Jordan Burroughs was dominant in picking up two victories on Saturday (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WreestlersAreWarriors.com)IOWA CITY -- When Jordan Burroughs sees an opening his eyes light up.
And so does the scoreboard.
Burroughs powered the U.S. to wins over India and Japan as the UWW Senior Men's Freestyle Wrestling World Cup kicked off Saturday before 6,388 fans at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The Americans opened with a 10-0 win over India on Saturday afternoon before rallying to defeat a strong squad from Japan 7-3 on Saturday afternoon.
The U.S. dropped the first three bouts against Japan before winning the remaining bouts.
"The World Cup is a major event and it's been a while since we've won this," U.S. National Coach Bill Zadick said. "Obviously, we want to change that. We have a good group of guys and they're wrestling well right now."
The U.S. is scheduled to face Georgia at 10 a.m. Sunday. A win there would clinch the Americans a berth in the gold-medal dual is set for 4 p.m.
The U.S. is seeking its first team title at the World Cup since 2003. The annual international dual meet competition features eight of the best teams in the world.
"I've wrestled in a lot of World Cups, but I've never been a part of a team that's won it," Burroughs said. "I really want to win this thing. Our team is competing at a high level. It's our time. I don't think there is anybody in the world that can compete with what we've got going on right now."
Burroughs opened with a decisive 11-1 technical fall over India's Vunod Kumar at 74 kg. He finished the win with a double leg into a leg lace. He led just 1-0 at the break against the defensive-minded Kumar before opening it up in the second period.
"It's frustrating wrestling a guy like that," Burroughs said. "You just have to keep your composure and keep battling."
Burroughs followed by downing Japan's Ken Hosaka 7-1.
Dake countered, lifted and launched world silver medalist Sohsuke Takatani of Japan twice for five points to score a stunning 10-0 win by technical superiority.
"This is the best atmosphere in the world to wrestle in," Dake said. "The crowd is incredible and the fans are really into it. It's a blast wrestling in here."
Burroughs, an Olympic gold medalist and four-time world champion, is now 25-0 in the World Cup.
Olympic gold medalist and two-time world champion Kyle Snyder rolled to a pair of wins at 97 kg. Snyder is now 9-1 in the World Cup
World silver medalist Thomas Gilman dropped a 4-1 decision to 2017 world champion Yuki Takahashi of Japan. Gilman led 1-0 and was in prime position to score on a number of single-leg attacks, but Takahashi twice countered for takedowns in the second period.
Takahashi beat Gilman 6-0 in the world finals at 57 kg. last year in Paris.
Gilman, a three-time All-American for Iowa, was competing in the arena where he wrestled in college at the World Cup.
Two-time NCAA champion David Taylor also rolled to a pair of wins Saturday.
"It's nice to wrestle in Carver-Hawkeye and have the fans cheering for me," said Taylor, who wrestled collegiately for Penn State. "It's an awesome atmosphere and we're excited to put on a show for them."
In the win over India, American Joe Colon rallied from an early deficit to down Sandeep Tomar 6-4 at 61 kg. Colon scored a takedown and gut wrench in the second period to prevail.
World champion Logan Stieber fired in on early leg attack en route to a decisive 12-2 technical fall win over India''s Sharvan. Stieber finished off the bout with a succession of gut wrenches to win at 65 kg.
James Green relied on his explosive double-leg attack to roll by Arun Kumar 10-0 at 70 kg.
The World Cup started in 1973 and the U.S. has won the event 13 times. The U.S. has hosted the World Cup 30 times, most recently in Los Angeles from 2014-16.
Iran has won this event the past six years. The Iranians were invited to this year's World Cup, but elected not to attend.
Burroughs also is still undefeated at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. He won the Olympic Trials here in 2012 and 2016.
"This is an incredible venue for wrestling with all of the tradition and history," Burroughs said. "I love competing here. It's a mecca for wrestling - I love it. You can't beat it."
USA 7, JAPAN 3
57 kg/125.5 lbs. - Yuki Takahashi (Japan) dec. Thomas Gilman (USA), 4-1
61 kg/134 lbs. - Kazuya Koyanagi (Japan) dec. Kendric Maple (USA), 2-2 criteria
65 kg/143 lbs. - Daichi Takatani (Japan) dec. Logan Stieber (USA), 10-5
70 kg/154 lbs. - James Green (USA) dec. Keisuke Otoguro (Japan), 8-5
74 kg/163 lbs. - Jordan Burroughs (USA) dec. Ken Hosaka (Japan), 7-1
79 kg/174 lbs. - Kyle Dake (USA) tech. fall over Sohsuke Takatani (Japan), 10-0
86 kg/189 lbs. - David Taylor (USA) tech. fall Shota Shirai (Japan), 12-2
92 kg/202.5 lbs. - J'den Cox (USA) tech. fall Takashi Ishiguro (Japan), 11-0
97 kg/213 lbs. - Kyle Snyder (USA) tech. fall Takeshi Yamaguchi (Japan), 10-0
125 kg/275 lbs. - Nick Gwiazdowski (USA) tech. fall Nobuyoshi Arakida (Japan), 10-0
USA 10, INDIA 0
57 kg/125.5 lbs. - Thomas Gilman (USA) won by forfeit
61 kg/134 lbs. - Joe Colon (USA) dec. Sandeep Tomar (India), 6-4
65 kg/143 lbs. - Logan Stieber (USA) tech. fall over Sharvan (India), 12-2
70 kg/154 lbs. - James Green (USA) tech. fall over Arun Kumar (India), 10-0
74 kg/163 lbs. - Jordan Burroughs (USA) tech. fall over Vinod Kumar Omprakash (India), 11-1
79 kg/174 lbs. - Kyle Dake (USA) tech. fall over Sachin Giri (India), 11-0
86 kg/189 lbs. - David Taylor (USA) tech. fall over Pawan Kumar (India), 10-0
92 kg/202.5 lbs. - Hayden Zillmer (USA) dec. Deepak Punia (India), 7-0
97 kg/213 lbs. - Kyle Snyder (USA) tech. fall over Viky (India), 10-0
125 kg/275 lbs. - Dom Bradley (USA) tech. fall over Pushpender Singh (India), 10-0
Craig Sesker has written about wrestling for more than three decades. He's covered three Olympic Games and is a two-time national wrestling writer of the year.
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