Jan. 25, 2009

IOWA CITY, Iowa - No. 7 Illinois struggled to get on track as top-ranked Iowa managed a 32-4 victory in front of 6,946 fans at Carver Hawkeye Arena Sunday. No. 2 Mike Poeta earned a 15-5 major decision over Matt Ballweg at 157 to improve to 3-0 on the season and score bonus points in all three bouts.

The match started at 125, with Iowa's No. 5 Charlie Falck squaring off with true-freshman B.J. Futrell for the Fighting Illini (7-1 overall, 0-1 Big Ten). Falck got in on a single-leg 40 seconds into the bout, but Futrell used a whizzer to fight off the shot. Falck got in on another single-leg with 1:35 left in the first period and finished the takedown for a 2-0 lead. Futrell escaped with 42 seconds left, but Falck managed to get a single-leg and turn the corner on Futrell for a takedown as time expired for the 4-1 lead. After a neutral start to the second, Falck shot early and connected for the 6-1 margin. Falck let the Illini rookie up and got another takedown with 1:02 left in the second. Futrell escaped after a stalling warning and took a shot, but Falck fought it off for an 8-3 lead after five minutes. Futrell started down and escaped in the third. Falck got in on another single-leg and, after a lengthy battle by Futrell, Falck tripped him for the takedown. Falck once again let up Futrell, making the score 10-5. Futrell got in a late shot but it was too late to score as Falck added the riding time point for the 11-5 win.

After a scoreless first period that didn't see much offensive action at 133, Iowa's Daniel Dennis started down in the second and escaped quickly. Kennedy took a shot with 1:20 left in the second, but Dennis fended it off and was able to turn the corner for the takedown. Kennedy was unable to escape as Dennis rode him out for the 3-0 lead with 1:15 of riding time. Kennedy started down in the third and was hit with a stalling warning with just over a minute left then a second warning with 37 seconds left, giving Dennis a 4-0 lead. The Hawkeye rode out Kennedy for the 5-0 win and a 6-0 team lead after two weights.

Just 40 seconds into the match, Tsirtsis got in on a double, but Prater managed to wriggle around and control the top-ranked Hawkeye's legs for the takedown with 2:15 left. Tsirtsis quickly escaped to make the score 2-1. After another scramble, the referee broke the hold on a potentially dangerous grounds and Prater took advantage of injury time. Tsirtsis got in on another single-leg and eventually got the takedown with 39 seconds left, nearly getting the tilt. Prater avoided allowing back points and got the restart after another dangerous hold break and the period ended up 3-2 in the Hawkeye's favor. Prater started on top in the second and Tsirtsis was able to separate his hips from Prater's for the reversal. Tsirtsis managed to get three near-fall points on a quick tilt for the 8-2 lead. Prater escaped but Tsirtsis countered Prater's quick-shot off the escape. He got Prater in a front headlock and went to the knee for the takedown and a 10-3 advantage after two periods. Tsirtsis chose neutral in the third and, with 46 seconds left, Tsirtsis got in on a single-leg. Prater worked hard to avoid the takedown and eventually got a stalemate. After no further scoring, Tsirtsis added the riding time advantage for the 11-3 major decision.

At 149, top-ranked Brent Metcalf got a pair of quick takedowns sandwiched around an escape by Illinois' Eric Terrazas for a 4-1 lead. Terrazas escaped with 1:02 left in the first, but Metcalf got two more takedowns around another escape for the 8-2 lead after three minutes. Metcalf started down in the second and escaped quickly, then added another takedown for the 11-3 lead with riding time. But that was a moot point as Metcalf got Terrazas on his back and got the fall at 3:52 to put Iowa up 16-0.

No. 2 Mike Poeta got on top of Iowa's Matt Ballweg early with a takedown just a minute into his bout at 157. Poeta hooked in a bow-and-arrow for a three-point near-fall and a 5-0 lead. Off a restart, Poeta let Ballweg go with 45 seconds left, making the score 5-1 in Poeta's favor after the first period. Poeta started down in the second and escaped quickly before getting in on a double-leg for the takedown. Ballweg escaped with 1:25 left, Poeta scored the takedown with 25 seconds left in the second and finished the period up 10-2. Ballweg started down in the third and escaped, but Poeta countered a shot by the Hawkeye for the takedown. After a restart, Ballweg escaped, but Poeta scored another takedown just under the one-minute mark. Poeta cut Ballweg loose and wasn't able to score again as Poeta added the riding time point for the 15-5 lead at the intermission.

Both No. 18 Roger Smith-Bergsrud and No. 3 Ryan Morningstar got single-leg shots in during the first period at 165, but neither could finish as the period ended scoreless. The pair started neutral in the second and Morningstar got another single-leg, which he finally finished with 26 seconds left for the 2-0 lead after two periods. Morningstar started down in the third and escaped with 1:17 left in the match. Smith-Bergsrud worked for some late offense but wasn't able to connect as Morningstar won, 3-0, for the 19-4 team lead.

At 174, No. 4 Jay Borschel and John Dergo fought to a scoreless first period and Borschel started down in the second. Borschel escaped in 18 seconds and secured a takedown with 40 seconds left in the second period for the 3-0 lead. Dergo started down in the third and escaped in the first 30 seconds, but Borschel shot back in on the single-leg and got the takedown along with a two-point near-fall for the 7-1 lead. Borschel added another two-point near-fall, plus riding time for the 10-1 major decision and a 23-4 lead in the team score.

No. 3 Phil Keddy finally connected on a shot with 30 seconds left in the first period for the takedown and rode out 11th-ranked Jordan Blanton for the 2-0 lead after three minutes. Keddy started down in the second and escaped in 14 seconds for the 3-0 margin following the second period. Blanton started down in the third and escaped quickly to make the score 3-1. Keddy shot with 1:20 left in the bout and finished his single-leg for the takedown. Keddy cut Blanton loose and managed two more takedowns, but missed out on the riding time point as he finished with only 59 seconds of riding time, making it an 11-4 decision for the Hawkeye

At 197, No. 19 Chad Beatty controlled a single-leg on Patrick Bond on the edge of the mat late in the period for the 2-0 lead after one. Bond started down in the second and escaped in 30 seconds. After a couple of flurries that didn't result in any scoring, the pair started neutral in the third and finished the bout with no further scoring as Beatty walked away with a 2-1 win that pushed the Iowa team score to 29-4.

Less than 30 seconds into the heavyweight bout, No. 11 Dan Erekson got a double-leg shot on No. 9 John Wise and finished it for the takedown and a 2-0 lead. Wise escaped just before the two-minute mark, and after a shot from Erekson, Wise turned him to his back for the takedown and nearly some back points. But Erekson got a reversal on the edge of the mat for a 4-3 lead with 1:09 left in the first. Wise sat out for the tying escape but Erekson got in on a single-leg near the end of the first period to lead, 6-4 after three minutes. Wise started down in the third and escaped in 10 seconds. He got in on a high single-leg, but Erekson's whizzer took the action off the edge of the mat before Wise could score. Wise got another single-leg and tripped Erekson before the Hawkeye could once again lock in a whizzer, taking a 7-6 lead. Erekson got away from Wise to tie the bout at 7, which is where the period ended. Erekson started down in the third period and got the reversal with 1:12 left after Wise looked for back points off a restart, taking a 9-7 lead. After a stalling warning on Wise, Wise got in on a single-leg near the edge of the mat with 15 seconds left, but Erekson worked out and got the 9-8 win and a 32-4 team victory.

The Fighting Illini return to action Friday against No. 25 Purdue in West Lafayette. The match will begin at 6 p.m. (CT) and will be shown live on the Big Ten Network.

#1 Iowa 32, #7 Illinois 4
125: #5 Charlie Falck (IOWA) dec. B.J. Futrell (ILL), 11-5 (0-3)
133: #5 Daniel Dennis (IOWA) dec. #3 Jimmy Kennedy (ILL), 5-0 (0-6)
141: #1 Alex Tsirtsis (IOWA) maj. dec. Ryan Prater (ILL), 11-3 (0-10)
149: #1 Brent Metcalf (IOWA) pinned Eric Terrazas (ILL), 3:52 (0-16)
157: #2 Mike Poeta (ILL) maj. dec. Matt Ballweg (IOWA), 15-5 (4-16)
165: #3 Ryan Morningstar (IOWA) dec. #18 Roger Smith-Bergsrud (ILL), 3-0 (4-19)
174: #4 Jay Borschel (IOWA) maj. dec. John Dergo (ILL), 10-1 (4-23)
184: #3 Phil Keddy (IOWA) dec. #11 Jordan Blanton (ILL), 11-4 (4-26)
197: #19 Chad Beatty (IOWA) dec. Patrick Bond (ILL), 2-1 (4-29)
285: #11 Dan Erekson (IOWA) dec. #9 John Wise (ILL), 9-8 (4-32)