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Back on the mat following an underwhelming but dominant 27-6 win over Arizona State on Friday, the Cyclones host UNI on Sunday afternoon and are looking to get revenge for the 13-24 loss they suffered in West Gym last season. UNI has taken a big step back this season but they'll be out for blood in Hilton and if Iowa State wrestles like they did on Friday this one could get interesting.
Where: Ames, IA
When: Sunday, February 15th, 2PM CST
Video: Cyclones.TV or Mediacom
Liveblog: Available Here
Projected Lineups
| Weight | Iowa State Cyclone Wrestler | Record | - | UNI Panther Wrestler | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 125 | UR/31 Kyle Larson | 18-11 | vs. | 6/5 Dylan Peters | 18-4 |
| 133 | 3/2 Earl Hall | 23-4 | vs. | Leighton Gaul | 7-15 |
| 141 | UR/23 Dante Rodriguez | 15-5 | vs. | Jake Hodges | 10-13 |
| 149 | 14/13 Gabe Moreno | 23-5 | vs. | Gunnar Wolfensperger | 17-9 |
| 157 | Luke Goettl | 17-7 | vs. | UR/28 Jarrett Jensen | 18-10 |
| 165 | 3/5 Micheal Moreno | 19-2 | vs. | 13/9 Cooper Moore | 19-3 |
| 174 | 12/13 Tanner Weatherman | 20-7 | vs. | Curt Maas | 19-8 |
| 184 | 16/15 Lelund Weatherspoon | 15-3 | vs. | Cody Caldwell | 12-6 |
| 197 | 2/2 Kyven Gadson | 21-1 | vs. | Basil Minto | 18-10 |
| HWT | Quean Smith | 14-10 | vs. | 10/10 Blaize Cabell | 22-4 |
Rankings from Intermat // 2-12-15 Coaches Panel
Key Matches
125: An upset here by Larson would go a long way towards pushing him back into NCAA allocation contention, but is probably not in the cards. Larson excels at slowing things down when he is overmatched and that skill is going to be put to the test on Sunday. Peters is a pinner and if Larson can keep off his back, or better yet avoid giving up bonus points altogether, that's a win for the Cyclones.
141: Rodriguez is beginning to remind me a bit of Hall last year... sloppy at times, inconsistent, but extremely fun to watch and able to pull off a win no matter who is against him on the mat. But the downside of that is he sometimes gives up takedowns and even backpoints where he shouldn't, and eventually that's going to cost him a match against someone he's favored against. Rodriguez will be favored on Sunday. For the sake of both his NCAA chances and the team's need for a win here in the dual, I'm hoping his risky style doesn't catch up with him against UNI
157: Goettl's loss on Friday was probably enough to knock him completely out of contention for a pre-allocated spot at NCAAs, but there's still some dim hope for an at-large bid if there aren't many upsets at 157 during conference tournaments. To keep that hope alive he needs to get the upset over Jensen.
165: This is easily the marquee match of the meet. Moreno is 3-0 all time against Moore, including a first period pin earlier this season, but other than that pin the matches have generally been pretty close. In this match we'll get to see how Moreno is able to fare against another top level guy while dealing with the leg injury that has been plaguing him for most of the season. A win here and Moreno will be sitting pretty going into his senior night match up against #2 Jordan of Wisconsin. A loss would be worrying for his ability to overcome his injury and reach the podium for a third time this March.
HWT: Like Larson, Smith is in need of an upset to be in serious consideration for an NCAA allocation as the regular season wanes. Cabell isn't as dominating as Peters but will be the heavy favorite in this match. That said, he only beat Smith 5-2 in their only previous meeting and Smith has made vast improvements since that match. If Smith is unable to pull out the win, it is important he just stays off his back and avoids giving up bonus.
133/149/174/184/197: At these weights ISU will be putting a ranked wrestler out on the mat against an unranked opponent from UNI. But as I've said a few times in this post, the team looked a little off on Friday night. And I expect UNI to come out with all they've got in this dual. In these five weights we just need to be smart, avoid the upset, and maybe pick up some bonus points as insurance against pins or upsets in other matches.
For a full breakdown of common opponents for each matchup, check out WrestleStat's lineup comparison for this dual.
But Wait, There's More
I tried to find a picture of cute girls wearing UNI gear to put here as an Easter egg for you, the devoted reader. But apparently they don't exist. Even on the Internets. So here's some more from Arizona State for your troubles.
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Prediction
When I first looked at the matchups I was thinking a 22-12 win for the Cyclones, but we didn't look all that great on Friday night and I'm sure the Panthers have had this meet circled all year, so I think they're likely to steal a match somewhere. I'm going to put this down as a 19-15 win for the Cyclones.
As with last meet, I'll be tweeting out results via @GrappleCy for anyone who is interested.
Up Next
The Cyclones will host Wisconsin on Sunday, February 22nd at 2PM to close out the regular season.