UNI opens dual season this weekend

The University of Northern Iowa will open its dual season this weekend at the Northwestern Duals in Evanston, Ill. The Panthers, under first-year head coach Doug Schwab, will wrestle McKendree (Ill.), University of Wisconsin-Parkside and 20th-ranked Northwestern on Sunday. Competition for UNI begins at noon.

Below is the UNI news release about the upcoming schedule, lineup information and recaps from wrestle-offs and Loras Open results from last weekend.

*THIS WEEK IN PANTHER WRESTLING*

*Sat. Nov. 14 Northwestern Duals Evanston, Ill. *

vs.McKendree 12 p.m.

vs. UW-Parkside 2 p.m.

at No. 20 Northwestern 4 p.m.

The University of Northern Iowa wrestling team opens the 2010-11 season this weekend heading to the Northwestern Duals in Evanston, Ill. The Panthers will face three opponents Sunday, opening the day against McKendree at 12 p.m. followed by UW-Parkside at 2 p.m. and will close out the day against host and No. 20-ranked Northwestern.

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*PANTHER POINTS...*

• UNI returns six national qualifiers for the 2010-11 season including

Caleb Flores, Trevor Kittleson, Nick Pickerell, Jarion Beets, Andy

O'Loughlin and Christian Brantley.

• UNI's lineup this weekend will feature a number of new faces with five

wrestlers coming off redshirt seasons including Steven Fitzgerald (133

lbs.), Aaron Senzee (141 lbs.), Brice Wolf (174 lbs.), Ryan Loder (184

lbs.), and Joe Johnson (197 lbs.).

• In addition to the six national qualifiers, UNI returns All-American

Jarion Beets. Beets captured his first All-America honor at the 2010

NCAA Championships taking eighth place at 174 pounds. Beets entered the

championships unseeded in a pigtail match and knocked off No. 5-seeded

Scott Glasser of Minnesota en route to his eighth place finish.

• Both Jarion Beets and Christian Brantley enter the 2010-11 season

ranked in preseason polls, coming in at No. 11 and No. 15, respectively

in the Amateur Wrestling News rankings.

• UNI has a total of 114 All-America medals, ranking them No. 10 in NCAA

Division I history. Jarion Beets earned the Panthers 114th medal at the

2010 NCAA Championships.

• UNI will look to return to the top of the Western Wrestling Conference

standings this season and recapture the West Regional Championship

crown. The Panthers have won 24 West Regional Championships and have

never finished lower than second place.

• UNI will once again return to the West Gym for all of its home duals.

The West Gym is the birthplace of Panther wrestling and hosted the NCAA

Championships in 1950. In fall 2009, the hallway adjacent to the gym was

turned into the UNI wrestling Hall of Fame honoring the glorious history

of Panther wrestling in the West Gym.

• The Panthers will be under new leadership as they enter the 2010-11

season as Doug Schwab begins his first season as head coach of the

Panthers. Schwab joins the Panthers after serving as an assistant at

Iowa. In addition to his coaching experience at Iowa, Schwab was a

three-time All-American and Big Ten champion for the Hawkeyes. Schwab

won the 1999 NCAA title at 141 pounds.

*NO WALK IN THE PARK*

UNI's schedule this season will be no walk in the park as the Panthers

will face a ranked opponent in their first weekend. UNI will face No. 20

Northwestern at the Northwestern Duals Sunday before taking on a number

of the top teams in the country. UNI will host reigning National

Champion Iowa Dec. 9 and will travel to No. 5-ranked Wisconsin two days

later. Later in the season, UNI will travel to Iowa State, a team who

finished third at the 2010 NCAA Championships. Of UNI's 18 opponents,

nine placed in the top 40 last season, including three in the top 10.

*WRESTLE-OFF RESULTS*

The University of Northern Iowa opened the 2010-11 wrestling season with

the annual intra-squad wrestle-offs Saturday in the West Gym. The

wrestle-offs featured 13 matches.

Senior Caleb Flores scored a last second takedown to top junior Cruse

Aarhus 3-2 at 125 pounds. With Aarhus leading 2-1, Flores secured the

takedown with just two seconds remaining to pick up the win.

At 133 pounds sophomore Steven Fitzgerald picked up a win over fellow

sophomore Ryan Jauch. With the scored tied at 4-4, Fitzgerald scored on

an escape with one minute remaining in the third period to take a 5-4

lead and held off Jauch for the win.

Sophomore Alec Hoffman picked up a major decision win at 141 over fellow

sophomore Mitchell Johnson, 12-3. Hoffman recorded five takedowns in the

match, including two in the final period.

Hoffman then returned to the mat to face redshirt junior Aaron Senzee

later in the morning. Senzee scored five takedowns on Hoffman to earn a

10-3 win.

Brett Robbins scored a 2-1 decision over Jamal Lawrence at 149 pounds.

The match featured no takedowns, with each wrestler scoring on an escape

and Robbins picking up the winning point off a stalling point.

After dropping down a weight class from last season, David Bonin picked

up a decision win over Trevor Kittleson at 157 pounds. With the score

tied 2-2 after two periods, Bonin scored an early escape and a takedown

with 11 seconds remaining to earn the 5-2 win.

Riley Banach picked up 8-6 win over John Simon at 165 pounds notching a

takedown in the final thirty seconds to earn the win.

Banach then returned to the mat to face 2008 national qualifier Nick

Pickerell later in the morning. Pickerell, who battled injuries much of

the 2009-10 season picked up a quick pin over Banach in 1:02.

At 174 pounds redshirt freshman Brice Wolf scored a 1-0 upset over

returning All-American Jarion Beets. Wolf notched an escape with 1:48

remaining in the second period and held off Beets in the third period to

earn the win.

Ryan Loder pinned John Simon in 6:48 at 184 pounds. Loder scored three

near falls in the match along with a takedown and a reversal before

earning the pin.

Andy O'Loughlin scored a decision win over Joe Johnson at 197 pounds.

After a 2-2 tie through two periods, O'Loughlin scored an escape with

1:01 remaining in the match, eventually earning him the 3-2 win.

Blayne Beale picked up a 7-2 decision over Brent Lambie at 285 pounds

before falling to two-time national qualifier Christian Brantley 4-2.

Brantley scored an escape and a takedown in the third period and added a

riding time point in the win.

*UNI WRESTLE OFF RESULTS*

125 - Flores dec. Aarhus, 3-2

133 - Fitzgerald dec. Jauch, 5-4

141 - Hoffman dec. M. Johnson, 12-3

141 - Senzee dec. Hoffman, 10-3

149 - Robbins dec. Lawrence, 2-1

157 - Bonin dec. Kittleson, 5-2

165 - Banach dec. Simon, 8-6

165 - Pickerell pinned Banach, 1:02

174 - Wolf dec. Beets, 1-0

184 - Loder pinned Simon, 6:48

197 - O'Loughlin dec. J. Johnson, 3-2

285 - Beale dec. Lambie, 7-2

285 - Brantley dec. Beale, 4-2

*FIVE PANTHERS PLACE** AT LORAS OPEN*

The University of Northern Iowa picked up two titles and had three other

wrestlers place at the Loras Open Saturday.

Competing as unattached wrestlers freshmen Levi Wolfensperger and Seth

Noble claimed titles at 125 pounds and 149 pounds, respectively. Jake

Damon, Joey Lazor and Taylor Kettman also placed for the Panthers in

their respective weight classes.

Wolfensperger captured the 125 pound title picking up four wins by fall

and topping Marc Escobedo in the championship match by a major decision

score, 14-2.

Damon finished in second place at 133 pounds, picking up a pin and major

decision along the way.

Lazor finished in third place at 141 pounds, finishing the day with a

4-1 record including two major decisions and one technical fall win.

Noble captured the 149-pound title topping Coe's Dmitri Boyer in the

title match 6-3. Noble also recorded a pin and a major decision en route

to his title.

Kettman took third place at the 197-pound slot, picking up three wins by

fall. **

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*TICKETS ON SALE FOR 2011 NWCA NATIONAL DUALS*

Tickets are on sale for the 2011 National Wrestling Coaches

Association/Cliff Keen National Duals, which will take place Jan. 8-9,

2011, in the UNI-Dome.

Top wrestlers from each collegiate athletic division (Division I, II,

III, NAIA, NJCAA and Women's) will compete for a national dual title.

The NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals is one of the largest collegiate

national sporting events in the country, with more than 1,400 wrestlers

and 80 teams attending.

Tickets are available by visiting www.unitix.uni.edu or by calling

319-273-4TIX (4849).

*_2011 NWCA National Duals Ticket Prices_*

All Tournament Pass: $45

All Tournament Senior/Student*: $35

All Sessions Group (10+): $30

One Day Session Pass: $25

One Day Session Senior/Student*: $20

One Day Session Group (10+): $10

* Must be under 18 or have a valid College ID

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*SCHWAB TO ENTER GLEN BRAND WRESTLING HALL OF FAME OF IOWA*

Current University of Northern Iowa head wrestling coach Doug Schwab

will be inducted into the Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame of Iowa in

April of 2011. The Hall of Fame is located inside the National Wrestling

Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum.

The Class of 2011 includes Bill Zadick, Doug Schwab, Jason Smith and Joe

Scarpello.

Schwab will join two of his assistant coaches in the Hall of Fame.

Doug's brother, Mark, was inducted in 2002 and Tolly Thompson was

inducted in 2010.