Wisconsin, Feb. 3
The first stop on Iowa’s weekend road trip enabled the Hawkeyes to strengthen their grip on the No. 1 ranking and establish themselves as a front runner for March.
But the second stop showed they aren’t yet invincible.
Iowa needed pins from Brent Metcalf and Phil Keddy to claim a 22-20 victory at No. 13 Wisconsin in Madison.
“This showed some weakness,” Iowa coach Tom Brands said. “It was good to see this (style of opponent). This is a style that a lot of teams out East wrestle and a little bit like Oklahoma State. … We can do better, that’s for sure.”
The Hawkeyes — victorious two nights earlier on the road against defending NCAA champion Minnesota — also picked up a major decision from Jay Borschel and victories from Charlie Falck and Joey Slaton.
Top-ranked Metcalf pinned Trevor Bowers midway through the second period at 149. Eighth-ranked Keddy decked Eric Bugenhagen late in the first period at 184. Borschel beat Justin Peterson 15-7 at 174.
Falck scored takedowns late in the first and third periods on his way to a 6-1 win against No. 18 Collin Cudd at 125 and Slaton beat No. 11 Zach Tanelli 3-1 at 133.
But Wisconsin’s countering style gave the Hawkeyes trouble in spots, and the Badgers claimed victories in head-to-head meetings between ranked opponents at 141, 157 and heavyweight.
Seventh-ranked Kyle Ruschell broke open a 1-0 match in the third period at 141 with a takedown and a pair of two-point near-falls to beat No. 9 Dan LeClere by an 8-0 major decision.
Fourth-ranked Wisconsin senior Craig Henning, an NCAA finalist last year, scored a takedown in the final minute to beat No. 15 Ryan Morningstar 2-1 at 157. Morningstar gained the upper hand in the match by riding out Henning in the second period, but the Iowa sophomore couldn’t escape to tie the match after getting taken down.
Kyle Massey, ranked No. 10 at heavyweight, scored a pair of takedowns on his way to a 6-5 win against sixth-ranked Iowa senior Matt Fields.
— Andy Hamilton