#2 Iowa 26, Penn 11: All Gas, No Quake(r)s

It wasn't that long ago that Iowa rolled out the likes of Spencer Lee, Austin DeSanto, and Jaydin Eierman at 125, 133, and 141. In those days, Iowa could expect dominance from its lower weights and expect to have 12-16 points in the bank before the dual meet even started. 

I miss those days. 

So far this season Iowa's lower weights have done a 180 from that position. The Hawkeyes have gone from dominance to damage limitation at those weights against most opponents. The good news is that isn't a permanent state of affairs; help is on the way for Iowa in the form of Spencer Lee (125) and Real Woods (141). Brody Teske could provide a more reliable option at 133 as well. We just don't quite know when Lee or Woods will be in the Iowa lineup this season -- hopefully it's sooner rather than later. 

In any event, Iowa's dual with Penn went largely as expected -- Iowa won seven of 10 weights as part of a 26-11 win over the Quakers. Iowa dominated the upper weights, while Penn controlled the action at the lower weights. The middleweights also mostly broke Iowa's way. But while the 15-point final margin may not suggest it, this was also a pretty tight dual meet in a lot of ways. Nelson Brands win at 174 and Max Murin's win at 149 were hard fought, narrowly decided decisions -- Murin's match went to OT before he could land the match-winning takedown. And while Jacob Warner and Cobe Siebrecht won (at 197 and 157, respectively), both were also very nearly pinned by their opponents and had to fight off their backs to avoid not just losing but giving up six team points. (Siebrecht, amazingly, reversed out of his near-pinning predicament to getting his opponent on his back and ultimately getting a pin himself.) Iowa was not at its best in this dual meet -- but the Hawkeyes were able to grind out the win all the same, which will do for the time being. 

#2 Iowa 26, #21 Penn 11

A few thoughts: 

• Kennedy provided a strong opening jolt for the Iowa lineup, firing off several takedowns and showing a variety of attacks as part of a 14-5 major decision. He was the sparkplug Iowa needed in this dual and performed his job well. 
   
• Nelson Brands made his season debut for Iowa at 174 and while his gas tank looked far from its best, he showed good hand-fighting in defense and had just enough offense to get the victory in this bout. A solid start to the season for Brands. 
   
• Assad was in total control of his match at 184 and put on an impressive ride -- but it was a bit frustrating to see him settle for so much riding time and a simple 5-0 win. He could have cut the wonderfully-named Hale and tried for more takedowns (and a possible major decision), but he declined to do so.
   
• The Warner match was... weird, albeit pretty entertaining. Warner jumped out to an 8-1 lead behind a takedown and some back points, but Urbas chose top to start the second and quickly showed why he did so, turning Warner for four near fall points on a pair of occasions and coming very close to pinning him, too. Warner went neutral to start the third, got a takedown, and was able to ride Urbas for most of the rest of the match. Some scary moments for Warner in this match, but hopefully some lessons learned for the future. 
   
• Cassioppi's win at 285 was formulaic: a takedown in each period and a mountain of riding time (almost five minutes total). He wasn't able to turn Goldin for back points or a pin, but otherwise this was a totally dominant showing from Tony. 
   
• I appreciate Harris' effort at 125, but he continues to look entirely overmatched in basically every match. Get back soon, Spencer. 
   
• Cullan Schriever's attacks were all stymied by Colaiocco and he struggled mightily to get escapes as well. Teske needs to get another crack at this weight if he's healthy. 
   
• Drew Bennett wasn't able to do much of anything against Ferrante, either. Debut soon, Real. 
   
• Murin's match with Zapf was the match of the night -- it was the only bout between two ranked opponents (both in the Top 10, no less) and it was tight all the way through. Murin got a takedown in the first, but Zapf got a quick escape; Zapf got a takedown in the second, but Murin also got a quick escape. Neither man could get much dangerous offense after that, but Murin's attacks looked stronger in sudden victory and he was able to score the winning takedown by coming out on top in a scramble. This was a good win and one that Murin needed -- he needs to beat opponents like Zapf if he's going to finally get that elusive All-Amerca finish this March. 
   
• Siebrecht-Artalona was fairly quiet in the first period, but it exploded with fireworks in the second period, as Artalona got a takedown and took Siebrecht to his back with a head lock. Like Urbas at 197 he was very close to pinning Siebrecht -- which is when things got really crazy. Siebrecht managed to reverse from off his back, got control, and immediately put Artalona on his back. A little bit of re-positioning later and he had a pin himself. An absolutely wild end to a match -- and dual meet. It seems safe to say that Siebrecht is locking down the starting job at 157 and wins like this are a big reason why. 

The dual started with action and ended with even more stunning action that sent the crowd home howling. In-between Iowa won five other matches and while many Hawkeye wrestlers weren't at their best, they were good enough. The test now is to see how much (and how quickly) they improve, as well as how soon Iowa can get its best lineup on to the mat (i.e., one with more competitive options at 125, 133, and 141). Hopefully we don't have to wait too much longer to see that lineup.