CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee – Six Hawkeyes advanced to the quarterfinal round and four moved on to the semifinals at the Southern Scuffle at McKenzie Arena on Saturday. Drake Ayala, Aaron Costello, Cullan Schriever and Brennan Swafford all advanced to the semifinals slated for noon (CT) on Sunday. 

Ayala, a freshman from Fort Dodge, Iowa, picked up a tech fall in the first round before topping Oklahoma State’s Reece Witcraft via 17-6 major decision in the round of 16. In the quarterfinals, Ayala handled Missouri’s Noah Surtin, winning a 9-3 decision over the tournament’s No. 3 seed while accumulating 2:41 of riding time. The unseeded Ayala will square off with No. 2 seed Patrick McKee of Minnesota in the semifinals. 

Senior Aaron Costello put on a dominating performance in the round of 64 defeating Josiah Hill of Arkansas-Little Rock by major decision, 14-5.  In the round of 32 he made quick work of Stanford’s Seamus O’Malley pinning him in 2:20. Costello defeated Michael Wolfgram of West Virginia by decision, 5-3, to advance to the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, with the score tied 1-1 with six seconds remaining in the third period, Costello scored a takedown to win by decision and advance. Costello matches up against Cornell’s No. 2 seed Lewis Fernandes in the semifinals. 

Redshirt freshman Cullan Schriever picked up three decisions and a major decision, going 4-0 on his way to the semifinals. Schriever defeated Buffalo’s Derek Spann, 3-2, in his quarterfinal match. Schriever escaped to begin the second period to tie the match at 1-1, before scoring a takedown at the start of the third period that proved to be the difference in the match. Schriever will wrestle Michigan State’s Rayvon Foley – the bracket’s No. 1 seed – in the semifinals. 

Senior and two-time NAIA National Champion Brennan Swafford earned a major decision in round one and won by decision in both the round of 16 and the quarterfinals to advance to Sunday’s semifinals. Swafford won a dominant 9-0 major decision in the round of 32 over Chattanooga’s Thomas Sell, and defeated North Dakota State’s Riley Habisch, 9-6, in the quarterfinals. Swafford wrestles South Dakota State’s Cade DeVos, a Southeast Polk High School alum and the bracket’s No. 2 seed, in the semifinals. 

Freshman Wyatt Henson and redshirt freshman Patrick Kennedy each advanced to the quarterfinal round. Henson was pinned by Missouri’s Allan Hart and Kennedy lost a 6-4 decision to West Virginia’s Peyton Hall in sudden victory. In the consolations Kennedy will face Caleb Fish of Michigan State, and Henson will face Heath Gonyer of Appalachian State. 

Action resumes at 10 a.m (CT). Live results and a video stream are available at FLO.

The University of Iowa wrestling program announced Saturday that senior Spencer Lee will undergo surgery and miss the remainder of the 2021-22 season. The decision to have season-ending surgery was made collectively by Lee, his family, and the Iowa coaching staff and medical team.

DES MOINES, IOWA – Six members of the Drake University women’s basketball team scored in double-digits to conquer Evansville, 97-54 on a snowy New Year’s Day in the Knapp Center.

The Bulldogs took the early lead and never looked back. The Aces tied the game in the first four minutes, 2-2, but were unable to come out on top. Entering halftime, Drake led 47-23.

All 13 of Drake’s players entered the game and all recorded a stat in at least one category. The Bulldogs tied a season high of 31 assists during their 40 minutes on the court and grabbed a season high 59 rebounds.

Freshman forward Anna Miller recorded her second career double-double to pace the Bulldogs. She tallied 13 points and nine rebounds in the first half alone. She finished with 16 points and a career high 14 rebounds.

The Bulldogs resume Valley play on Friday Jan. 7 in Chicago, as they take on Loyola.

Wan’Dale Robinson hauled in a 52 yard reception from Will Levis down to the Iowa 1 yard line with under three minutes left, setting up the winning touchdown for Kentucky in the Citrus Bowl Saturday. The Wildcats punched it in after a penalty pushed them back to the 6 yard line and the Wildcats hung on for a 20-17 win.

Iowa had one final chance to get down the field to tie or win the game but a Spencer Petras pass was intercepted by Deandre Square at the Kentucky 26 yard line, sealing the Wildcat win.

Levis finished the game 17-28 for 233 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. Robinson had 10 catches for 170 yards on the day. The Wildcats finished 10-3 on the season.

Petras finished 19-30 passing or 211 yards, 1 touchdown, and 3 interceptions. Sam LaPorta had 7 catches fro 122 yards and 1 score.

Iowa finishes the year at 10-4 and their streak of 15 straight wins against non-conference opponents was snapped. Iowa opens the 2022 season hosting South Dakota State on September 3rd at Kinnick Stadium.

A late 7-0 run gave Iowa State a chance against top-ranked Baylor but the Bears ultimately prevailed 77-72. Baylor led the entire game with the Cyclones staying within single digits a good chunk of the game.

It was 41-33 Baylor at halftime and the Bears had their biggest lead at 14 with 8:17 left. The Cyclones then went on a 7-0 run to get back in the game but could never get the big bucket to swing momentum fully.

The Cyclones outscored the Bears in the paint 44-28 but the Bears had the advantage in bench points 29-12. The Bears had four players finish in double figures with James Akinjo leading the way wiht 16. Baylor improved to 13-0.

Iowa State was led by 23 points from Tristan Enaruna and 18 from Izaiah Brockington. The Cyclones suffer their first loss of the season and are now 12-1.

Next up for the Cyclones is a Wednesday night home game against Texas Tech at 8:00 p.m.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Dr. Christine Grant, a national pioneer and voice in the fight for gender equity in athletics, passed away Friday, Dec. 31 at 85 years of age.

Grant, a native of Scotland, played and coached field hockey in both her native country and Canada before coming to the University of Iowa to continue her education. She earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education at Iowa in 1969, and a master’s in the same field of study in 1970. Three years later, Grant became Iowa’s first director of women’s intercollegiate athletics. She held that position until retiring on Aug. 31, 2000. Iowa’s men’s and women’s athletic departments merged into one after she stepped down.

Grant, who also earned a Ph.D. in sports administration at Iowa in 1974, built a strong athletic department while maintaining a national voice on issues related to gender equity. She was also instrumental in bringing about full implementation of Title IX, the federal legislation passed in 1972 that required equal opportunities for all in the fields of athletics and academics. She served as a consultant for the Civil Rights Title IX Task Force.

Under Grant’s watch, 12 Hawkeye programs combined to win 27 Big Ten championships. Those titles were the result of Grant helping open the door of opportunity. Iowa’s women’s basketball team advanced to the 1993 NCAA Final Four. On March 7, 1993, Iowa drew a national record crowd of 22,157 for a women’s basketball contest against Ohio State. Iowa field hockey reached the NCAA championship game in 1986 and has a total of 11 Final Four appearances.

Of all the awards and accomplishments Grant received during her distinguished career, one that best represents the respect and appreciation others had for her came in 2007 when she was presented the Gerald R. Ford Award.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa and Kentucky have a final practice today before Saturday’s kickoff at the Citrus Bowl. The 15th ranked Hawkeyes enter the game with a 10-3 record.

That’s Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz who says the Hawkeyes have worked hard but enjoyed all the festivities.

Ferentz says both teams earned their way into the game.

Iowa is looking to bounce back from a lopsided loss to Michigan in the Big Ten Championship game.

At a joint news conference this (Friday) morning, Ferentz was asked if he would name a starting quarterback.

Kentucky coach Mark Stoops will match up against the school he played for.

Both programs have won three straight bowl games but neither has won four straight. That will change for tomorrow’s winner.

Listen for the game on KJAN, beginning with the pre-game show at 10-a.m., Saturday. Kickoff is at Noon, Iowa time. The action will also be televised by ABC.

DES MOINES — A slew of turnovers and Indiana State’s sharp second-half shooting sent the Drake University women’s basketball team to a 78-70 loss in the opening game of the Missouri Valley Conference season at the Knapp Center on Thursday night.

Indiana State broke a 10-game losing streak to Drake and handed the Bulldogs’ their first loss in a conference opener since Jan 1, 2016, when Drake lost to Southern Illinois 77-67.

Drake (8-4) led by as many as 13 points in the first half and was up by nine early in the fourth quarter before the Sycamores (6-6) rallied to beat the Bulldogs for the first time since a 68-53 victory in Terre Haute on Feb. 14, 2016.

The Bulldogs shot 50 percent from the field and outrebounded Indiana State 34-20 but committed a season-high 30 turnovers. The Sycamores came up with 17 steals and built a 32-15 edge in points off turnovers, more than enough to account for the final margin.

Junior Grace Berg led Drake with 16 points on 6-for-10 shooting. Junior Maggie Bair, playing with a clear face mask to protect a broken nose, was the only other Drake player in double figures with 11 points. Freshman Anna Miller added nine points and graduate Maddie Petersen scored eight. Petersen also had two assists to move into sixth place on Drake’s records list with 482.

Drake will return to action on New Year’s Day against Evansville at the Knapp Center at 2 p.m.

(Radio Iowa) – An Iowa defense that ranks 15th nationally will take on a Kentucky offense ranked 39th in Saturday’s Citrus Bowl. Hawkeye defensive coordinator Phil Parker says it begins with Kentucky running back Chris Rodriguez.

Parker says the Wildcats combine a strong ground game with the play action of quarterback Will Levis.

It is the final game together for a veteran Iowa secondary that leads the nation in interceptions.

Senior safety Jack Koerner says Levis is a much better quarterback than the one they faced at Penn State.

Koerner says the Iowa defense will need a disciplined approach.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa safety Kaevon Merriweather says the defense faces a challenge in Saturday’s Citrus Bowl. The Hawkeyes take on a Kentucky team that averages better than 33 points per game.

Merriweather says Kentucky’s offense has a lot of weapons, including quarterback Will Levis.

Merriweather says the run defense faces a challenge against Kentucky’s Chris Rodriguez.