman Mark Hall, a Southern Scuffle champion. Meyer started this season 12-0, but has gone 3-4 over his last seven matches. However, all four of his losses this season have come against wrestlers ranked in the top 12.
184: No. 5 Sam Brooks (Iowa) vs. No. 10 Myles Martin (Ohio State)
This is another battle of returning All-Americans. Brooks, an eighth-place finisher at the NCAAs last season, takes a 16-2 season record into tonight's dual meet. One of those two losses, however, came in his last outing a week ago against Penn State. Brooks was pinned in 38 seconds by No. 2 Bo Nickal. He will look to bounce back tonight as he faces the wrestler who defeated Nickal in the NCAA finals at 174 pounds last season, Myles Martin. The Buckeye sophomore has had a strong season, compiling a 20-3 record and No. 10 ranking. Two of his three losses came at the Midlands Championships, where he placed eighth.
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