Hawkeyes reach 69 straight dual wins with shutout

IOWA CITY - The University of Iowa wrestling team reached another milestone, and they did it in dominating fashion.

The seventh-ranked Hawkeyes moved into a second-place tie with their 69th straight dual victory last night, trouncing Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, 49-0, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The shutout win tied two separate streaks by Oklahoma State, which holds the record with 76 straight from 1937-51.

The Hawkeyes started the streak with a win over Cornell University in Jan. 2008. It's also included 30 straight dual wins at home.

“It's something that's an honor to be a part of,” said 125-pounder Matt McDonough. “It's exciting that we've been going that long even though there's been bumps all through the road.

Plenty of moments stand out, and McDonough noted a pair of hard-fought Iowa State duals and some important wins by veterans such as Brent Metcalf and Jay Borschel.

“Mainly last year there were some tight duals where it came down to certain a match going this way, even a takedown, escape or overtime, and that's just where you need to get tough,” McDonough said. “I've seen it, been a part of it and I love it.”

The week between the Midlands Championships and last night's dual was a crucial time for training for the Hawkeyes. So much that the wrestlers blocked out all distractions earlier in the week.

“We focused our energy on working out,” McDonough said. “Not just working out, but working out with a mission and that's to build. Every practice, minute, every takedown of every single practice is a constant snowball effect.”

Iowa Coach Tom Brands said this meet was important, but so was the week leading up to it.

“We're going through a phase like any other phase where you're working on things you need to work on based on what you saw, and then also trying to develop as you go through that process,” Brands said. “A lot of time to get ready for Oklahoma State.”

The Hawkeyes (8-0) face Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla., on Jan. 16. The win streak is on the line against the second-ranked Cowboys.

“We have a big dual meet next Sunday. We're getting ready for it. It's not a secret that this is the next step now,” Brands said. “We have to go down there and be ready to put it to some guys because we didn't do that this past weekend. We need to step up to a bigger challenge, and next weekend is a bigger challenge.”

The dual itself was very anti-climactic. The Hawkeyes controlled the Cougars (1-7) in all 10 matches.

McDonough scored his first takedown about 11 seconds into the bout before pinning Paul Myers in 1 minute, 13 seconds. Tony Ramos followed with a 21-5 technical fall at 133.

Brothers Mark and Matt Ballweg gave Iowa a 22-0 after the next two matches. Mark Ballweg pinned Lawrence Blackful in just 57 seconds at 141. Matt Ballweg added a 16-1 technical fall over Derrick Pousson at 149, amassing 4:25 of riding time for the final point.

Matt Ballweg, a senior, made his first appearance in dual competition in front of the home crowd at Carver-Hawkeye Arena since wrestling against Minnesota on Feb. 15, 2009.

 “It felt good to be back out there,” Ballweg said. “Be the guy out there on the mat and be proud. You want to be the guy and you've got to take advantage of the opportunity when it comes your way.”

The older Ballweg wrestled in just his second event at 149, dropping down from 157 to contend for the starting spot after Dylan Carew was sidelined for the rest of the season due injuries to both knees.

“I feel good,” Ballweg said. “Naturally, I'm probably a 149-pounder. I had to mentally and physically get back to that weight class.”

Derek St. John (157) and Ethen Lofthouse (174) sandwiched Aaron Janssen's fall at 165, with decisions.

Grant Gambrall bounced back from three disappointing losses at the Midlands Championships with a fall at 184. Gambrall built an 8-3 lead before locking up a body-lock and throwing Deshoun White to his back, and claiming the fall in 2:28.

Luke Lofthouse had a fall at 197 before heavyweight Blake Rasing capped the dual with a 7-4 decision. it didn't come before the Cougars claimed one brief bright spot, when Dan Devine held their only lead of the night when he went up 3-2 on Rasing for 18 seconds.

“I think we flexed our muscles where we need to, but we have to do that against better teams as well,” Brands said. “Some of the things you saw out there is what wins tournaments, but some of the things you saw was an obvious and glaring blemish on this team at some individual weight classes.

“We were sloppy at some places. I'm not worried about sloppiness if you're wrestling hard. That will iron itself out.”