Wrestling loses back- to-back Big Ten duals
By Brian Triplett The Daily Iowan
Iowa City, IA (U-WIRE) — For the first time in 37 seasons, the Iowa wrestling team lost back-to-back Big Ten dual meets over the weekend.
The Hawkeyes – now 6-4 overall (1-2 in the conference) – fell 25-7 to Illinois in Champaign on Jan. 28, and lost 22-19 against Northwestern in Evanston on Jan. 29.
During the 1998-99 season, Iowa lost consecutive dual meets to Illinois and Oklahoma State, but this marked the first time the Hawkeyes dropped two straight to conference foes since losing to Michigan and Northwestern in the 1967-68 season. The loss to Northwestern also marked the first time the Wildcats have beaten the Hawkeyes, who previously held a 35-match winning streak in the series, since the loss in the ’68 season.
“Right now, we’ve got some guys not wrestling like we know they’re capable of, “said Iowa coach Jim Zalesky.
Iowa won four of the first five matches against the Wildcats (9-1, 2-1), building a 19-3 lead, but lost the final five matches en route to the 22-19 defeat. Mario Galanakis, Ty Eustice, Joe Johnston, and Mark Perry all recorded victories in the first half of the meet, but Luke Lofthouse, Paul Bradley, Adam Fellers, Matt Fields, and Charlie Falck dropped five straight in the second half. Iowa’s Alex Tsirtsis lost the Hawkeyes’ second match at 141 pounds..
The Hawkeyes’ 25-7 defeat against the Illini (11-1, 2-0) on Jan. 28 gave Iowa its first conference dual meet loss of the season. Redshirt freshman Perry (165) and true freshman Fields (heavyweight) were the only Hawkeyes to record a victory in the meet.
“We just lost all the close matches, “Zalesky said. “You can’t win championships or Big Ten titles or even dual meets when you can’t win close matches.”
Iowa will once again face the task of battling opponents on the road on consecutive days next weekend. The Hawkeyes will take on Penn State (7-7, 1-2) on Friday in University Park, Pa., and Ohio State (6-6, 0-2) on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio.
Zalesky said what his team needs to work on more than anything this week is mentality.
“You have to have the mentality that you’re going to win, “he said. “Right now I think more guys are finding a way to lose than to win.”
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