UNI hosts ISU on the mat Saturday

UNI Panthers will hope to rebound from decisive losses to the University of Iowa and Wisconsin last week, hosting the No.2 Iowa state Cyclones Saturday at 2 p.m.

This is the 68th meeting between the two programs. Iowa State is 1-1 with a win over South Dakota State and a two-point loss to the top-ranked Hawkeyes. UNI is 3-5.

Dual Three: Northern Iowa

Sat., Dec. 19; 2 p.m. CST

Cedar Falls, Iowa • West Gym

Live Stats available at cyclones.com

Television: Iowa Public Television (Live)

Talent: Tim Johnson (pxp); Dan Gable (color)

Cyclone Notebook

• Iowa State will battle intrastate foe Northern Iowa for the 68th meeting between

the two wrestling programs.

• The second-ranked Cyclones were thwarted in an upset attempt of No. 1 Iowa

Dec. 6 in Hilton Coliseum. ISU was stopped 18-16 by the Hawkeyes.

• ISU is 1-1 in the 2009-10 dual season with the lone victory coming Nov. 12 in

Hilton Coliseum over South Dakota State by a score of 43-3.

• ISU is currently ranked 2/2 in the Intermat and W.I.N. Magazine polls, respectively.

• Iowa State is 990-262-20 all-time in duals, dating back to 1916.

• The Cyclones are coming off a third-place showing at last year's NCAA Championships.

• Iowa State returns four grapplers who earned All-America honors in at the 2009

NCAA Championships: Nick Gallick (141), Jon Reader (165), Jake Varner (197) and

David Zabriskie (HWT). ISU 133-pounder Nick Fanthorpe was an All-American in 2008.

• Iowa State's fi ve returning All-Americans sport a combined record of 21-0 thus far

in their 2009-10 campaigns.

• ISU won a third-straight Big 12 Conference Wrestling Championship last season. The

Cyclones had never won a consecutive trio of league titles. Iowa State tied for fi rst with

Nebraska with 70 points. Nick Fanthorpe (133) and David Zabriskie (HWT) notched their

second conference individual titles.

Iowa State vs. Northern Iowa Series Notes

• Iowa State leads in the all-time series against Northern Iowa, 51-16.

• The Cyclones have won seven-straight meetings between the two schools,

including a 31-3 victory over UNI at the 2008 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals.

• Last season, ISU dropped only one individual decision and forfeited a match to

the Panthers en route to a 26-9 victory. Two Cyclones notched major decisions.

Scouting Northern Iowa

• The Panthers are 3-5 in dual action in the 2009-10 season. UNI dropped

in dual action Dec. 10 to No. 1-ranked Iowa, 48-3. They also came up short

against 24th-ranked Wisconsin Dec. 12, by a score of 25-11.

• Sophomore Panther heavyweight Christian Brantley and redshirt

freshman David Bonin (165) are tied for the team lead in victories. Brantley

holds a 9-4 record and Bonin sports a mark of 9-6.

• UNI returns seven NCAA qualifi ers in Brantley, Trevor Kittleson (149),

Tyson Reiner (157), Andy O'Loughlin (184) and Trent Washington (141).

Caleb Flores (125) and Nick Pickerell (165) qualifi ed in 2008 but sat out last

season due to injuries.

• The Panthers defeated Michigan State (18-13) and Harvard (26-10) in dual

action at the Sprawl and Brawl in Binghamton, N.Y. Nov. 22 before falling to

Rutgers, 25-10.

• Northern Iowa head coach Brad Penrith holds a career record of 83-68-4.