SESSION III MATCHES
CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET MATCHES
125: #6 Nahshon Garrett (Cornell) DEC (4-2 OT) #3 Matt McDonough
133: #2 Tony Ramos DEC (6-1) #7 Jon Morrison (Oklahoma State)
141: #2 Kendric Maple (Oklahoma) MAJ DEC (12-3) #7 Mark Ballweg
157: #2 Derek St. John DEC (4-0) UN Josh Demas (Ohio State)
174: #6 Logan Storley (Minnesota) DEC (3-2) #3 Mike Evans
184: #4 Steve Bosak (Cornell) DEC (4-1) #12 Ethen Lofthouse
A 2-4 performance in the quarterfinals put a nail in the coffin of Iowa's national title aspirations. This was always going to be a difficult round for Iowa, given that there were some tricky match-ups for them to navigate here. Unfortunately, they did not navigate them well. Ramos and St. John picked up wins over opponents who they had beaten earlier this year (albeit in very tight matches), but everyone else came up short. Ballweg ran into an absolute buzzsaw in Maple, while Lofthouse was unable to solve Bosak's strong defense. The 'Stache continued his run of futility against Storley; a poor shot from Evans in the first period led to a Storley takedown, the match's most decisive points.
But the cruelest loss of all was McDonough's, which ended his quest for a 4th straight NCAA finals appearance and his shot at a 3rd NCAA title. McD beat Garrett a few weeks ago at National Duals, but his inability to get an escape in the third period of this match (as well as the escape he gave up with four seconds remaining in the first period) doomed him here. A title for McD looked unlikely even before the tournament began, based on his struggles this year and a draw that had him facing an ominous semifinal match-up with Jesse Delgado, but still we hoped that he might pull things together for one last triumphant run. Unfortunately, that wasn't meant to be. I'm sure we'll discuss this more later, but for now: sorry, Matt. This was a bitter way to end his quest for a third title.
CONSOLATION BRACKET MATCHES
165: #9 Josh Veltre (Bloomsburg) DEC (8-5) #10 Nick Moore
197: UN Nathan Burak DEC (3-1 OT) Brandon Palik (Drexel)
197: UN Nathan Burak FALL (2:34) #7 Nathan Schiedel (Binghamton)
285: #6 Bobby Telford LOSES VIA INJ DEFAULT Dan Scherer (Stanford)
Nathan Burak continues his impressive run in the consolation rounds, while Nick Moore and Bobby Telford see their tournaments come to an end.
TEAM SCORE STANDINGS (per THIS SITE)
1) Penn State -- 77.5 pts
2) Oklahoma State -- 65.5 pts
3) Minnesota -- 49.5 pts
4) Iowa -- 39 pts
5) Missouri -- 38.5 pts
Needless to say, Iowa is not going to be winning a national title this year. They're in a heated battle for 4th place.
SESSION IV MATCHES
CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET MATCHES -- SEMIFINALS
133: #2 Tony Ramos vs. #3 Tyler Graff (Wisconsin)
157: #2 Derek St. John vs. #6 Alex Dieringer (Oklahoma State)
With wins in these matches, Ramos and St. John will wrestle for national championships tomorrow night. Ramos beat Graff 3-1 in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals two weeks ago. St. John beat Dieringer 8-4 in a dual meet earlier this season.
CONSOLATION BRACKET MATCHES -- ROUND OF 12
125: #3 Matt McDonough vs. #9 Trent Sprenkle (North Dakota State)
141: #7 Mark Ballweg vs. #11 Mike Nevinger (Cornell)
174: #3 Mike Evans vs. Todd Porter (Missouri)
184: #12 Ethen Lofthouse vs. #10 Jacob Swartz (Boise State)
197: UN Nathan Burak vs. #4 Alfonso Hernandez (Wyoming)
With wins in these matches, all four Iowa wrestlers will assure themselves of All-America status. The worst they could finish at that point is 8th. McDonough pinned Sprenkle in 2:56 at last year's NCAA Tournament. Ballweg lost to Nevinger 3-1 at National Duals this year. Evans beat Porter 5-2 at National Duals this year. Lofthouse and Burak have never faced their opponents before.