Penn State Drops 19-17 Battle at #1 Iowa
IOWA CITY – The Penn State Nittany Lions (7-2, 4-1 B1G), ranked No. 2 in the latest InterMat Tournament Power Index, lost a hard-fought dual at No. 1 Iowa (9-0, 6-0 B1G) in sold out Carver-Hawkeye Arena Friday night. Penn State led late in the dual but Iowa came back to post the 19-17 victory in front of 14,905 fans in Iowa City.
The loss was the first in the Big Ten for Penn State since Feb. 8, 2015, an 18-12 loss to Iowa in State College. Including this dual, Penn State is in the midst of a run that four-of-five road duals in 16 days, including action at Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota with a home dual against Maryland on Sunday splitting the four road dates. All rankings listed are InterMat.
The dual began at 125 where freshman Brandon Meredith (Limerick, Pa.) suffered a 16-1 technical fall to No.1 Spencer Lee at the 3:17 mark. Sophomore Roman Bravo-Young (Tucson, Ariz.), ranked No. 3 at 133, rolled out to a quick lead over No. 2 Austin DeSanto with two first period takedowns. Bravo-Young locked up a cradle on the second but DeSanto called for an injury time on the move and was unable to continue. Leading 5-0, Bravo-Young received the injury default victory at the 1:50 mark to put Penn State up 6-4 as Iowa lost a team point after the bout as well.
Junior Nick Lee (Evansville, Ind.), ranked No. 3 at 141, rolled up seven takedowns on his way to a 20-5 technical fall over Carter Happel. Lee’s tech fall, at the 5:53 mark, gave the Nittany Lions an 11-4 lead. Sophomore Jarod Verkleeren (Greensburg, Pa.) battled No. 3 Pat Lugo at 149 and dropped a 6-1 decision. Junior Bo Pipher (Paonia, Colo.) battled No. 5 Kaleb Young at 157 and dropped a 6-1 decision. With two bonus point wins, Penn State led 11-10 at halftime.
Senior Vincenzo Joseph (Pittsburgh, Pa.), ranked No. 1 at 165, picked up a big win to open the second half. Joseph used a six point move in the second period to roll out to a big lead over No. 2 Alex Marinelli, nearly pinning the Hawkeye in the process. The Lion senior added an escape in the third period and notched a 7-5 win to put Penn State up 14-10. Senior Mark Hall (Apple Valley, Minn.), ranked No. 1 at 174, suffered his first loss of the year, an 11-6 upset to No. 2 Michael Kemerer. Kemerer’s win cut the Penn State lead to 14-13.
True freshman Aaron Brooks (Hagerstown, Md.), ranked No. 9 at 184, extended Penn State’s lead. The freshman used two first period takedowns to open up a big lead and rolled to a 7-3 victory over No. 6 Abe Assad, giving the Lions a 17-13 lead. Senior Shakur Rasheed (Coram, N.Y.), ranked No. 18 at 197, lost a 4-2 decision to No. 7 Jacob Warner and Penn State’s lead was trimmed to one, 17-16.True freshman Seth Nevills (Clovis, Calif.), ranked No. 15 at 285, stepped to the mat to take on No. 3 Tony Cassioppi in the dual’s final bout. Nevills nearly took an early lead in the first during a scramble, but Cassioppi countered and notched what would be the pivotal takedown on his way to a 7-0 win. The victory in the final match gave the Hawkeyes a 19-17 come-from-behind victory.
Penn State posted a 13-12 edge in takedowns in the dual. The Nittany Lions picked up five bonus points off Bravo-Young’s injury default victory and Lee’s technical fall.
Penn State is now 7-2 overall, 4-1 in the Big Ten. Iowa moves to 9-0, 6-0 Big Ten. Penn State returns home to host Maryland on Sunday, Feb. 2, at 2 p.m. in Rec Hall.
#2 Penn State 17, #1 Iowa 19
January 31, 2020 – Iowa City, Iowa
125: #1 Spencer Lee IOWA tech fall Brandon Meredith PSU, 16-1 (TF; 3:17) 0-5
133: #3 Roman Bravo-Young PSU inj. def. #2 Austin DeSanto IOWA, Inj.Def. (1:50) 6-4*
141: #2 Nick Lee PSU tech fall Carter Happel IOWA, 20-5 (TF; 5:53) 11-4
149: #3 Pat Lugo IOWA dec. Jarod Verkleeren PSU, 6-1 11-7
157: #5 Kaleb Young IOWA dec. Bo Pipher PSU, 6-1 11-10
165: #1 Vincenzo Joseph PSU dec. #2 Alex Marinelli IOWA, 7-5 14-10
174: #2 Michael Kemerer IOWA dec. #1 Mark Hall PSU, 11-6 14-13
184: #9 Aaron Brooks PSU dec. #6 Abe Assad IOWA, 7-3 17-13
197: #7 Jacob Warner IOWA dec. #18 Shakur Rasheed PSU, 4-2 17-16
285: #3 Tony Cassioppi IOWA dec. #15 Seth Nevills PSU, 7-0 17-19
*Iowa deducted one team point
Attendance: 14,905
Records: Penn State (7-2, 4-1 B1G); Iowa (9-0, 6-0 B1G)
Up Next for Penn State: home vs. Maryland, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2 p.m. in Rec Hall
