Second-ranked Iowa handles South Dakota State, 28-15

IOWA CITY - The University of Iowa has come to expect opponents to employ a specific strategy.

Slow the pace, keep things close and try to score late for a win.

It might have been why second-ranked Iowa and South Dakota State didn't light up the scoreboard with match points Friday night. It may not have been pretty, and even quirky at times, but the Hawkeyes still won six matches for a 28-15 victory at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

'This was a team that came in and we knew what they were going to be about,” Iowa Coach Tom Brands said. 'I would say if you're going to grade us based on how we imposed our style against their style we probably don't get a very good grade.

'I don't know what the reasons for that are, but we need to get ready to go.”

The Hawkeyes opened to a fast start thanks to Thomas Gilman, who built a 10-2 lead before pinning Kahlen Morris in just 1:34 at 125.

'It was pretty quick, but I try to do that every time I wrestle,” Gilman said. 'Whether it's a pin, tech or a major decision, I want to get the fans fired up. That's my job being at 125 and the first guy out there.

'I want to give them something to look forward to in the first match and get them fired up for the rest of my teammates.”

After Gilman, both teams tallied a mere 49 match points. Some of the reason might be that Iowa 184-pounder Sammy Brooks only needed two points before pinning Brady Ayers in 43 seconds, giving Iowa 22-9 edge. It doesn't helped when heavyweight Sam Stoll spent 4:07 pushing around an opponent that refused to wrestle before being disqualified with a fifth stall warning.

Remove Gilman and Brooks and the Hawkeyes tallied just six first-period points in seven matches. Iowa managed just nine total takedowns and three straight matches were scoreless after the first period.

'I think the big thing is the speed of wrestling,” Brooks said. 'That doesn't mean they aren't wrestling hard or not wrestling fast. I just think it's time in between action. If there's less time in between scrambles and flurries that goes in our favor, so I think some guys can do a better job of that.”

Iowa's aggressiveness may not have been reflected in the score, and it also caused them to get out of position occasionally.

'I think they all are thinking the same way,” Brands said. 'You watch our guys were forward, but you can't go forward walking into stuff. We're a little heavy-footed and not ready to throw our legs back or whatever. You have to be able to be light on your feet and be able to move. Not just in and out. It's got to be a lot of lateral motion.”

Brandon Sorensen (149) broke things open, scoring all of his points in the final four minutes for an 8-0 major over Alex Kocer. Being able to put up points is mental, according to Gilman.

'Just know that you can score points,” Gilman said. 'Even if you're not getting to the guy, Just know that you're going to get to the guy. Sorensen comes to mind. He was on the offense, on the offense. I don't think he got a first-period takedown, but he was right there.

'He could have done a couple things, maybe, to set shots up a little more, but he knew he was going to eventually get to the guy.”

Alex Meyer surrendered the first takedown, but rebounded for a 5-2 win over David Kocer. Coaches signaled that Meyer broke his opponent, riding him the entire third. Then Brooks broke the meet open. He wasted little time for the takedown and then turned his tilt on the edge of the mat into a fall.

'I think he might have thought he was safe,” Brooks said. 'I really didn't think I had him that tight, because I was worried about keeping my foot in bounds, but I could tell it was starting to go that way so I pretty much squeezed as hard as I could and it worked out.”

Iowa's two-time All-American Nathan Burak did not wrestle. The Hawkeyes forfeited 197 to 12th-ranked Nate Rotert. Burak, ranked fourth, was listed on the bout sheet after weigh-ins, but didn't compete. Brands did not provide a specific reason for the move.

'If Burak's not out there then there's a reason for it,” Brands said. 'He's a good student and he does everything right. If this was the right time of year or a different time of year, he certainly would have been out there, so it's being safe and smart.”

Brands added, 'We expect him to be back when we need him the most.”

At 141, South Dakota State's Seth Gross returned to Iowa City, facing former teammate Logan Ryan. Gross used two escapes and a riding-time point with 1:32 advantage for a 3-2 victory. Ryan scored the opening takedown but was ridden the entire third.

'First takedown in that bout doesn't win that match,” Brands said. 'You have to wrestle the full seven (minutes), and you have to be good in all positions.”

Iowa returns to action next Thursday at home against Rutgers scheduled for 5 p.m.

'Right now, I would say that we have got to be ready to go when Rutgers comes in, because it's going to be very similar and they believe in themselves as well.”

AT IOWA CITY

(Carver-Hawkeye Arena)

#2 IOWA 28, South Dakota State 15

125 - #2 Thomas Gilman (IA) pinned Kahlen Morris (SDSU), 1:34; 6-0

133 - #2 Cory Clark (IA) dec. #15 Bryce Simms (SDSU), 4-1; 9-0

141 – Seth Gross (SDSU) dec. Logan Ryan (IA), 3-2; 9-3

149 - #1 Brandon Sorensen (IA) maj. dec. Alex Kocer (SDSU), 8-0; 13-3

157 - #6 Cody Pack (SDSU) dec. Edwin Cooper, Jr. (IA), 6-5; 13-6

165 - #20 Luke Zilverberg dec. Burke Paddock (IA), 4-2; 13-9

174 - #3 Alex Meyer (IA) dec. David Kocer (SDSU), 5-2; 16-9

184 - #8 Sammy Brooks (IA) pinned Brady Ayers (SDSU), 0:43; 22-9

197 - #12 Nate Rotert (SDSU) won by forfeit; 22-15

285 - Sam Stoll (IA) won by disqualification over Alex Macki (SDSU) in 4:07; 28-15

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