HawkeyeReport.com - Hawkeyes fall to fourth place

March 20, 2009

Tom Kakert
Publisher

Anyone thinking that the Iowa wrestling team was going to be handed a national title this weekend in St. Louis better think again. The Hawkeyes were tied for first at the start of the day, but have fallen to 4th place heading into the semi-final round this evening. The good news for Iowa, they have seven wrestlers still alive, including Brent Metcalf and Ryan Morningstar in the semifinals.

As we head into the Friday evening session, the team standings are as follows:

1. Ohio State 61.5

2. Iowa State 57.5

3. Nebraska 54

4. Iowa 53.5

5. Edinboro 49.5

Ohio State has five wrestlers still alive, including four in the semis. Iowa State has six wrestlers still alive with three in the semis. Nebraska has four wrestlers still alive and all four are in the semifinals. Iowa has seven wrestlers still alive and two in the semis.

What started off looking like a good day, turned bad for the Hawkeyes in the quarterfinals and was capped off by two losses in the wrestlebacks.

125 - Charlie Falck started slow again today, but he picked it up when he needed it most in the third period. With about 30 seconds left he put Brendan Byrne from Maryland in a bear hug and pinned him. Falck came back later in the session and had a pretty solid performance in a 5-1 win over Brandon Zoetewety from CSU Bakersfield.

Falck will be back in action tonight in the quarterfinals of the wrestlebacks. His foe will be a familar one, Zach Sanders from Minnesota. Sanders defeated Falck this year in the dual meet in Iowa City, but at the Big Ten Tournament, Falck returned the favor with a 5-4 win. If Falck wins, he would face the winner of Oklahoma State's Joey Fio and Nicholas Bedelyon from Kent State.

133 - Daniel Dennis had his chances against Andrew Hochstrasser from Boise State. Dennis started slowly and fell behind heading into the third period and nearly pulled out what was a controversial ending, 9-8.

Dennis is now in the wrestlebacks this evening where he will face #11 seed Mike Grey from Cornell. If Dennis wins that matchup, then he will face the winner of #3 seed Jimmy Kennedy, who has survived since an early loss, and #7 seed Lou Ruggirello from Hofstra.

141 - After getting an injury default in his first wrestleback match of the day, Alex Tsirtsis has plenty of time to think about his first match of the day. Northern Iowa's Trenton Washington was forced out by a concussion on Thursday night and Tsirtsis eventually faced off with a very familiar foe in Zach Tanelli from Wisconsin. The result, while closer than their previous matches, was exactly the same with Tanelli winning 6-5 in overtime. With the loss, Tsirtsis ends his Iowa career.

149 - On a brighter note, there is the machine that is Brent Metcalf, who advanced to the semifinals tonight with a 14-6 win over Kyle Terry of Oklahoma. While Metcalf did not get his third straight pin, the outcome was never in doubt.

The semifinal match tonight will certainly have team title implications as Metcalf faces off with Lance Palmer from Ohio State. Palmer and Metcalf have two previous meetings. Both were last year with Metcalf winning 5-3 and 3-2.

165 - While it might never be pretty, Ryan Morningstar just keeps on winning. For the second time in this tournament, Morningstar needed extra time to get the job done. The win over Ohio State's Colt Sponseller was an important one in the title race. The bout wasn't without controversy as Morningstar picked up two questionable stalling calls, including one with eight seconds left in the third period. But, Morningstar responded and got the win in overtime.

Morningstar will face Andrew Howe from Wisconsin in the semifinals tonight. The two Big Ten wrestlers have faced each other twice this year with Howe winning both times in overtime (4-3 and 2-1).

174 - In his previous two matches, Jay Borschel didn't get started well, but came on strong late. That strategy cost him in the quarterfinals as he fell 3-2 to #5 seed Raymond Jordan from Missouri. Borschel tried to mount a charge late, but could not land the shot.

He now moves into the wrestlebacks this evening where he will face #6 seed Steven Anceravage from Cornell. Borschel is 3-0 in his career against Anceravage including a pin last year and a 7-3 victory this year at the national duals.

184 - Phil Keddy was less than a minute from locking up a victory over Doug Umbehauer when the Rider wrestler scored a takedown and sent the match into overtime. Keddy could never really recover and fell by the score of 8-4 in overtime.

Now he heads into the wrestlebacks this evening where he will face Alex Dolly from Northern Iowa. While Iowa wrestled UNI this year, Keddy won the weight by forfeit and did not wrestle.

197 - Wrestling on more guts and heart than health, Chad Beatty once again gave a great effort, but this time he couldn't hang on. Beatty lost in overtime to Luke Feist from Stanford and ended his run at the NCAA Championship.

Heavyweight - It was so close for Dan Erekson today. Like most of the Iowa wrestlers today, Erekson started slow and trailed most of the match. But, he caught fire late and looked to have put up back points in the process. Unfortunately, the official did not agree and Erekson lost 6-5 to #2 seeded Mark Ellis from Missouri.

Erekson will be back on the mat this evening when he Joe Fendone from Edinboro, who pinned Kyle Massey from Wisconsin earlier today.

The Friday evening sessions begins at 6 p.m. at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. Join your fellow Hawkeyes fans and follow the action on the HawkeyeReport.com wrestling board.

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