Hawkeye senior Daniel Dennis won the evening's marquee match-up, scoring a 3-2 win in the first tiebreak period over defending NCAA and Big Ten champion Franklin Gomez at 133. Gomez, a senior who was ranked first in the nation, entered the dual on a 29-match winning streak. Dennis, who was ranked fourth in the country, was the last collegiate wrestler to beat Gomez, scoring a 3-2 decision at the dual in East Lansing last season. After a scoreless first period, Gomez scored a quick escape in the second to take a 1-0 lead. Dennis started down in the third period and scored a reversal to take a 2-1 lead. Gomez escaped with 13 seconds left in regulation to tie the score at 2-2. Dennis had only accumulated 59 seconds of riding time when Gomez escaped, so the match was forced to overtime. Neither wrestler scored in the one minute sudden victory period. Dennis started down in the first 30-second tiebreak period, escaping with 16 seconds left to take a 3-2 lead. Gomez needed an escape in the second 30-second tiebreak to force the match to a second sudden victory period, but Dennis rode him out to hold on for the 3-2 win.
"You win close matches against tough opponents, and sometimes you have to eek them out," said Hawkeye Head Coach Tom Brands, who picked up his 25th Big Ten victory Sunday night. "I think we've lost our last three overtime matches, so we stopped that roll which is a good thing. It was a good win for Dennis."
Picking up extra team points for the Hawkeyes were seniors Brent Metcalf (149) and Jay Borschel (174) and redshirt freshman Matt McDonough (125). All three remain undefeated on the season with their wins. McDonough opened the dual by pinning Spartan freshman Brennan Lyon in 2:52. McDonough scored two takedowns in the first period before scoring the pin, improving to 24-0. Metcalf picked up his 24th season win, pinning Michigan State sophomore David Cheza in 3:37. The Hawkeye senior led the bout 7-2 before scoring his 13th pin of the season and the 44th of his Hawkeye career. He now ranks ninth on Iowa's all-time career pins list. Borschel improved to 23-0 with an 8-0 major decision over Spartan sophomore Ian Hinton, picking up his eighth major decision of the season.
Also scoring decisions for the Hawkeyes were seniors Ryan Morningstar (165), Phillip Keddy (184) and Dan Erekson (Hwt), juniors Aaron Janssen (157) and Luke Lofthouse (197) and sophomore Montell Marion (141). Marion (6-0), Janssen (1-0) and Morningstar (3-0) held their Spartan opponents scoreless, while Keddy, Lofthouse and Erekson only allowed a combined total of 10 Michigan State points in their matches. Marion picked up his 25th career victory and 15th season with his 6-0 win over Spartan freshman Dan Osterman.
Up next for Iowa is a trip West to face Utah Valley (7-2, 2-1 WWC) Saturday, February 6 at 8 p.m. (CT) in Hawkeye senior Phillip Keddy's hometown of Vernal, UT. Iowa will wrestle the Wolverines at the Uintah High School Gymnasium. Hawkeye junior Luke Lofthouse and true freshman Ethen Lofthouse are also Utah natives, graduating from Mountain Crest High School in Avon.
Results:
133 - Daniel Dennis (I) dec. Franklin Gomez (MSU), 3-2 TB-1
141 - Montell Marion (I) dec. Dan Osterman (MSU), 6-0
149 - Brent Metcalf (I) pinned David Cheza (MSU), 3:37
157 - Aaron Janssen (I) dec. Anthony Jones (MSU), 1-0
165 - Ryan Morningstar (I) dec. Kyle Bounds (MSU), 3-0
174 - Jay Borschel (I) maj. dec. Ian Hinton (MSU), 8-0
184 - Phillip Keddy (I) dec. Nick Palmieri (MSU), 8-1
197 - Luke Lofthouse (I) dec. Tyler Dickenson (MSU), 10-7
Hwt. - Dan Erekson (I) dec. Alan O'Donnell (MSU), 8-2
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