:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/49117793/IMG_20160318_172913.0.0.jpg)
2016 NCAA Wrestling Tournament -- Semifinals and Consolation Rounds
Date: Friday, March 18, 2016
Time: 7 PM CT
Location: Madison Square Garden (New York City, NY)
TV/Streaming: ESPN / WatchESPN
Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network (free); Hawkeye All-Access ($); Tune-In Radio (maybe?)
Twitter: @IowaWRLive, @IAWrestle
Tickets: n/a
Bracket: click here
Live Scoreboard: click here
TEAM STANDINGS
1) 68.5 -- Penn State
2) 54.0 -- Ohio State
3) 48.5 -- Iowa
4) 46.0 -- Oklahoma State
5) 42.5 -- Missouri
Penn State needed to stumble for Iowa (or anyone else) to win the title. They're not really stumbling.
QUARTERFINAL RESULTS
| WT | IOWA WRESTLER | RESULT | OPPONENT |
| 125 | #4 Thomas Gilman | MAJ DEC (16-5) | #5 Ryan Millhof, Oklahoma |
| 133 | #2 Cory Clark | DEC (4-0) | #7 Eric Montoya, Nebraska |
| 149 | #2 Brandon Sorensen | DEC (4-2 SV2) | #7 Jake Sueflohn, Nebraska |
| 184 | #7 T.J. Dudley, Nebraska | DEC (9-6) | #2 Sammy Brooks |
| 197 | #4 Nathan Burak | DEC (5-2) | #5 Conner Hartmann, Duke |
Iowa went 4/5 in the quarterfinals, with Thomas Gilman recording a blowout major decision win and Cory Clark and Nathan Burak recording solid decision wins. Brandon Sorensen picked up a very narrow decision win after finally getting a takedown in the second sudden victory period. Whew. Iowa's only quarterfinal loser was Sammy Brooks, who couldn't finish several good shots against Dudley in the first period, only to fall victim to a Dudley takedown late in the period. Dudley then rode him hard in the second period and was able to get a turn to pick up some nearfall points. Brooks made a spirited comeback in the third period, but it was too little, too late. Dammit.
CONSOLATION ROUND RESULTS
| WT | IOWA WRESTLER | OPPONENT | |
| 157 | #14 Austin Matthews, Edinboro | FALL (4:51) | #13 Edwin Cooper, Jr. |
| 174 | #13 Alex Meyer | DEC (10-9) | #14 Nick Kee, Appalachian State |
| 174 | #13 Alex Meyer | MAJ DEC (15-4) | #6 Bryce Hammond, CSU Bakersfield |
Edwin Cooper's NCAA Tournament (and Iowa career) is over after he got pinned for a second straight match, this time by Edinboro's Matthews. That was disappointing. Alex Meyer got in trouble early against Nick Kee, but used a key reversal and some very hard riding to turn things around and grind out a 10-9 win. He followed that up with a blowout win over #6 Hammond to keep his tournament alive.
SEMIFINAL MATCH-UPS
| WT | IOWA WRESTLER | OPPONENT | |
| 125 | #4 Thomas Gilman | vs | #1 Nathan Tomasello, Ohio State |
| 133 | #2 Cory Clark | vs | #3 Zane Richards, Illinois |
| 149 | #2 Brandon Sorensen | vs | #11 Anthony Collica, Oklahoma State |
| 197 | #4 Nathan Burak | vs | #1 Morgan McIntosh, Penn State |
These semifinal showdowns certainly aren't fresh match-ups, for good or ill. Gilman is 1-1 lifetime against Tomasello, splitting with him in their two matches last season. Clark is 3-2 lifetime against Richards, most recently grinding out a 2-1 OT win over him in the Big Ten Tournament finals. Brandon Sorensen notched a 6-1 win over Collica at the season-opening Grapple on the Gridiron event. Burak has no shortage of experience against McIntosh, either, although none of it's good -- he's 0-5 against the PSU man and has never scored a takedown against him. Time to rise to the occasion, Hawkeyes.
CONSOLATION ROUND MATCH-UPS
| WT | IOWA WRESTLER | OPPONENT | |
| 174 | #13 Alex Meyer | vs | #9 Chander Rogers, Oklahoma State |
| 184 | #2 Sammy Brooks | vs | #4 Domenic Abounader, Michigan |
Two Hawkeye wrestlers are still alive for All-America contention (the four wrestlers in the semifinals have already locked up All America honors), Alex Meyer at 174 and Sammy Brooks at 184. If they win the Round of 12 matches listed above, they'll guarantee All America status for themselves -- they'll finish no worse than 8th place. So these are big big matches.
The action tonight is on ESPN proper and they each semifinal match should be televised, at least in split-screen format. I'll provide scores and some PBP in the comments as well -- feel free to join in.
The usual rules apply.