IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa wrestling team shut out Bellarmine, 40-0, in its home and season opener Thursday night on Mediacom Mat at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The Hawkeyes had 31 takedowns to Bellarmine’s one. Iowa tallied five bonus-point wins, including closing out the dual with four matches ending early as they outscored the Knights in total match points, 120-27.
“When there was a lot of hustle, a lot of points were scored,” said head coach Tom Brands. “That’s a good thing. We need to hustle more. Those points aren’t going to fall down for you, you have to go put them down.”
With the dual starting at 197, No. 17 Massoma Endene made his Division I and Hawkeye debut with a 3-0 decision over Andrew Liber.
No. 5 Ben Kueter picked up his first ranked win of the year at heavyweight, defeating No. 28 Daulton Mayer, 8-2, before No. 10 Dean Peterson won a decision, 5-1, over Damion Ryan in his first match at Carver.
At 133, No. 2 Drake Ayala gave Iowa its first bonus points of the day with a 19-4 technical fall over Trayce Eckman, needing only 4:23 to get the win. No. 10 Nasir Bailey sent the Hawkeyes to the break with a 7-1 decision over AJ Rallo at 141.
Kael Voinovich made his Carver debut and earned a decision over Zac Cowen at 149.
At 157, No. 11 Jordan Williams wasted no time getting the crowd on its feet with a pin over Jeb Prechtel in 1:44 in his Iowa debut.
“It felt good,” Williams said. “I am grateful and happy to step on the mat every time I can, no matter if it’s at a small school or big school, it’s the same energy… I feel like I am confident in every position.
“I watch everyone I am going to wrestle and when I felt the position it was like go. I felt like I was stronger and knew the position better.”
No. 2 Michael Caliendo, No. 2 Patrick Kennedy and No. 3 Angelo Ferrari closed out the dual with three straight technical falls at 165, 174 and 184.
#3 Iowa 40, Bellarmine 0
197 – #17 Massoma Endene (I) dec. Andrew Liber (B), 3-0
285 – #5 Ben Kueter (I) dec. #28 Daulton Mayer (B), 8-2
125 – #10 Dean Peterson (I) dec. Damion Ryan (B), 5-1
133 – #2 Drake Ayala (I) tech. fall Trayce Eckman (B), 19-4
141 – #10 Nasir Bailey (I) dec. AJ Rallo (B), 7-1
149 – Kael Voinovich (I) dec. Zac Cowen (B), 7-3
157 – #11 Jordan Williams (I) pinned Jeb Prechtel (B), 1:44
165 – #2 Michael Caliendo (I) tech. fall Noah Hall (B), 22-6
174 – #2 Patrick Kennedy (I) tech. fall Grant O’Dell (B), 19-4
184 – #3 Angelo Ferrari (I) tech. fall Gavin Ricketts (B), 21-5
*Iowa was deducted a team point after the 157-pound bout.
Attendance: 10,971
Officials: Jaime George, Clark Conover