UPDATED: No. 3 Iowa beats No. 4 Ohio State in battle of shorthanded lineups
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by Brendan Stiles, Special to TheMat.com
Ohio State's Myles Martin squares off with Iowa's Sammy Brooks in a big battle at 184 pounds, won by Brooks. Photo by Mark Lundy, LutteLens
IOWA CITY, Iowa — A dual meet between two of the nation’s top four teams Friday took place with No. 3 Iowa picking up a 21-13 victory over No. 4 Ohio State. But it became a story about who wasn’t there, and perhaps, what wasn’t there.
Both teams wrestled short-handed. In the case of the Buckeyes, they knew well before arriving at Carver-Hawkeye Arena it would be without the services of heavyweight Kyle Snyder (6-0). The reigning Olympic Gold medalist is currently representing the USA at the Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix in Krasnoyarsk, Russia.
As for the Hawkeyes, their significant absence came at 133. What was supposed to be the most anticipated match of the night between top-ranked Nathan Tomasello and No. 2 Cory Clark became non-existent when Clark (10-1) was ruled out due to injury and was replaced by Phillip Laux.
Iowa head coach Tom Brands said he made the decision Thursday to hold Clark out and he expects him to return to the Iowa lineup next week.
“We’re very conservative and we’re going to do the right thing,” Brands said. “It will be time to gamble in the Big Tens if we need to gamble a little bit with an injury. But Clark’s not even there. It’s not even close.
“Could he go? Yes. Did he want to go? Yes. The call was mine.”
Tomasello said he learned the change in his opponent 10 minutes before weigh-ins, but going from Clark to Laux didn’t seem to change his mindset. Laux was able to record three escapes, but Tomasello proved to be too much. Leading 5-1, Tomasello (11-0) recorded a takedown late in the second period and then got one last takedown of Laux (8-8) in the match’s closing seconds to win 10-3.
“Coach [Tom] Ryan just brought me off to the side and he was like, ‘I know it could be a letdown, but just stay focused,’” Tomasello said. “I think that helped. Coach Ryan’s couple words of advice helped. It was a good match against Laux. He’s a quality opponent. I wrestled him when I was younger.”
As a result of Clark’s absence, the evening’s marquee match came at 149 when No. 3 Brandon Sorensen handed No. 5 Micah Jordan (21-1) his first defeat of 2016-17 with a 2-0 decision. Sorensen recorded an escape in the second period to take a 1-0 lead and then got the second point near the end of the match via riding time.
But while Sorensen (18-2) won, he wasn’t totally satisfied with his performance.
“That’s not a match I want to wrestle right there,” Sorensen said. “Win or lose, you’re getting talked to the same way. That’s not how we want it done.
“What was it, 2-0? I mean, not very exciting. I don’t like it. Fans don’t like it. You know, we need to figure something out there.”
Despite Sorensen’s disappointment, what was a 6-5 lead for Ohio State became an 8-6 Iowa advantage and the Hawkeyes remained ahead the rest of the dual. Iowa recorded two more victories at 157 and 165 before No. 2 Bo Jordan stopped the bleeding with a 3-2 decision at 174 over No. 13 Alex Meyer, trimming Ohio State’s deficit down to 15-9.
Ohio State head coach Tom Ryan called Jordan’s win over Meyer, “one of the grittiest performances” he had seen since becoming the Buckeyes’ head coach.
“He hasn’t practiced in two weeks. He’s hurt,” Ryan said. “But he wanted to wrestle. I wasn’t going to wrestle him, but we talked to the staff and decided to wrestle him. He had a game plan. I mean, there were a lot of attacks that were open, and he didn’t take them early on because he’s injured. I’m really proud of the way he wrestled tonight.”
The Hawkeyes responded at 184 though with a fatal blow to Ohio State’s comeback effort. Trailing 3-2, fourth-ranked Sammy Brooks (17-2) went ahead with a takedown and tacked on at the end via riding time to defeat No. 9 Myles Martin, 5-3. Martin (20-4), the NCAA champion last year at 174 pounds, ultimately wrestled at this class for the Buckeyes despite coming out to the mat alongside Jake Rozema (7-5) during the introductions.
“Nothing changed, and I think that’s the biggest thing for me, that nothing does change,” Brooks said about his third period dominance of Martin. “If I keep to my pace and I stay focused and just have a calm intensity about me, I can make something happen without things needing to change.
“You tell yourself little things like, ‘Don’t wait.’ But it’s not an, ‘Oh, crap’ moment.”
With Snyder not available, Ohio State relied on Josh Fox (8-11) at 285 against Iowa heavyweight, Steven Holloway. The absence was noticeable. Fox trailed 1-0 in the third period when the match was stopped at 1:50 mark due to Fox bleeding. Moments later, Holloway (6-6) recorded a takedown and ultimately prevailed 6-1. Holloway is a replacement himself, taking over the Hawkeye heavyweight spot after the season-ending injury to Sam Stoll.
Both teams return to action on Feb. 3. The Buckeyes host No. 2 Penn State, while Iowa hosts No. 16 Wisconsin.
No. 3 Iowa 21, No. 4 Ohio State 13
125 – #1 Thomas Gilman (IA) tech. fall #17 Jose Rodriguez (OSU), 23-8; 5-0 Iowa
133 - #1 Nathan Tomasello (OSU) dec. Phillip Laux (IA), 10-3; 5-3 Iowa
141 - #19 Luke Pletcher (OSU) dec. #15 Topher Carton (IA), 5-4; 6-5 Ohio State
149 - #3 Brandon Sorensen (IA) dec. #5 Micah Jordan (OSU), 2-0; 8-6 Iowa
157 – #2 Michael Kemerer (IA) MD Jake Ryan (OSU), 14-3; 12-6 Iowa
165 – Joey Gunther (IA) dec. Cody Burcher (OSU), 3-0; 15-6 Iowa
174 – #2 Bo Jordan (OSU) dec. #13 Alex Meyer (IA), 3-2; 15-9 Iowa
184 – #4 Sammy Brooks (IA) dec. #9 Myles Martin (OSU), 5-3; 18-9 Iowa
197 – #4 Kollin Moore (OSU) MD Cash Wilcke (IA), 19-7; 18-13 Iowa
285 – Steven Holloway (IA) dec. Josh Fox (OSU), 6-1; 21-13 Iowa
IOWA CITY, Iowa — A dual meet between two of the nation’s top four teams Friday took place with No. 3 Iowa picking up a 21-13 victory over No. 4 Ohio State. But it became a story about who wasn’t there, and perhaps, what wasn’t there.
Both teams wrestled short-handed. In the case of the Buckeyes, they knew well before arriving at Carver-Hawkeye Arena it would be without the services of heavyweight Kyle Snyder (6-0). The reigning Olympic Gold medalist is currently representing the USA at the Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix in Krasnoyarsk, Russia.
As for the Hawkeyes, their significant absence came at 133. What was supposed to be the most anticipated match of the night between top-ranked Nathan Tomasello and No. 2 Cory Clark became non-existent when Clark (10-1) was ruled out due to injury and was replaced by Phillip Laux.
Iowa head coach Tom Brands said he made the decision Thursday to hold Clark out and he expects him to return to the Iowa lineup next week.
“We’re very conservative and we’re going to do the right thing,” Brands said. “It will be time to gamble in the Big Tens if we need to gamble a little bit with an injury. But Clark’s not even there. It’s not even close.
“Could he go? Yes. Did he want to go? Yes. The call was mine.”
Tomasello said he learned the change in his opponent 10 minutes before weigh-ins, but going from Clark to Laux didn’t seem to change his mindset. Laux was able to record three escapes, but Tomasello proved to be too much. Leading 5-1, Tomasello (11-0) recorded a takedown late in the second period and then got one last takedown of Laux (8-8) in the match’s closing seconds to win 10-3.
“Coach [Tom] Ryan just brought me off to the side and he was like, ‘I know it could be a letdown, but just stay focused,’” Tomasello said. “I think that helped. Coach Ryan’s couple words of advice helped. It was a good match against Laux. He’s a quality opponent. I wrestled him when I was younger.”
As a result of Clark’s absence, the evening’s marquee match came at 149 when No. 3 Brandon Sorensen handed No. 5 Micah Jordan (21-1) his first defeat of 2016-17 with a 2-0 decision. Sorensen recorded an escape in the second period to take a 1-0 lead and then got the second point near the end of the match via riding time.
But while Sorensen (18-2) won, he wasn’t totally satisfied with his performance.
“That’s not a match I want to wrestle right there,” Sorensen said. “Win or lose, you’re getting talked to the same way. That’s not how we want it done.
“What was it, 2-0? I mean, not very exciting. I don’t like it. Fans don’t like it. You know, we need to figure something out there.”
Despite Sorensen’s disappointment, what was a 6-5 lead for Ohio State became an 8-6 Iowa advantage and the Hawkeyes remained ahead the rest of the dual. Iowa recorded two more victories at 157 and 165 before No. 2 Bo Jordan stopped the bleeding with a 3-2 decision at 174 over No. 13 Alex Meyer, trimming Ohio State’s deficit down to 15-9.
Ohio State head coach Tom Ryan called Jordan’s win over Meyer, “one of the grittiest performances” he had seen since becoming the Buckeyes’ head coach.
“He hasn’t practiced in two weeks. He’s hurt,” Ryan said. “But he wanted to wrestle. I wasn’t going to wrestle him, but we talked to the staff and decided to wrestle him. He had a game plan. I mean, there were a lot of attacks that were open, and he didn’t take them early on because he’s injured. I’m really proud of the way he wrestled tonight.”
The Hawkeyes responded at 184 though with a fatal blow to Ohio State’s comeback effort. Trailing 3-2, fourth-ranked Sammy Brooks (17-2) went ahead with a takedown and tacked on at the end via riding time to defeat No. 9 Myles Martin, 5-3. Martin (20-4), the NCAA champion last year at 174 pounds, ultimately wrestled at this class for the Buckeyes despite coming out to the mat alongside Jake Rozema (7-5) during the introductions.
“Nothing changed, and I think that’s the biggest thing for me, that nothing does change,” Brooks said about his third period dominance of Martin. “If I keep to my pace and I stay focused and just have a calm intensity about me, I can make something happen without things needing to change.
“You tell yourself little things like, ‘Don’t wait.’ But it’s not an, ‘Oh, crap’ moment.”
With Snyder not available, Ohio State relied on Josh Fox (8-11) at 285 against Iowa heavyweight, Steven Holloway. The absence was noticeable. Fox trailed 1-0 in the third period when the match was stopped at 1:50 mark due to Fox bleeding. Moments later, Holloway (6-6) recorded a takedown and ultimately prevailed 6-1. Holloway is a replacement himself, taking over the Hawkeye heavyweight spot after the season-ending injury to Sam Stoll.
Both teams return to action on Feb. 3. The Buckeyes host No. 2 Penn State, while Iowa hosts No. 16 Wisconsin.
No. 3 Iowa 21, No. 4 Ohio State 13
125 – #1 Thomas Gilman (IA) tech. fall #17 Jose Rodriguez (OSU), 23-8; 5-0 Iowa
133 - #1 Nathan Tomasello (OSU) dec. Phillip Laux (IA), 10-3; 5-3 Iowa
141 - #19 Luke Pletcher (OSU) dec. #15 Topher Carton (IA), 5-4; 6-5 Ohio State
149 - #3 Brandon Sorensen (IA) dec. #5 Micah Jordan (OSU), 2-0; 8-6 Iowa
157 – #2 Michael Kemerer (IA) MD Jake Ryan (OSU), 14-3; 12-6 Iowa
165 – Joey Gunther (IA) dec. Cody Burcher (OSU), 3-0; 15-6 Iowa
174 – #2 Bo Jordan (OSU) dec. #13 Alex Meyer (IA), 3-2; 15-9 Iowa
184 – #4 Sammy Brooks (IA) dec. #9 Myles Martin (OSU), 5-3; 18-9 Iowa
197 – #4 Kollin Moore (OSU) MD Cash Wilcke (IA), 19-7; 18-13 Iowa
285 – Steven Holloway (IA) dec. Josh Fox (OSU), 6-1; 21-13 Iowa
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