Cooper, Stoll down ranked foes in Iowa victory

IOWA CITY — Edwin Cooper and Sam Stoll made the most of the opportunity in front of them.

Cooper had come close in his previous chances, while Stoll missed the only other one. You could slightly say they earned signature wins Thursday night for the University of Iowa.

Both recorded wins over ranked wrestlers, helping the second-ranked Hawkeyes to a 29-6 Big Ten dual victory over No. 11 Rutgers at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa won eight of 10 bouts, improving to 8-0 this season and 2-0 in the conference.

Cooper, a senior in his first year as a Hawkeye starter, had three losses to ranked wrestlers by a combined six points. He turned the tables on Rutgers' 17th-ranked Richie Lewis at 157 pounds. Cooper used a first-period takedown and 1:27 of riding time for a 6-4 decision.

'I've been having a couple tough losses against some other ranked opponents by one or two points,' Cooper said. 'Just getting this one and getting it done right is going to help me build.'

The win was a good accomplishment, but one he will need to build on the rest of the season.

'I give Edwin Cooper a lot of credit,' Iowa Coach Tom Brands said. 'The only thing I would say is now we have to build leads. You don't have to eek it out right at the end of an one-point victory.'

Cooper said a better warm-up prepared him to start quickly, opening up his lungs. He showed his explosive potential, getting the opening takedown just 12 seconds into the match.

'I wasn't really thinking about it, but it was there so I've got to go,' Cooper said, 'and if it's going to be there again I have to go again.'

Stoll, a red-shirt freshman, has filled the heavyweight shoes left behind by three-time All-American and four-time NCAA qualifier Bobby Telford. He lost his opening match to a ranked wrestler, but recorded his seventh straight victory with a 3-1 overtime win against Rutgers' sixth-ranked Billy Smith.

'It's good because it's my first ranked win, but I know there is more I could have done in that match,' Stoll said. 'Brands talks all the time that just because he's a ranked opponent, it doesn't have to be close. I have to believe that and I think I did some good things, but there is definitely more to improve on.'

Stoll countered a shot attempt, scoring the winning takedown just 20 seconds into the 1-minute overtime period.

'He took a shot and put his head down,' Stoll said. 'I think that came from my pressure throughout the match. I think it was probably more of who wanted to quit first. I'm not going to go out there and quit. He went and put his head down and I made sure I took that win away from him.'

Brands said that is what Stoll has to do in tough matches, being active for the entire match.

'His conditioning has clearly made strides,' Brands said. 'If he can do what he did against Marsden in that Oklahoma State match, if he can do that for seven minutes then we're going to have a good heavyweight. He did that for the better part of the seven minutes. He can still continue to make improvement, because that's what he is about.'

Topher Carton made his first dual appearance of the season, taking the mat at 141. Carton missed time to an unspecified injury. Logan Ryan was expected to take the mat. Brands said he told both Ryan would wrestle, but when he saw how Carton prepared for the match anyway he consulted assistants Terry Brands and Ryan Morningstar. All agreed to give Carton the shot.

He gave up an early takedown and four nearfall, but earned riding time and a third-period takedown in an 8-4 loss to third-ranked Anthony Ashnault. Carton wasn't locked in at the start, falling into a hole that proved too much to climb out.

'That guy was fired up,' Brands said. 'He wanted to take on our whole bench the way he was looking at us. That is a challenge. You have a guy that wants to take on the whole bench you have a job to do.

'I think Topher relaxed a little bit and when he stopped him a couple times I think he gained a little confidence.'

Carton wasn't buying into any ideas of a moral victory. No satisfaction with a close loss.

'I didn't wrestle the way I needed to wrestle to win that match,' Carton said. 'I know I can win that match. I know I should have won that match. A win is the key at the end of the day.'

Iowa stormed to a 9-0 lead and then 14-3 edge before Cooper's victory. Thomas Gilman (125) and Brandon Sorensen (149) had technical falls. Cory Clark added a major decision at 149.

'I'm trying to send a message this year,' Gilman said. 'I'm out here on a mission.'

Rutgers (9-2, 0-1) had recently risen in the rankings, knocking on the door of the top 10. Some said this could be a statement dual for them.

'We're showing them they have a long ways to go, and the rest of the country has a long ways to go too,' Gilman said. 'I think whenever you have a good match, you like to open your mouth and run your mouth a little bit, but when you wrestle a real hard-nosed team like us, we'll shut them up real quick.'

AT IOWA CITY

(Carver-Hawkeye Arena)

#2 Iowa 29, #11 Rutgers 6

125 — #2 Thomas Gilman (IA) tech. fall #18 Sean McCabe (R), 21-6

133 — #2 Cory Clark (IA) major dec. #17 Anthony Giraldo (R), 11-2

141 — #3 Anthony Ashnault (R) dec. Topher Carton (IA), 8-4

149 — #2 Brandon Sorensen (IA) tech. fall Tyson Dippery (R), 21-6

157 — Edwin Cooper, Jr. (IA) dec. #17 Richie Lewis (R), 6-4

165 — #12 Anthony Perrotti (R) dec. Patrick Rhoads (IA), 8-7

174 — #3 Alex Meyer (IA) dec. Phil Bakuckas (R), 8-3

184 — #8 Sammy Brooks (IA) dec. Nichalas Gravina (R), 11-5

197 — #4 Nathan Burak (IA) dec. Hayden Hrymack (R), 6-1

285 — Sam Stoll (IA) dec. #6 Billy Smith (R), 3-1 (OT)

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