Michigan State University
Iowa
No. 10 Iowa Defeats No. 20 Spartan Wrestling, 33-9
2/11/2007 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Feb. 11, 2007
IOWA CITY, Iowa - The 20th-ranked Michigan State wrestling team fell to No. 20 Iowa, 33-9, Sunday afternoon before a crowd of 5,053 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Second-ranked Nick Simmons won by injury default at 133 pounds, improving to 30-1 for the season, while No. 10 Joe Williams recorded a 6-3 decision at 184 pounds for the Spartans (3-8, 2-4 Big Ten).
For the second straight dual, No. 5 Franklin Gomez lost a hard-fought match to a top-10 wrestler at 125 pounds. Gomez, who fell to No. 4 Jayson Ness of Minnesota on Friday, lost on a last-second takedown in the third period to eighth-ranked Charlie Falck. Falck struck first with a takedown at the 2:37 mark in the opening period, but Gomez escaped to make it 2-1 entering the second. After no scoring in the second, Gomez took the lead with a reversal to start the third. Falck tied it with an escape 14 seconds later, and then added a takedown with just one second remaining in the match to pull out the dramatic 5-3 victory.
MSU took a brief 6-3 lead when No. 2 Nick Simmons won by injury default over Mario Galanaksis at 133 pounds. Simmons started the match strong, collecting a takedown at the 1:33 mark and adding near-fall points with 37 seconds left in the first. That's when the match was stopped (2:23), and Simmons gave MSU six points with his 30th win of the season.
Iowa (13-4, 4-2) got the six points right back though, as Alex Tsirtis won by forfeit at 141.
The Hawkeyes took a commanding 15-6 lead as Alex Grunder pinned Jeff Wimberley in 5:32 in the 149-pound match.
The Spartans then faced a trio of highly-ranked Iowa wrestlers, and battled tough in each match. At 157, Tony Greathouse fell by one point, 3-2, to No. 16 Ryan Morningstar. Rocky Cozart nearly pulled off a huge upset at 165 pounds, as he took a 5-0 lead in the first period against fourth-ranked Mark Perry. Cozart opened with a takedown at 1:43 and added near-fall points at 1:09, but gave up a reversal 10 seconds later that made it 5-2 going into the second. Cozart gave up another reversal at the beginning of the second, and fell behind 6-5 as Perry tacked on near-fall points at the 1:08 mark. But the Brandon, Fla., native rallied back with a takedown 30 seconds into the third to take a 7-6 advantage. However, Perry notched a reversal at the 1:13 mark to go up 8-7, and added a riding-time point to claim the 9-7 victory.
At 174 pounds, No. 3 Eric Luedke needed riding time to top John Murphy, 2-1. Neither wrestler scored in the first, and Luedke escaped in the second to make it 1-0. Murphy chose down to start the third, but couldn't escape from Luedke until 19 seconds were left in the match, giving Luedke a riding-time advantage of 1:22.
No. 10 Joe Williams got MSU back on the board with a 6-3 decision over Phillip Keddy at 184. With the match knotted at 2 heading into the third, Williams scored a reversal at the 1:25 mark, and added a takedown with 40 seconds left to pull away from Keddy.
Iowa took a 30-9 lead with Jordan McLaughlin's pin over Nick Palmieri at 197 pounds.
In the final match at heavyweight, Alan O'Donnell fell to No. 5 Matt Fields, 8-4.
Michigan State returns to action Friday, Feb. 16 to take on Indiana in Jenison Field House at 7 p.m.
MATCH RESULTS
No. 10 Iowa 33, No. 20 Michigan State 9 (Attendance: 5,053)125: No. 8 Charlie Falck (IOWA) dec. No. 5 Franklin Gomez (MSU), 5-2; IOWA leads, 3-0133: No. 1 Nick Simmons (MSU) won by injury default over Mario Galanakis (IOWA), 2:23; MSU leads, 6-3141: No. 6 Alex Tsirtsis (IOWA) won by forfeit; IOWA leads, 9-6149: Alex Grunder (IOWA) pinned Jeff Wimberley (MSU), 5:32; IOWA leads, 15-6157: No. 16 Ryan Morningstar (IOWA) dec. Tony Greathouse (MSU), 3-2; IOWA leads, 18-6165: No. 4 Mark Perry (IOWA) dec. Rocky Cozart (MSU), 9-7; IOWA leads, 21-6174: No. 3 Eric Luedke (IOWA) dec. John Murphy (MSU), 2-1; IOWA leads, 24-6184: No. 10 Joe Williams (MSU) dec. Phillip Keddy (IOWA), 6-3; IOWA leads, 24-9197: Jordan McLaughlin (IOWA) pinned Nick Palmieri (MSU), 6:33; IOWA leads, 30-9Hwt: No. 5 Matt Fields (IOWA) dec. Alan O'Donnell (MSU), 8-4; IOWA wins, 33-9
Players Mentioned
