No. 1 Iowa Tops No. 13 Virginia in NWCA National Duals

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Feb. 15, 2015

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IOWA CITY, Iowa – The No. 13 Virginia wrestling team lost 30-6 to top-ranked Iowa Sunday afternoon at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. The match was a regional qualifier in the NWCA National Duals; the Hawkeyes advance to the finals next weekend, also in Iowa City.

Iowa (15-0) won at eight of the 10 weight classes. Virginia (10-6) got victories from Nick Herrmann (Jr., Amarillo, Texas) and Nick Sulzer (R-Sr., Cleveland, Ohio) at 125 and 165 pounds, respectively.

“When I recruited these guys I promised that we would wrestle the best,” Virginia head coach Steve Garland said. “Today one of our dreams for this program came true and we got to wrestle the No. 1 team in the nation in the most storied wrestling arena in the country. Obviously I wish we had wrestled better and performed better, but we are learning and growing as a team.

“We are facing down mistakes, trials and challenges. How these guys react to today is a big deal not just for their wrestling but for their development as men. How do they respond? What do they learn? Who do they want to be? These matches force you to face those tough questions and thus I’m happy we came out here. I’m thankful our administration supported this trip. We will be better in the long run because of it.”

Virginia took a short-lived lead in the dual as Herrmann opened things in strong fashion for the Cavaliers, racking up three takedowns and two back points in the first period to jump out to an 8-4 lead after the first period in rolling to a 12-6 decision over Iowa’s Phillip Laux.

Iowa picked up bonus points at each of the next three weight classes. Third-ranked Cory Clark rolled to a 12-3 major decision over No. 14 George DiCamillo (R-So., Highland Heights, Ohio) at 133, snapping DiCamillo’s eight-match win streak. Sixth-ranked Josh Dziewa then notched an 11-1 major over No. 13 Joe Spisak (R-Sr., Boiling Springs, Pa.), who was wrestling for the first time since Jan. 1 because of an injury. At 149, second-ranked Brandon Soresen followed with a third-period pin of Gus Sako (R-Sr., Cleveland, Ohio), wrestling for the first time since Jan. 10 after an injury.

At 157 pounds, Andrew Atkinson (R-Fr., Lynchburg, Va.) and No. 14 Mike Kelly went down to the wire before Kelly closed out a 2-1 win. Atkinson gave up a takedown with one second left in the first period, but bounced back to ride Kelly for the full second period and build up two minutes of riding time. Kelly then rode Atkinson for over a minute in the third period to erase the potential riding-time point before Atkinson was able to escape.

Sulzer scored an 8-7 win over No. 7 Nick Moore at 165 as he bounced back from an upset loss last weekend at North Carolina. Sulzer came out aggressively and racked up three first-period takedowns but also was hit with a pair of stall warnings in the opening period, leading to a penalty point for Moore. Moore closed to within 7-6 on a third-period takedown, but Sulzer escaped and was later hit with another stall warning as he held on for the 8-7 win.

Iowa’s Alex Meyer pulled a 9-8 upset over sixth-ranked Blaise Butler (R-Jr., Belvidere, Ill.) at 174 pounds. After tying the match on a third-period reversal, Meyer rode Butler for the remainder of the period to build the riding time over one minute and claim the riding-time point to decide the match.

Eighth-ranked Sammy Brooks cruised to a 20-7 win over Tyler Askey (R-Fr., Newnan, Ga.) at 184 before No. 6 Nathan Burak picked up an 8-2 win over No. 19 Zach Nye (R-Jr., Enola, Pa.) in the 197 bout. The Hawkeyes finished off the dual with a win at heavyweight. Kris Klapprodt recorded a takedown midway through the third period to snap a 1-1 tie against Patrick Gillen (R-Jr., Shelton, Conn.) and, with a late 3-2 lead, he broke things open in the final 10 seconds with a takedown and two back points to win 7-2.

Virginia concludes the regular season Thursday (Feb. 19) with a 7 p.m. home dual with No. 25 NC State at Memorial Gymnasium. Prior to the dual, UVa will hold Senior Day ceremonies. Admission is free.

No. 1 Iowa 30, No. 13 Virginia 6
125: Nick Herrmann (UVa) dec. Phillip Laux (Iowa), 12-6; UVa 3-0
133: No. 3 Cory Clark (Iowa) major dec. No. 14 George DiCamillo (UVa), 12-3; Iowa 4-3
141: No. 6 Josh Dziewa major dec. No. 13 Joe Spisak (UVa), 11-1; Iowa 8-3
149: No. 2 Brandon Sorensen pinned Gus Sako (UVa), 6:09; Iowa 14-3
157: No. 14 Mike Kelly (Iowa) dec. Andrew Atkinson (UVa), 2-1; Iowa 17-3
165: No. 4 Nick Sulzer (UVa) dec. No. 7 Nick Moore (Iowa), 8-7; Iowa 17-6
174: Alex Meyer (Iowa) dec. No. 6 Blaise Butler (UVa), 9-8; Iowa 20-6
184: No. 8 Sammy Brooks (Iowa) major dec. Tyler Askey (UVa), 20-7; Iowa 24-6
197: No. 6 Nathan Burak (Iowa) dec. No. 19 Zach Nye (UVa), 8-2; Iowa 27-6
285: Kris Klapprodt (Iowa) dec. Patrick Gillen (UVa), 7-2; Iowa 30-6
**Rankings according to InterMat