IOWA CITY — The Iowa wrestling team, fresh off an impressive win over Minnesota on Friday night, was looking for a super performance against Northwestern on Super Bowl Sunday.
While seventh-ranked Iowa came away with a 33-2 victory over 17th-ranked Northwestern in front of 7,551 fans in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, the Hawkeyes' performance was anything but super.
In an unusual Sunday morning dual, the Hawkeyes at times looked like they were sleepwalking.
It started with third-ranked Spencer Lee, who scored six points in the first period in his 7-4 win over Sebastian Rivera at 125 pounds, then looked out of gas the rest of the match.
It ended with heavyweight Sam Stoll's lackluster 3-0 win over Conan Jennings.
In between, there was little else to get the Iowa fans excited.
"He scored enough points in the first period to win the match, and sometimes that's the way he thinks. I know he's hard on himself and doesn't necessarily liked the way he wrestled. I think he's got more in the tank out there," Iowa head coach Tom Brands said of Lee's match.
The dual was the final home meet for Iowa seniors Brandon Sorensen, Phillip Laux and Logan McQuillen. Sorensen was the only senior to compete against Northwestern and eked out a hard-fought 5-4 win over fifth-ranked Ryan Deakin. Sorensen was awarded a penalty point in sudden victory when Deakin grabbed his head gear, ending the match. Sorensen ended his home career with a 35-3 record at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
"It's not the way I wanted to do it, but I got it done in my last home meet," Sorensen said. "It's not exactly the way I wanted it to go, but we have to make some improvements moving forward. I have to move my feet and quick go-behinds. A guy like that just diving in on my leg. Being stingy, not giving up that takedown.
"It's been awesome. The excitement makes it fun to come out and perform for these guys."
"We've got to score more takedowns. We got the guy stopped at the end. We stopped him the whole match. The guy is a good wrestler and he's got a good single leg that's a little bit different because he's a lefty. That being said, just go out there and do what you do best and do more of it."
Not as was glum and ho-hum for the Hawkeyes. Vince Turk (141), Michael Kemerer (157) and Alex Marinelli (165) put on a show for the crowd, combining for 17 takedowns and 10 near-fall points in their wins. And Mitch Bowman (184) and Cash Wilcke (197) showed improvement from Friday.
Iowa (11-2 overall, 6-2 Big Ten) now turns its attention to Saturday's 8 p.m. dual at top-ranked and defending national champion Penn State.
No. 7 Iowa 33, No. 17 Northwestern 2
125 — Spencer Lee (I) dec. Sebastian Rivera, 7-4. 133 — Paul Glynn (I) dec. Colin Valdiviez, 3-2. 141 — Vince Turk (I) maj. dec. Alec McKenna, 10-2. 149 — Brandon Sorensen (I) dec. Ryan Deakin, 5-4 (SV1). 157 — Michael Kemerer (I) tech. fall Shane Oster, 17-2 (3:14). 165 — Alex Marinelli (I) tech. fall Michael Sepke, 23-8 (7:00). 174 — Johnny Sebastian (NW) dec. Kaleb Young, 9-4. 184 — Mitch Bowman (I) maj. dec. Mitch Sliga, 9-1. 197 — Cash Wilcke (I) dec. Zack Chakonis, 8-4. Hwt — Sam Stoll (I) dec. Conan Jennings, 3-0.
• Northwestern was deducted a team point for mat control after the 149-pound match.
Records: Northwestern 8-3 overall (3-3 Big Ten), Iowa 11-2 (6-2).