Iowa Wrestling: No. 1 Iowa slays Michigan State, 32-3

The dual was never in jeopardy, but this could’ve been a lapse-minded affair coming off the emotionally charged win over #2 PSU a couple nights ago.

That wasn’t the case however, as Iowa stormed off the line and raced to an 18-0 lead by intermission.

Even with three starters out of the lineup, we managed to put up some serious points and get work done. Paul Glynn, Carter Happel, and Jeremiah Moody all subbed in, all donned the black and gold ,and rose to the occasion and emerged victorious.

IOWA 32, MICHIGAN STATE 3

125: Spencer Lee fall over Logan Griffin, . Iowa 6-0

133: Paul Glynn dec. over Garrett Pebble, 9-4. Iowa 9-0

141: Carter Happel dec. over Matt Santos, 4-1. Iowa 12-0

149: Pat Lugo dec. over Alex Hrisopoulos 8-3. Iowa 15-0

157: Kaleb Young dec. over Jake Tucker, 6-2. Iowa 18-0

165: Jeremiah Moody dec. over Austin Hiles, 9-5. Iowa 21-0

174: Michael Kemerer major. dec over Layne Malczewski, 13-3. Iowa 25-0

184: Cameron Caffey dec. over Abe Assad, 3-2. Iowa 25-3

197: Jacob Warner dec. over Nick May, 9-5. Iowa 28-3

285: Tony Cassioppi dec. over Christian Rebottaro, 10-0. Iowa 32-3

We won the takedown battle 20-3, with Glynn, Moody and Assad all giving up one TD a piece. In Assad’s case, it was that one takedown that cost him the chance and tallied Iowa’s lone loss.

Going into this dual we talked about this being the mental test, following the physical one two days ago.

For the most part: we passed.

However, this wasn’t as dominating of a win as it otherwise should have been. We took nine of ten matches, with three of those coming from non-starters. We wrangled up three bonus point wins: Spencer Lee with another first period shut out (pin) and Michael Kemerer and Tony Cassioppi each coming away with a major decision.

We had two more decisions that were by five points (primarily Lugo), which in my worthless opinion, is pushing the envelope to major territory and is viewed upon as a missed opportunity. Against PSU Lugo gets a reprieve, but here he needed to push the pace and keep it high. If he does, this it would’ve been a major by the third period. Alas, a win is a win is a win.

MATCH NOTES:

125: Spencer Lee kicked things off and punched it through the back end of the gymnasium. This kid is truly something special and now sits at 12-0 on the year with a perfect 100% bonus rate: 3 pins, 4 tech falls, and 1 major decision. Logan Griffin simply didn’t stand a chance and I loved seeing Lee go for the pin on multiple occasions. He was clearly pissed he didn’t get the pin Friday night against PSU and took it out against MSU. We’re currently witnessing an all-time great. Enjoy it while we can.

133: With Austin DeSanto staying behind in Iowa City (presumably to get his knee checked out) backup Paul Glynn filled in and got the damn thing done. Glynn found himself on the wrong end of a fireman’s carry early in the first. Pepple laced up double boots and rode Glynn for the remainder of the first. Pauly didn’t back down and stayed on the offensive. He was in deep twice, but couldn’t break through in the 2^nd. By the time the 3^rd period rolled around he was still looking fresh and finally found his first TD, but was still in a 2-4 hole. In the closing seconds Pepple was dinged for stalling, Glynn then locked up a cement mixer and took him for a ride, feet to back, as time expired to win 9-4.

I love Glynn’s fight. He doesn’t have the physical talents of DeSanto or Lee, but his tank is every bit as good and his heart is every bit as big. The kid is a scrapper and refuses to back down. Love it.

141: Max Murin is still sidelined and didn’t take the trip to East Lansing. Carter Happel once again filled in, and this time around, finally broke through with a win. This was the workmanlike outing we’ve been waiting for from Happel. He wasn’t flashy, but in the third, he had some of the biggest and baddest mat returns we’ve seen all year. Santo’s is a quality opponent and Happel thoroughly man-handled him in the 3^rd period. Great win for Happel.

149: I’m so thankful Lugo is on our team, I will never ever doubt his abilities, but at times we all wish he’d push the action more, especially when he finds himself with a 4 or 5 point lead with ample time left on the clock. However, all credit needs to go to Alex Hrisopoulos for continuing to fight and shoot in the waning moments of this match. Hrisopoulos went double unders/ under overs and snapped a couple of high crotch attempts that kept Lugo on his heels and prevented him from getting to his own offense.

But these are the types of matches Lugo needs to push the issue and stretch the lead, especially during March. We need him to kick it up another gear to max out his points potential.

157: This was a solid win for Kaleb Young against another ranked opponent. In fact, I believe it’s his fifth win of the year of that variety. Once again, MSU came to wrestle and Jake Tucker has some amazing hips that kept him out of some precarious situations against KY. By the same token, Young kept the pressure and found a couple of takedowns, followed by a great ride in the 3^rd period that locked up the bout. KY even laced up and flashed some leg riding, which is an oddity for Iowa. I wish we’d do it a bit more, especially if the opportunity presents itself.

165: Jeremiah Moody filled in for Alex Marinelli, who apparently received some stitches above his right eye following his match against Vincenzo Joseph on Friday night. This seemed to be a coach’s decision, though, as Tom Brands said The Bull would’ve gone if needed.

We didn’t need him and neither did Moody.

The Mood-Man hit a big move mere seconds into the first period with a massive six points move on Austin Hiles that would spot him a 6-1 lead after the opening frame. From there on out Moody was able to coast to a 9-5 victory. It would’ve been nice to see him push for the major, but it was a good showing for our senior back-up.

174: Michael Kemerer is truly something else and has upped his game. Many thought that Layne Malczewski wouldn’t pose much of a threat, but he is a funky wrestler with a style all his own. He isn’t afraid to get into some wonky positions and even exposed Kemdog from time to time, but Kemerer kept his composure and made the proper adjustments. This was only a 3 point match going into the third when our Hawkeye finally had enough and exploded the match with a reversal going immediately into a leg turk for exposure. From there on out he throttled the Spartan and secured the 13-3 major decision.

184: Assad was the only Hawkeye to drop a bout today. Actually, Assad was the only Hawkeye to not score a takedown. This is now 14 minutes, over the last two matches, where he’s failed to convert a TD, despite being in as deep as can be. Multiple times.

Ol’ Abe burst onto the scene a few weeks ago, but has since hit a rough patch and now finds himself in some seeding trouble with the Big Tens looming large on the horizon.

Abe has the setups, speed, and strength to get in deep on the legs, but against MSU he wasn’t able to convert or make the proper adjustments to secure the takedowns. All of this is a learning curve for him and I’m positive he’ll progress to where he needs to be, but it was a frustrating match watching him make the same mistakes over and over again.

This was reminiscent to Lugo’s match against Sammy Sasso (OSU) from a couple weeks back. Our guy was the aggressor, but couldn’t finish a TD. However, he HAS to make adjustments. Whether he’s switching off from the single to a double, working up to the hips, or even hipping over to get in better position. He’ll keep losing these battles if he shoots and drops his head to the mat. It’s a recipe for disaster.

Either way, he failed to convert on at least one of his 5 or 6 deep attempts and that’s what cost him this match.

197: This was another match I feel that we could pushed it and pursued the major decision. Warner was up 5-1 early in the 2^nd period but seemed content to coast to the finish line. Against PSU that’s fine, because bonus points meant very little compared to the mandatory win to stay alive as a team. Here, the dual was cinched up eons ago and Warner was wrestling for himself. This is a mental game for Jacob, as it always has been. With a minute left in the 3^rd he started coming out of his stance and keeping Nick May at arm’s reach, refusing to let it fly. Nick May has lost nine of his last eleven matches… this should’ve been a massacre.

285: With a few lackluster performances before him, Big Cass got the Hawkeye faithful back into it with a dominating win over Christian Rebottaro. Big Cass built nearly 2:00 of RT in the first period alone and never looked back. Cass just looks like he’s having fun out there and wrestling loose, but with confidence. His snatch single is world-class and his riding his phenomenal for a freshman. He’s now 15-0 on the year and this marks his 7^th bonus point win. Good stuff, big guy.

In wrapping this up I want to circle back to our backups, Glynn, Happel, and Moody going 3-0 on the day. The depth of this team is surreal and we really needed it today and they came through when Tom and Terry Brands called. Congrats to those guys.

GO HAWKS!!!

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Next up we travel to Ann Arbor, Mi to go to war with #17 Michigan Wolverines on Saturday, Feb 8 at 7PM CT on BTN.