The Iowa Wrestling team battled fiercely under the Friday night lights, but fell short against No. 9 Minnesota, 21–16. Head coach Tom Brands did not hold back in sharing his thoughts on the team’s showing. With a season marked by ups and downs, the Hawkeyes stand at 9-4 overall and 2-2 in conference play.
Hoping to ride the momentum from their recent win over Nebraska, Iowa instead ran into a Minnesota squad that proved too tough to overcome.
Tom Brands On Iowa Wrestling’s Loss Against Minnesota
Brands is currently serving in his 20th season as the team’s head coach. Last season, he led the Hawkeyes to a 4th-place finish at the NCAA Championships and a 14-1 overall (7-1 Big Ten), with their only loss a 30-8 defeat at #1 Penn State.
Iowa recorded 15 takedowns to Minnesota’s nine and held a 66–59 edge in match points, but the Gophers (9-4, 3-2) won six of the 10 bouts to secure the dual. Minnesota clinched the dual at 197 pounds, as No. 30 Gavin Nelson defeated Harvey Ludington, 4–3.
In a post-match press conference, Brands discussed what went wrong for his team, saying: (0:08 onwards)
“They won six matches. We won four. We had some performances where we had guys that did not think about how they were feeling. They went out and they wrestled and they scored points. And that was a common ingredient in the matches that we had bonus points.”
He added, “And that has to permeate the team. We had two matches where we had guys stop wrestling before the clock was done ticking. That cannot happen. That will not happen. That will not happen. That is that is not what we are about. We have the guys in the room. I will maintain that. I will be consistent.”
The Hawkeyes now set their sights on redemption as they prepare to face Ohio State in Columbus at the Covelli Center on Friday, February 6th, with action beginning at 7 p.m. CST.
MORE: Iowa Wrestling vs Nebraska: Live Stream, TV Info, Schedule and Where to Watch
Iowa’s four victories came from standout performances: ninth-ranked Drake Ayala dominated with six takedowns to claim a 21–6 technical fall over Chris Cannon. Michael Caliendo and Patrick Kennedy delivered back-to-back major decisions at 165 and 174 pounds, while No. 8 Ben Kueter capped things off by outlasting No. 10 Koy Hopke, 5–2, in the heavyweight bout.
When probed about what needed to be worked on in training, Brands said that the entire team needs to score points consistently from “the first whistle and wrestle all the way through the periods”. He also added that the team needs to do their job when “under duress”.
Brands is eager to see how his team responds after suffering their fourth defeat of the season, searching for the spark that could reignite their campaign.
