Hawkeyes attempt to win fourth straight Big Ten crown

The venue and the competition style are the same, but this University of Iowa wrestling might be a little different.

The last time the second-ranked Hawkeyes wrestled in an tournament setting at Northwestern's Welsh-Ryan Arena, they placed fourth without crowning a champion in the Midlands Championships at the end of December.

Although Iowa rebounded and went on to sweep its Big Ten duals, posting an 8-0 Big Ten record and a 15-0-1 overall mark extending its school-record unbeaten dual streak to 77, the Hawkeyes face a tough challenge in trying to win their fourth straight Big Ten Conference tournament team title Saturday and Sunday. Competition begins Saturday at 10 a.m.

The Hawkeyes are competing at a stronger level now than their last tournament appearance.

"Overall, we're a different team," Iowa senior 197-pounder Luke Lofthouse said. "We're stronger. We're better. We're wrestling well."

Iowa stumbled the second day of competition, but have performed well in their duals since placing behind Missouri, Wisconsin and Lehigh. Hawkeyes 133-pounder Tony Ramos said the experience benefited everyone in the program and the team has had a tougher mentality.

"I feel we have more of a chip on our shoulder," Ramos said. "I feel we're more prepared and mroe ready now for everything we're going into, so that's good."

Iowa Coach Tom Brands said that is exactly where the Hawkeyes have made the biggest stride the last two months. He said the Hawkeyes have to continue to "righting a wrong" they have experienced throughout the season. They will need to be tough in tough situations, which is even more critical in the postseason.

"It's a regular season championship, but now its tournament time," Brands said. "We're at the next thing. Now, we're to the tournament and that's what we're going after. We'll see. We'll get a lot of questions answered, I suppose."

Plenty of questions still surround the Hawkeyes. They will have to answer whether they can perform as well in a tournament competition as they have in duals, and can their balance be enough to overcome Penn State, which has five wrestlers owning No. 1 pre-seeds, or Minnesota. Brands' message has been consistent all year, according to Ramos.

"It's another highlighted meet on the schedule that we just have to prepare for again and get ready to go into battle," Ramos said. "It's the same thing."

The Hawkeyes own a wealth of wrestling experience, but only three of them have competed in the Big Ten tournament. A contrast to last year's senior-dominated lineup.

Iowa's defending 125-pound NCAA Champion Matt McDonough, the Hawkeyes' only No. 1 pre-seed, and Montell Marion (7-1) at 141, competed last year. Lofthouse wrestled in the tournament as a freshman in 2005. Lofthouse, Marion and 157-pounder Derek St. John (16-3) are No. 2 pre-seeds, while Ramos, Grant Gambrall (17-5 at 184) and heavyweight Blake Rasing (14-5) are pre-seeded third. Nine of the Hawkeyes are pre-seeded in the top five with 149 being the only weight class without a Hawkeye listed.

Despite an unbeaten Big Ten record, Ramos found himself pre-seeded behind two others, including Penn State's Andrew Long, who Ramos defeated, 3-2, Jan. 30. It doesn't bother him.

"I figured that's where I'd be even though I had an undefeated Big Ten Conference record," said Ramos (18-3), who has others tell him he deserves better. "You don't deserve anything. You earn it. I had three losses. They didn't feel I earned it..."

Brands has seen Ramos improve since losing three straight matches the second day of the Midlands. Ramos is more solid underneath and has always been confident.

"He's grown," Brands said of Ramos. "He's matured."

McDonough (20-1) will be trying to earn his first Big Ten title, placing second last year to Indiana's Angel Escobedo before claiming the national title. He likely could face Northwestern's Brandon Precin for the third time this season. Precin beat him in the finals at Midlands - McDonough's lone loss this season - and was leading before McDonough pinned him with a third-period headlock in a dual Jan. 28 at Northwestern.

"It's just another opportunity to wrestle the best," McDonough said. "To prove you're the best (and) to go after what you're training for all season."

Championship talk has changed from lofty expectations to realistic goals over the last four months, especially since the first of the year. The Big Ten tournament can show how far the Hawkeyes have come and be a chance continue their progress, trying to claim as many of the Big Ten's 64 automatic berths as possible for the NCAA Division I Championships March 17-19 at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia .

"Obviously, we still haven't had a perfect meet yet, but definitely there's extreme improvement," McDonough said. "It may be cliche but it's not always about where you start it's about where you finish and this is time to do it."