Hawkeye wrestlers ride to shutout over UNI

CEDAR FALLS - The University of Iowa wrestlers were tough on top and they used that to come out on top of the University of Northern Iowa.

The seventh-ranked Hawkeyes dominated the Panthers again, racking up two pins and three major decisions for a 39-0 victory last night at UNI's West Gym.

The Hawkeyes (7-0) won their 36th straight dual against UNI, extending their school record dual win streak to 68. It was the Hawkeyes fifth shutout this season.

“A shutout is good,” Iowa Coach Tom Brands said. “We could do a better job of blowing these things open.”

They might be able to open things up more but they couldn't have shut down the Panthers better. The Hawkeyes amassed a 30-1 takedown advantage. To go along with it, Iowa accrued more than 17 minutes of riding time, earning the extra point in all eight of its matches that didn't end by fall.

“Really it's where our guys are comfortable,” Brands said. “Wrestling in the positions that you're comfortable in and doing what you're good at.

“Our guys are smart for the most part, and they're wrestling where guys are giving them an advantage.”

Aaron Janssen's 4-0 win over Nick Pickerell at 165 was indicative of the Hawkeyes' performance. After a scoreless first, he scored and escape and a takedown and finished the second by riding out Pickerell. The third period Pickerell made the mistake of choosing down and never got out from underneath of Janssen who accumulated 2:08 of riding time.

“(Iowa Coach) Tom (Brands) liked it but I didn't,” Janssen said. “He said he was glad I made him pay for choosing bottom. I felt like I could have turned the heat up on him more.”

Janssen, who received his chance in the lineup while competing for the spot with Jake Kerr, wanted to distance himself more from his opponent and the competition on his own team.

“I rode him, but I felt like that was the turning point where I could have let him go, took him down,” Janssen said. “That's where I could have broken him to get the major.”

Brands said there is no controversy at 165 and that the wrestling later this month will help determine the No. 1 guy for the Hawkeyes.

“It's pretty even,” Brands said. “It was Janssen's turn tonight, so to speak, but Midlands will settle it.”

Ethen Lofthouse had a rough go, losing consecutive bouts last weekend. He looked stronger, tallying seven takedowns for a 16-5 win over Brice Wolf at 174, giving Iowa a 23-0 lead. He said he focused on improvement in the room and although things we better there is plenty of room to grow.

“You go back to the room and pick some things up, working on some things that I do best,” Lofthouse said. “Tonight I'm not real proud of my performance, but it's better. I was using my hands. I was attacking.”

Jeret Chiri was the only Hawkeye to trail the entire meet, giving up an early takedown to Jamal Lawrence. Unlike his opponents, Chiri escape and took control. He turned Lawrence after a takedown in the third and scored a fall in 5:59.

“Jeret Chiri was a good example of not hanging out not really giving the guy any respect,” Brands said. “Just attacking.”

In the only rematch of last year's 48-3 Iowa victory, Blake Rasing avenged that loss by topping Christian Brantley, 2-0. Rasing rode Brantley the entire second period and added an escape in the third for the win.

“Rasing beat him in a position where he was having success,” Brands said. “Kept him down tough.”

Tony Ramos (133), Luke Lofthouse (197) and 125-pounder Matt McDonough made their share of attacks. Ramos earned a 12-3 major decision over Ryan Jauch to put Iowa up 4-0. Luke Lofthouse scored eight takedowns for a 19-7 win over Joe Johnson and McDonough capped the meet with a 1:12 pin over Terrance Young.

Brands said McDonough is a little back to form, blocking outside distractions and dominating on the mat.

“He needs to be in the McDonough mode,” Brands said. “Early on he wasn't in the McDonough mode.”

The Panthers (4-4) scored only 24 match points, including 20 escapes, mostly coming from releases. Schwab said his squad was ridden hard and they gave up too many easy points.

“I don't know how many times they ended the period on top,” Schwab said. “That's huge. They're ending the period with no response from us, if it's an escape point or whatever, they finished a lot of periods on top. that's tough to overcome.”

Schwab praised David Bonin's effort, making Iowa's Derek St. John earned his 8-4 win at 157. Schwab called on his team to rebound, noting that “true competitors” will come back stronger against fourth-ranked Wisconsin on Saturday.

“I'm more motivated than ever,” Schwab said. “it doesn't matter about me though. It only matters about our guys.”

Iowa won't compete again until the Midlands Champions Dec. 28-29 at Evanston, Ill.