WHO: #21 Penn Quakers (0-0)
WHEN: 2:00 PM CT (Saturday, November 26)
WHERE: Carver-Hawkeye Arena (Iowa City, IA)
TV: none
ANNOUNCERS: Alex Marinelli + Kaleb Young
RADIO: AM 800 KXIC | Hawkeye Radio Network (YouTube)
STREAM: BTN+ ($)
MOBILE: n/a
TWITTER: @Hawks_Wrestling | @IowaAwesome | @IowaOnBTN
NOTE: Don't forget to follow all the action during the game and chat with your fellow Iowa fans in the Go Iowa Awesome discord! (More info here.)
After a successful East Coast road trip, Iowa is back in the friendly confines of Carver-Hawkeye Arena to host the #21 Penn Quakers. The Quakers are a solid team and they seem especially equipped to challenge Iowa, as their best wrestlers line up at weights where Iowa has significant uncertainty.
| WT | IOWA | VS | PENN |
|---|---|---|---|
| 125 | Aidan Harris (JR, 0-3) | vs | #17 Ryan Miller (SO, 6-2) |
| 133 | Cullan Schriever (SO, 7-0) | vs |
#10 Michael Colaiocoo (JR, 5-2) Evan Mougalian (FR, 7-2) |
| 141 | Drew Bennett (SR, 3-1) | vs | Carmen Ferrante (SR, 6-3) |
| 149 | #6 Max Murin (SR, 4-0) | vs | #10 Doug Zapf (SR, 6-1) |
| 157 |
Caleb Rathjen (RS FR, 1-1) Cobe Siebrecht (JR, 3-0) |
vs | #12 Anthony Artalona (SR, 7-0) |
| 165 |
#13 Patrick Kennedy (SO, 3-0) Joe Kelly (SR, 4-3) |
vs |
Lucas Revano (JR, 5-4) Adam Thomson (FR, 0-0) |
| 174 |
Drake Rhodes (FR, 1-0) Carson Martinson (FR, 0-1) |
vs | #23 Nick Incontrera (SO, 9-4) |
| 184 | #8 Abe Assad (JR, 4-0) | vs |
Maximus Hale (JR, 6-4) John Stout (JR, 5-3) |
| 197 | #2 Jacob Warner (SR, 4-0) | vs | #27 Cole Urbas (JR, 6-2) |
| 285 | #4 Tony Cassioppi (SR, 4-0) | vs |
#24 Ben Goldin (SR, 6-3) Nate Hoaglund (SR, 3-4) |
If this dual opens at 125, it's not too hard to envision Iowa falling into a decent-sized hole after the first 3-4 weights, unless Schriever or Bennett are able to produce upset wins. Neither Spencer Lee nor Real Woods are expected to compete for Iowa at 125 and 141, respectively, which leaves Iowa with some notable holes. At 133, only Schriever is listed (not Brody Teske), which could make for a difficult outing against Colaiocco. 157 looks like a possible win for the Quakers as well; at the very least Artalona should be a significant test for either Siebrecht or Rathjen.
The second half of the dual favors Iowa, with real bonus point potential at 165, 184, 197, and 285. Iowa may need some of those bonus points if things go especially badly at the lower weights. If Iowa is able to win a few of the toss-up matches or score an upset, then this should be a another Hawkeye victory. But if the toss-ups go Penn's way and their favored wrestlers put Iowa to the proverbial sword, then there's a real chance for Penn to win this dual.
PREDICTION: 21-13 Hawkeyes. I think Penn opens up a 10-0 lead after the first three weights and wins either 157 or 174, but Iowa takes the rest, with some bonus points in the upper weights.
I'll post results in the comments below.
