Iowa has been on top of the college wrestling world since the start of the season, but the Hawkeyes have never been tougher on top this year than they were Sunday.
The No. 1 team in the country throttled seventh-ranked Illinois, winning nine matches while turning in perhaps its best performance this season in a 32-4 victory in front of 6,946 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
"They beat us in every position," Illinois coach Mark Johnson said. "We talked to our team about coming into Carver-Hawkeye and not being intimidated. You've got to live through it. I think we took a backseat and let Iowa dictate just about every position out there."
The Hawkeyes (17-0, 2-0 Big Ten) ran their winning streak to 31 with victories from Daniel Dennis and Dan Erekson in the dual's two marquee matches and picked up major decisions from Alex Tsirtsis and Jay Borschel and a pin from Brent Metcalf.
Iowa racked up a 24-8 advantage in takedowns. But the overriding difference in the lopsided margin on the scoreboard may have been Iowa's dominance from the top position.
The Hawkeyes racked up nearly 10 minutes of riding time in five of their victories with punishing wrestling from the top position that seemed to take a toll on the Illini (7-1, 0-1).
"You can really take a lot out of the guy (on top)," said Metcalf, who extended his winning streak to 57 with a second-period fall against Eric Terrazas at 149. "If the guy steps out on the mat and has hope, thinks he has a chance to win, you hold a guy down against his will and you take that hope out of him. We do a pretty good job of that."
None of the Hawkeyes did a better job of it than Dennis. The fifth-ranked junior scored a takedown with 1 minute, 20 seconds remaining in the second period and rode No. 3 Jimmy Kennedy for the final 3:40 on his way to a 5-0 win in a battle of former Grant Community (Ill.) High School teammates at 133.
"It was a step up from the last time we wrestled," said Dennis, who defeated Kennedy in overtime in December in the semifinals of the Midlands Championships. "I created more scoring opportunities for myself. It was tough riding on top, a little bit smarter in my positions and being aware of where I want to be in my match and trying to stick where I'm good. If I stay in my positions, I'm pretty confident in how I'm going to perform."
Kennedy is 0-2 against Dennis this season and 18-0 against everyone else.
"He came off the mat and said, 'My legs felt like lead,'" Johnson said. "He said, 'I didn't feel good out there.' There's no excuse. Dennis did a great job and just whipped him."
Illinois got its lone victory from second-ranked Mike Poeta, a 15-5 winner against Matt Ballweg at 157.
The rest of the dual was all Iowa.
No. 11 Erekson used a third-period reversal to score the winning points of a 9-8 victory against ninth-ranked John Wise in a wild and entertaining heavyweight bout.
Tsirtsis piled up 2:12 of riding time and a two-point near-fall that opened up his 11-3 major decision at 141 against Ryan Prater. Borschel scored a takedown and turned John Dergo twice in the third period to secure a 10-1 major decision at 174.
"We are good on top, and we're getting better, too," Iowa coach Tom Brands said. "There's not only an emphasis on control -- it's not just float riding or hang riding -- there's an emphasis on (getting the opponent) flat and working toward points and near-falls. That's a characteristic that displays dominance."
Charlie Falck (125), Ryan Morningstar (165), Phil Keddy (184) and Chad Beatty (197) won by decisions for the Hawkeyes. Keddy, an 11-4 winner against No. 11 Jordan Blanton, came one second of riding time short of a major decision.
"These guys are strong wrestlers," Brands said. "The whole dual meet you're sitting there in the chair and you're going, 'This guy's strong, this guy's strong, this guy's strong.' We've got a lot of positives going on."
One of the biggest is that the Hawkeyes finally have their full lineup together again. Fifth-ranked Falck rolled to an 11-5 victory at 125 against B.J. Futrell in the Iowa senior's second match back from missing more than three weeks with an ankle injury. Beatty, who missed six weeks with a knee injury, beat Patrick Bond 2-1 at 197.
"We're full strength now, I guess you could say," Metcalf said. "We've just got to get full strength at every weight class."
IOWA 32, ILLINOIS 4
125 -- Charlie Falck (Iowa) dec. B.J. Futrell 11-5.
133 -- Daniel Dennis (Iowa) dec. Jimmy Kennedy 5-0.
141 -- Alex Tsirtsis (Iowa) major dec. Ryan Prater 11-3.
149 -- Brent Metcalf (Iowa) pinned Eric Terrazas 3:52.
157 -- Mike Poeta (Illinois) major dec. Matt Ballweg 15-5.
165 -- Ryan Morningstar (Iowa) dec. Roger Smith-Bergsrud 3-0.
174 -- Jay Borschel (Iowa) major dec. John Dergo 10-1.
184 -- Phil Keddy (Iowa) dec. Jordan Blanton 11-4.
197 -- Chad Beatty (Iowa) dec. Patrick Bond 2-1.
Hwt. -- Dan Erekson (Iowa) dec. John Wise 9-8.
Reach Andy Hamilton at 339-7368 or ahamilton@press-citizen.com.
The No. 1 team in the country throttled seventh-ranked Illinois, winning nine matches while turning in perhaps its best performance this season in a 32-4 victory in front of 6,946 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
"They beat us in every position," Illinois coach Mark Johnson said. "We talked to our team about coming into Carver-Hawkeye and not being intimidated. You've got to live through it. I think we took a backseat and let Iowa dictate just about every position out there."
The Hawkeyes (17-0, 2-0 Big Ten) ran their winning streak to 31 with victories from Daniel Dennis and Dan Erekson in the dual's two marquee matches and picked up major decisions from Alex Tsirtsis and Jay Borschel and a pin from Brent Metcalf.
Iowa racked up a 24-8 advantage in takedowns. But the overriding difference in the lopsided margin on the scoreboard may have been Iowa's dominance from the top position.
The Hawkeyes racked up nearly 10 minutes of riding time in five of their victories with punishing wrestling from the top position that seemed to take a toll on the Illini (7-1, 0-1).
"You can really take a lot out of the guy (on top)," said Metcalf, who extended his winning streak to 57 with a second-period fall against Eric Terrazas at 149. "If the guy steps out on the mat and has hope, thinks he has a chance to win, you hold a guy down against his will and you take that hope out of him. We do a pretty good job of that."
None of the Hawkeyes did a better job of it than Dennis. The fifth-ranked junior scored a takedown with 1 minute, 20 seconds remaining in the second period and rode No. 3 Jimmy Kennedy for the final 3:40 on his way to a 5-0 win in a battle of former Grant Community (Ill.) High School teammates at 133.
"It was a step up from the last time we wrestled," said Dennis, who defeated Kennedy in overtime in December in the semifinals of the Midlands Championships. "I created more scoring opportunities for myself. It was tough riding on top, a little bit smarter in my positions and being aware of where I want to be in my match and trying to stick where I'm good. If I stay in my positions, I'm pretty confident in how I'm going to perform."
Kennedy is 0-2 against Dennis this season and 18-0 against everyone else.
"He came off the mat and said, 'My legs felt like lead,'" Johnson said. "He said, 'I didn't feel good out there.' There's no excuse. Dennis did a great job and just whipped him."
Illinois got its lone victory from second-ranked Mike Poeta, a 15-5 winner against Matt Ballweg at 157.
The rest of the dual was all Iowa.
No. 11 Erekson used a third-period reversal to score the winning points of a 9-8 victory against ninth-ranked John Wise in a wild and entertaining heavyweight bout.
Tsirtsis piled up 2:12 of riding time and a two-point near-fall that opened up his 11-3 major decision at 141 against Ryan Prater. Borschel scored a takedown and turned John Dergo twice in the third period to secure a 10-1 major decision at 174.
"We are good on top, and we're getting better, too," Iowa coach Tom Brands said. "There's not only an emphasis on control -- it's not just float riding or hang riding -- there's an emphasis on (getting the opponent) flat and working toward points and near-falls. That's a characteristic that displays dominance."
Charlie Falck (125), Ryan Morningstar (165), Phil Keddy (184) and Chad Beatty (197) won by decisions for the Hawkeyes. Keddy, an 11-4 winner against No. 11 Jordan Blanton, came one second of riding time short of a major decision.
"These guys are strong wrestlers," Brands said. "The whole dual meet you're sitting there in the chair and you're going, 'This guy's strong, this guy's strong, this guy's strong.' We've got a lot of positives going on."
One of the biggest is that the Hawkeyes finally have their full lineup together again. Fifth-ranked Falck rolled to an 11-5 victory at 125 against B.J. Futrell in the Iowa senior's second match back from missing more than three weeks with an ankle injury. Beatty, who missed six weeks with a knee injury, beat Patrick Bond 2-1 at 197.
"We're full strength now, I guess you could say," Metcalf said. "We've just got to get full strength at every weight class."
IOWA 32, ILLINOIS 4
125 -- Charlie Falck (Iowa) dec. B.J. Futrell 11-5.
133 -- Daniel Dennis (Iowa) dec. Jimmy Kennedy 5-0.
141 -- Alex Tsirtsis (Iowa) major dec. Ryan Prater 11-3.
149 -- Brent Metcalf (Iowa) pinned Eric Terrazas 3:52.
157 -- Mike Poeta (Illinois) major dec. Matt Ballweg 15-5.
165 -- Ryan Morningstar (Iowa) dec. Roger Smith-Bergsrud 3-0.
174 -- Jay Borschel (Iowa) major dec. John Dergo 10-1.
184 -- Phil Keddy (Iowa) dec. Jordan Blanton 11-4.
197 -- Chad Beatty (Iowa) dec. Patrick Bond 2-1.
Hwt. -- Dan Erekson (Iowa) dec. John Wise 9-8.
Reach Andy Hamilton at 339-7368 or ahamilton@press-citizen.com.
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