#2 Iowa 20, #10 Nebraska 15: Harvested

There were no official stakes on the line for Iowa's season-ending dual meet against Nebraska on Sunday. The Big Ten regular season championship had been locked up by Penn State already (effectively when they beat Iowa in a dual a few weeks ago). But there was pride on the line. And bragging rights. And the simple fact that Iowa and Nebraska just don't like each other. The enmity between the schools has grown over the decade-plus that Nebraska has been a member of the Big Ten, and especially in football and wrestling, the rivalry feels very, very, very real. Which, of course, makes it even sweeter that Iowa keeps topping the Cornhuskers each time they meet on the football field -- or wrestling mat. 

While this was another win for Iowa over Nebraska in their fractious border rivalry -- the 13th in a row for the guys in black and gold, I believe -- it was far from a flawless performance. Iowa started off hot with wins in the first three matches of the dual (which started at 125) and in five of the first six matches. But things went a bit sideways after that; Michael Kemerer lost a very tight match with Mikey Labriola at 174, and things got even worse at 184 when Abe Assad went from leading in the third period to getting dropped on his back and pinned. That revved by the Nebraska team and crowd and narrowed the team score to 17-12. When Jacob Warner was unable to stop the bleeding for Iowa at 197 (he gave up a late takedown to lose another close decision), it made 285 a do-or-die match. Fortunately, Tony Cassioppi did what he's done for Iowa plenty of times in the past and delivered a key win to secure the dual meet victory for Iowa. But even though the dual was won, there was plenty to work on in terms of individual performances from nearly every wrestler. Dual meet season is over, but the biggest weeks of the season -- the Big Ten Tournament and NCAA Tournament -- are just a few weeks away. 

#2 Iowa 20, #10 Nebraska 15

A few thoughts: 

• It was very good to see Ayala back on the mat for Iowa at 125. He delivered a high-energy performance and showed a lot of positives on his feet; he got to Reno's legs early and often and secured plenty of takedowns. His one hiccup came in the third period when he got caught flat-footed by a blast double from Reno and gave up a takedown. That only seemed to make him mad, though, as he rattled off two quick takedowns after that, though he was unable to do enough to get a major decision. 
   
• In fact, Iowa's only bonus points in the dual came at 133, where Austin DeSanto put on an absolute show against former Iowa prep star Alex Thomsen. DeSanto essentially turned Thomsen into a practice dummy; he used a takedown and tilt for four near fall points to open up a 6-0 lead early in the first period, then went into takedown clinic mode. He led 12-2 after the first and it was a matter of when, not if, he would lock up the technical fall. It didn't take him long into the second period to do so as he continued to chain takedowns together rapid-fire. This was a blistering (and fun) display of attacking prowess from DeSanto. 
   
• Jaydin Eierman made it 3-for-3 for Iowa to start the dual as he earned a win in one of the standout matches of the dual, edging #10 Chad Red, Jr., for a 6-3 decision. Red started the match with a lot of energy and aggression, which paid off with an early takedown. Eierman tied the match at 2-2 with an escape from that takedown and another escape to start the second period, then blew the match open by dumping Red onto his back in the final seconds of the second period; that earned him a takedown and a pair of near fall points which gave him a 6-2 lead. The third period was a pretty cagey affair, but Eierman had done all the damage he needed to do in that flurry in the second. There were a few other entertaining scrambles in this match as well; Eierman and Red have had some fun tussles over the last couple years. 
   
• Vince Turk replaced Max Murin in the Iowa lineup at 149 -- and he gave a very good accounting for himself against Top 10-ranked Ridge Lovett. It was Turk who looked more likely to score in the first two periods -- he stayed on the attack from the jump and while he was able to get to Lovett's legs, he wasn't able to finish his shots. In the third, Lovett finally got an escape, then added a takedown on a re-shot as time wound down in the final seconds. A very game effort from Turk in what was probably his final appearance in an Iowa singlet, though. 
   
• Kaleb Young ended the first half of the dual with another Iowa win, in a match that showed off his experience and ability to win a match through less-conventional means. He took a 2-0 lead in the first period off a nice takedown, but almost immediately gave that up by conceding a reversal. An escape made it 3-2 Young and another escape in the second period made it 4-2, but by then Robb had almost managed to amass almost 1:45 of riding time through the first two periods. In the third period, though, Young put on his own riding clinic, not just erasing Robb's riding time, but also managing to expose Robb's back during one of their many scrambles and earn two near fall points. It was a nice reminder that while Young typically just rides for the sake of control and to earn a riding time point, he's also capable of grabbing near fall points if the opportunity presents itself. 
   
• Alex Marinelli opened up the second half of the dual with another win for Iowa, grinding out a very methodical 8-2 win over Wilson. I believe he had a takedown in each period of the match. It would have been nice to see The Bull up the tempo a bit and push for bonus points, but it was still a very solid win for him as he preps for the tournaments to come. 
   
• As noted, things went sideways for Iowa after Marinelli's win at 165, starting with the Labriola-Kemerer match at 174. This match featured some impressive scrambles in all three periods. The first period ended scoreless despite an energetic scramble to start the match, but the second period ended with a scoring flurry: Kemerer got a cradle and scored a takedown, only for Labriola to immediately reverse it into points of his own. He likely would have had back points, too, if not for for end of the period. Another scramble in the final minute of the third period went in Labriola's favor as well and gave him a 5-3 lead. Kemerer cut it to 5-4 with an escape, but couldn't get the takedown he needed to win. It was a disappointing end to an entertaining match, though not a hugely shocking result. Labriola is a very good wrestler and wrestled Kemerer close in their only previous encounter. Unfortunately, this loss could have very damaging effects on Kemerer's seed at the Big Ten Tournament (and NCAA Tournament), though we'll have to wait and see if that's the case. 
   
• Things went even further sideways for Iowa at 184, with Abe Assad getting pinned by Taylor Venz in the final minute of the third period. Despite the pin -- which, granted, is a very big despite -- I thought Assad did some things well in this match. He showed some nice attacks in the first period and got rewarded with the first takedown of the match; he nearly picked up a second in the final seconds of the second period. He also got into a good scramble from underneath and nearly earned a reversal in the second period as well. That said, he also got ridden very hard by Venz for much of that period (which highlighted his issues on bottom that have popped up at times this seasons) and getting caught and pinned in the third period is just something that can't happen. 
   
• Eric Schultz made it three straight wins for Nebraska with a win at 197, edging out Jacob Warner. This was similar to both a lot of the recent Schultz-Warner encounters and a lot of Warner's defeats in recent seasons. 0-0 first period, Warner escape, and a strong Warner ride to try and earn a riding time point. That gameplan requires you to win 2-0 or 2-1, though, which leaves you with an awfully small margin of error... and, sure enough, Warner got caught and gave up a takedown on the edge in the final 40 seconds of the match. That's happened against Schultz before and it's happened in other matches Warner has lost by narrow margins as well. It's just a very difficult way to win a match. It's not a new observation, but Warner has to find ways to score from neutral to give himself more ways to win matches like this. 
   
• Iowa needed a win from Tony Cassioppi at 285 and, fortunately, Tony delivered just that -- albeit a win that was certainly lacking in style points. He won 3-0 with an escape in the second period, a stall point against Lance in the third, and a riding time point after riding Lance for the entire third period. Cassioppi got to Lance's legs on a few occasions, but wasn't able to finish; to his credit, Lance did an impressive job of wriggling free. Overall, not one of Tony's best performances of the year, but I'm not as concerned about him as I am several other guys on the Iowa team after their showings in this dual meet. 

The dual meet portion of the college wrestling season matters, but the postseason tournament portion of the season is what really matters -- it's what gets remembered and celebrated. The performance that Iowa delivered today wasn't good enough to get them the sort of results they're looking for at the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments. But they've run out of matches against outside competition now. They've got two weeks of practice to get things right before TOURNAMENT SZN begins in earnest. Let's hope they use that time wisely. 

NEXT: Iowa returns to action at the Big Ten Tournament in Lincoln, NE on Saturday, March 5 and Sunday, March 6.