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IOWA 28, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 15: RABBIT SEASON

I wasn't able to watch this dual, so we're going to keep things short and sweet in this recap.  Iowa won handily -- as expected.  South Dakota State actually won more matches than expected -- four -- but Iowa still was able to cruise to a 28-15 victory thanks to bonus points in several wins.

THE GOOD

Iowa won six of the ten matches on the evening and grabbed bonus points in four of those six wins, including three six-point results (two pins and one DQ).  Thomas Gilman added another pin (in just 1:34) to start the dual -- his fourth of the season, tying with Sam Stoll for the most among Iowa's starters this season.  Sammy Brooks decided to one up Gilman -- he got a pin as well, but needed just 43 seconds to finish off his opponent.  Brooks is wrestling at a really, really high level right now.

Brandon Sorenson got off to a slow start -- again -- but was able to score enough points late to secure a major decision.  It's good to see him get bonus points again and good to see him continuing to try and score and not being content with a 5-0 or 6-0 decision win.

Sam Stoll earned a DQ win because his opponent got dinged for stalling five times (an automatic DQ)... before the match had even gotten out of the second period.  It's certainly encouraging to see referees cracking down on stalling like that, though -- now let's just hope they continue to do so all season.

Losses wouldn't normally fall in the "GOOD" category, but Cooper's loss to Pack was still a pretty good showing for Cooper.  Pack is a good wrestler and Cooper took him to the wire and had a lead late in the third period.  Perhaps Cooper isn't that far behind at this weight after all.  That said, at some point close losses to good wrestlers need to turn into actual wins for Cooper -- hopefully soon.

THE BAD

I picked Seth Gross to beat Logan Ryan in the battle of ex-teammates, so the result at 141 didn't surprise me -- but it still sounded like a disappointing match for Ryan.  He scored first, a takedown in the first period to take a 2-0 lead, but failed to score after that, got ridden the entire third period, and lost on a riding time point.  Not great.

165 was a total crapshoot match, so I'm not surprised that SDSU was able to get a win there.  Burke Paddock got the nod there, continuing the trend of he and Patrick Rhoads alternating starts at 165.  So far neither guy is exactly doing much to stand out and win the job.

THE UGLY

A 4-1 decision win over an unranked guy?  What the heck, Cory Clark?  Let's hope it was just a sluggish night at the office.

Nathan Burak was a surprise scratch at 197 lbs, gifting SDSU a fourth win in the dual, but Brands didn't sound too concerned in his post-match comments (courtesy IAWrestle):

If you are wondering why Iowa forfeited 197, Brands wasn't giving much away in the post-meet presser telling the media he didn't have plans to say what was exactly going on with starter Nathan Burak, only that if it was a different part of the year he would have been fine to go. It seems Iowa was exercising some caution with the dual well in Iowa's favor heading into Stoll's match.

Let's hope for a speedy return to the Iowa lineup for Burak.  As disappointing as his absence was, though, the fact that Iowa took a forfeit at this weight might have been even more disappointing.  Kris Klapprodt, the normal backup at 197, hasn't wrestled at all this season (even in open tournaments),so he be dealing with an injury.  But in the past Iowa has rarely shied away from having a guy wrestle up a weight (or two) if need be.

#2 IOWA 28, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 15
125: #2 Thomas Gilman FALL (1:34) UR Kahlen Morris (IOWA 6-0)
133: #2 Cory Clark DEC (4-1) UR Brance Simms (IOWA 9-0)
141: UR Seth Gross DEC (3-2) UR Logan Ryan (IOWA 9-3)
149: #2 Brandon Sorenson MAJ DEC (8-0) UR Alex Kocer (IOWA 13-3)
157: #7 Cody Pack DEC (6-5) UR Edwin Cooper (IOWA 13-6)
165: UR Luke Zilverberg DEC (4-2) UR Burke Paddock (IOWA 13-9)
174: #3 Alex Meyer DEC (5-2) UR David Kocer (IOWA 16-9)
184: #11 Sammy Brooks FALL (0:43) UR Brady Ayers (IOWA 22-9)
197: #14 Nate Rotert wins via forfeit (IOWA 22-15)
285: UR Sam Stoll wins via DQ (IOWA 28-15)

HIGHLIGHTS

NEXT: Iowa returns to action on Thursday, December 10 (7 PM CT) for a dual meet against Rutgers in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.