It was Senior Day for #4 Iowa wrestling on Sunday, and the seniors in the lineup for the #4 Hawkeyes showed out (along with several underclassmen) as Iowa blitzed the Badgers for an easy 34-7 victory. Iowa picked up wins at eight of 10 weights and scored bonus points in six of those eight victories, including technical falls at 133 and 174 and a pin at 141. Iowa improved to 11-2 overall and finished 6-2 in Big Ten dual meets this season, while Wisconsin fell to 9-6 (3-5 in Big Ten).
The dual started at 125 with one of Iowa's two losses on the day, as regular starter #5 Drake Ayala did not compete; Oklahoma transfer Joey Cruz filled in for Ayala against #3 Eric Barnett instead. Cruz was game and got to Barnett's legs on a few occasions, but wasn't able to convert those attacks into points; Barnett was able to score on his attacks, which was the difference in the match, an 8-0 major for the Badgers.
Iowa rattled off four consecutive wins after that loss, beginning with Brody Teske's dominant 19-4 technical fall win over Nicolar Rivar at 133. Teske, one of four seniors in Iowa's lineup in the dual, jumped on Rivar from the opening whistle and did not let up, using a string of takedowns to rack up an easy victory.
#2 Real Woods entered Senior Day on an unusual two-match losing streak, but he took full advantage of the rebound opportunity that Felix Lettini offered. Woods got a takedown in the first and worked to get Lettini's back on the mat; finally, in the second period, Woods got Lettini's back planted on the mat for the pin. The emphatic finish brought some of the biggest cheers of the day -- and a standing ovation for Woods in his final appearance at CHA.
#8 Caleb Rathjen continued Iowa's streak in the dual, though he fell short of continuing the bonus point streak as well, "settling" for an 8-1 decision win over #19 Joseph Zargo. Rathjen got a scare midway through the match when his leg bent awkwardly, but after a brief injury timeout, he was able to keep wrestling and finished the match without further issue.
At 157, #5 Jared Franek picked up Iowa's final pre-intermission win with a lopsided 17-5 major decision win.
Franek jumped on Luke Mechler and scored on him early and often, using multiple takedowns to blow the match wide open and get an easy major-decision victory. Like Woods, Franek had lost his previous two matches, so a pick-me-up was needed and this match provided just that.
Wisconsin's only other win in the dual came on the first match out of intermission, as #5 Dean Hamiti edged #7 Michael Caliendo in a 14-11 thriller. This was unquestionably the match of the dual, as it was an action-packed bout that went down to the final seconds. Hamiti used his high-pressure tempo and bevy of slick attacks to get to Caliendo's legs often and he finished those shots at a pretty high percentage.
Caliendo will need to be a little bit sharper on defense in any potential rematches with Hamiti, but he also showed some good things on offense in the match, as he was also able to get to Hamiti's legs with regularity. He wasn't able to finish those attacks as often as Hamiti was, but he did record a pair of takedowns and threatened on a few other occasions as well.
#7 Patrick Kennedy got Iowa back in the win column with a one--sided 19-4 technical fall thumping of Cale Anderson. Kennedy overpowered Anderson for an early takedown and it was off to the races from there, as he put on a takedown clinic. Kennedy chained together takedowns with ease, and he stayed aggressive until the technical fall was secured.
True freshman Gabe Arnold got a rare start at 184 and earned another win, picking up an 8-6 decision win over #16 Shane Liegel. Arnold started strong with a takedown in the first and added a second takedown later in the match, but he also seemed to wear down a bit at the end of the match, giving up a takedown and having to fight off some turn attempts as the final seconds ticked off the clock.
Arnold's appearance on the mat didn't change anything about his redshirt status, either; he has not used up all of his allowed competition dates and is still able to use a redshirt this season.
It seems unlikely that Iowa will burn Arnold's redshirt this season; his best weight is 174, but with Kennedy holding that spot down capably, there wouldn't be much upside in having Arnold burn his redshirt to wrestle up a weight.
Iowa wrapped up the dual meet with major decision wins at 197 and 285. #11 Zach Glazier's very solid season continued with a comfortable 13-4 win over Josh Otto; Glazier got a takedown in each period and was able to largely control the match from start to finish. Glazier has been probably the most pleasant surprise for the Iowa team this season and it was nice to see him pick up another decisive win here.
#29 Bradley Hill finished the dual with an 11-2 major decision win over Wisconsin heavyweight Gannon Rosenfeld; Hill also used a takedown in each period to build his lead and take control of the match. It was a no fuss, no muss approach, but it served him well and was a nice indicator of how much Hill has grown over the past year; he lost twice to Rosenfeld last season, but was in total control against him this season.
Overall, a win like this isn't going to do much to answer the questions raised by the drubbing Iowa suffered against Penn State last week. There are still questions about Iowa's ability to compete with -- and beat -- the best of the best; dominating a Badger team with ranked talent at only a few weights doesn't change that.
Nonetheless, Iowa was at least able to send out the seniors in the lineup with a win — and give the sellout crowd of home fans a good show in the final home dual of the season at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
#4 Iowa 34, Wisconsin 7
125: #3 Eric Barnett (W) MAJ DEC (8-0) Joey Cruz (I)
133: Brody Teske (I) TECH FALL (19-4) Nicolar Rivera (W)
141: #2 Real Woods (I) FALL (4:35) Felix Lettini (W)
149: #8 Caleb Rathjen (I) DEC (8-1) #19 Joseph Zargo (W)
157: #5 Jared Franek (I) MAJ DEC (17-5) Luke Mechler (W)
165: #5 Dean Hamiti (W) DEC (14-11) #7 Michael Caliendo (I)
174: #7 Patrick Kennedy (I) TECH FALL (19-4) Cale Anderson (W)
184: Gabe Arnold (I) DEC (8-6) #16 Shane Liegel (W)
197: #11 Zach Glazier (I) MAJ DEC (13-4) Josh Otto (W)
285: #29 Bradley Hill (I) MAJ DEC (11-3) Gannon Rosenfeld (W)
NEXT: #4 Iowa travels to Stillwater to take on #2 Oklahoma State (13-0) on Sunday, February 22 (2 PM CT, FS1).
