The Wisconsin Badgers wrestling team put up an incredibly hard-fought battle against the unbeaten #2 Iowa Hawkeyes. The Badgers had multiple upsets against the Hawkeyes, including a huge surprise pin at 184 pounds. It came all the way down to the final match in a meet against a wrestling powerhouse.
Wisconsin Badgers take the Iowa Hawkeyes down to the wire
The Badgers showed their intensity and heart against the Hawkeyes in an attempt to hold down their home turf. While the Badgers may have lost, they put up quite the fight and even recorded stunning upsets over great ranked wrestlers. Below is a look at each match and their subsequent result, with their rankings provided by InterMat.
- 125 pounds: #1 Spencer Lee (Iowa) pins #6 Eric Barnett (UW)
- 133 pounds: Brody Teske (Iowa) 4-0 Dec. #28 Taylor LaMont (UW)
- 141 pounds: #2 Real Woods (Iowa) 9-2 Dec. #26 Joe Zargo (UW)
- 149 pounds: #2 Austin Gomez (UW) 5-3 Dec. #7 Max Murin (Iowa)
- 157 pounds: #21 Cole Siebrecht (Iowa) 3-2 Dec. #18 Garrett Model (UW)
- 165 pounds: #6 Dean Hamiti (UW) 4-3 Dec. #10 Patrick Kennedy (Iowa)
- 174 pounds: Josh Otto (UW) 6-5 Dec. Drake Rhodes (Iowa)
- 184 pounds: Tyler Dow (UW) pins #8 Abe Assad (Iowa)
- 197 pounds: #13 Braxton Amos (UW) 4-0 Dec. Kolby Franklin (Iowa)
- 285 pounds: #3 Tony Cassioppi (Iowa) 4-1 Dec. #11 Trent Hillger (UW)
The Badgers ultimately lost on criteria 19-18 after tying the meet score at 15 earlier and later taking the lead, 18-15. Austin Gomez looked dominant as ever and wrestled against a great opponent in Murin. Spencer Lee continued his pin streak against Eric Barnett and extended it to six matches. The amazement on the night came at 184 pounds when unranked Tyler Dow pinned the eighth ranked Abe Assad.
Despite the result, Wisconsin produced one of the most entertaining dual meets this season. Wisconsin showed enormous amounts of heart and passion against the Hawkeyes as the crowd and team shook the field house. The statistics sheet will not show it, but Wisconsin wrestling walked away with a victory in the end.
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