No. 1 Iowa, No. 2 Iowa State, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 5 Minnesota advance to semifinals at National Duals
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by Craig Sesker USA Wrestling
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - The short-handed and top-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes moved halfway toward their third straight National Duals wrestling title on Saturday.
But Iowa coach Tom Brands was anything but pleased with his team's showing as it extended its school-record dual winning streak to 49 wins.
The Hawkeyes beat No. 15 Nebraska 33-3 before downing No. 8 Boise State 20-12.
Iowa advances to face another short-handed team, No. 5 Minnesota, in Sunday's 11 a.m. semifinal. The finals are set for 3 p.m.
"We've seen them before and we know what to expect," Brands said of Minnesota. "They're going to battle. J Robinson, he's not a pussyfoot. If we're going to pussyfoot out there and put our head on the mat, I wouldn't pick the Hawkeyes. If we go out there and battle, and get smacked in the mouth and smack somebody back in the mouth, and then I would bet on the Hawkeyes."
Overtime losses by freshman Nate Moore (133) and senior Phil Keddy (184) against Boise State did not sit well with Brands. Keddy fell 3-1 to All-American Kirk Smith and Moore lost 8-6 to All-American Andrew Hochstrasser.
"I saw two instances of where our guys put their head on the mat - two glaring instances where our guys broke," Brands said. "And I'm being hard on our guys right now. Normally, I probably wouldn't be that hard on them."
Iowa freshman Matt McDonough continues to provide the spark to ignite his team's lineup at 125. McDonough is still unbeaten after winning twice Saturday.
"McDonough is on guys' legs and he's doing a good job," Brands said. "He's moving his feet and firing his offense. We like it. He's moving and going and banging."
Minnesota advanced with wins over Missouri and No. 4 Central Michigan. The Gophers are missing two starters - NCAA champion and World Team freestyle member Dustin Schlatter at 165 and Olympian Jake Deitchler at 157. Schlatter is out with an injury and Deitchler is not eligible this season.
Iowa beat Minnesota in the quarterfinals of this event last year.
"It's always an interesting dual meet when the Hawkeyes wrestle the Gophers," Minnesota coach J Robinson said. "There will be a lot of emotion and excitement in it for sure. They have some guys out and we have some guys out. It should still be a real good dual meet."
The other semifinal will match No. 2 Iowa State and No. 3 Ohio State.
Iowa State received a key win when backup Dalton Jensen cradled and pinned Maryland's Alex Krom at 141. Krom placed fourth in the nation last year.
"Dalton's a pinner," ISU coach Kevin Jackson said. "He's shown that when he's gotten an opportunity to wrestle for us. He was down by some points and slapped that cradle on him. That was huge for us early in the dual."
Ohio State downed No. 6 Cornell 27-14 in the quarterfinals. The Buckeyes came back from an early 7-6 deficit in that dual.
Video interview with Iowa coach Tom Brands
Video interview with Minnesota coach J Robinson
Video interview with Iowa State coach Kevin Jackson
Video interview with Iowa State's Dalton Jensen
But Iowa coach Tom Brands was anything but pleased with his team's showing as it extended its school-record dual winning streak to 49 wins.
The Hawkeyes beat No. 15 Nebraska 33-3 before downing No. 8 Boise State 20-12.
Iowa advances to face another short-handed team, No. 5 Minnesota, in Sunday's 11 a.m. semifinal. The finals are set for 3 p.m.
"We've seen them before and we know what to expect," Brands said of Minnesota. "They're going to battle. J Robinson, he's not a pussyfoot. If we're going to pussyfoot out there and put our head on the mat, I wouldn't pick the Hawkeyes. If we go out there and battle, and get smacked in the mouth and smack somebody back in the mouth, and then I would bet on the Hawkeyes."
Overtime losses by freshman Nate Moore (133) and senior Phil Keddy (184) against Boise State did not sit well with Brands. Keddy fell 3-1 to All-American Kirk Smith and Moore lost 8-6 to All-American Andrew Hochstrasser.
"I saw two instances of where our guys put their head on the mat - two glaring instances where our guys broke," Brands said. "And I'm being hard on our guys right now. Normally, I probably wouldn't be that hard on them."
Iowa freshman Matt McDonough continues to provide the spark to ignite his team's lineup at 125. McDonough is still unbeaten after winning twice Saturday.
"McDonough is on guys' legs and he's doing a good job," Brands said. "He's moving his feet and firing his offense. We like it. He's moving and going and banging."
Minnesota advanced with wins over Missouri and No. 4 Central Michigan. The Gophers are missing two starters - NCAA champion and World Team freestyle member Dustin Schlatter at 165 and Olympian Jake Deitchler at 157. Schlatter is out with an injury and Deitchler is not eligible this season.
Iowa beat Minnesota in the quarterfinals of this event last year.
"It's always an interesting dual meet when the Hawkeyes wrestle the Gophers," Minnesota coach J Robinson said. "There will be a lot of emotion and excitement in it for sure. They have some guys out and we have some guys out. It should still be a real good dual meet."
The other semifinal will match No. 2 Iowa State and No. 3 Ohio State.
Iowa State received a key win when backup Dalton Jensen cradled and pinned Maryland's Alex Krom at 141. Krom placed fourth in the nation last year.
"Dalton's a pinner," ISU coach Kevin Jackson said. "He's shown that when he's gotten an opportunity to wrestle for us. He was down by some points and slapped that cradle on him. That was huge for us early in the dual."
Ohio State downed No. 6 Cornell 27-14 in the quarterfinals. The Buckeyes came back from an early 7-6 deficit in that dual.
Video interview with Iowa coach Tom Brands
Video interview with Minnesota coach J Robinson
Video interview with Iowa State coach Kevin Jackson
Video interview with Iowa State's Dalton Jensen
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