Division II Updated Bracket – NWCA National Duals
Upper Iowa bounced back with big wins to remain standing as one of the final eight teams at the 2017 NWCA National Duals. UIU lost a close dual with the #5 University of Wisconsin-Parkside in the opening round, but battled back to upset #14 Tiffin University and #3 Maryville University.
The Peacocks opened their run at the duals with a four-point loss (20-16) to #5 Wisconsin-Parkside. The Rangers and Peacocks each won five matches, but UWP claimed a 3-1 advantage in bonus-point wins including a first-period pin at 197 pounds to seal the victory.
Wisconsin-Parkside began the dual with a pair of wins at 125 and 133 pounds. Ronzel Darling (#6) defeated
Maleek Williams by a 7-1 count and then Airk Furseth defeated mid-year transfer
Josh Walker by major decision 11-2.
Upper Iowa rallied with four straight wins from 141 to 165 pounds.
Jordan Roths (141) earned a 5-4 decision thanks a deciding ride time point and
Damian Penichet (#12, 149) tied the dual at 7-7 thanks to a 12-3 major decision. The Peacocks kept the momentum with a
Zak Benitz 6-3 win over Brett Scoles (#12) at 157 pounds and a 10-6 win by
Colbey Vance at 165 pounds. The four-straight wins pushed UIU out to a 13-7 lead.
The Rangers clawed back into the match with a major decision at 174 pounds as Nick Becker (#1) defeated
Dalton Westerlund (12-4) and a 10-6 decision when Montrail Johnson (#2) outlasted
Nick Baumler at 184 pounds. The two wins gave UWP a 14-13 lead with two matches left.
James Lehman (#6) sealed the win for the Rangers at 197 pounds with a first-period pin (:57) of
Ryan Parmely. UIU got their fifth win in the final bout as heavyweight
Logan Hopp (#7) scored a 4-1 decision over Matt Halverson.
UIU's first opponent on the consolation side was #14 Tiffin University, which lost a 25-15 dual to the #4 University of Nebraska-Kearney. The Dragons got off to a great start with a pin at 125, but the Peacocks quickly doused the fire and won five of the next six matches including a pair of pins. In the end, Upper Iowa picked up a 24-15 win thanks to six victories in the dual.
After a second period pin at 125 pounds for the Dragons, Walker toed the line in just his second match in an Upper Iowa singlet and evened the dual at 6-6. Walker pinned Cameron Gessner just three seconds prior to the first period horn (2:57). Roths continued his strong day with a 3-1 win in sudden victory over Trey Grine (#6) at 141 pounds and Penichet edged Michael Screptock 1-0 at 149 pounds. The run of three straight wins gave UIU a 12-6 lead, but came to an end at 157 pounds where Samphanh Viengmany defeated Benitz 6-2.
Upper Iowa once again expanded their lead behind Vance's second win of the day, an 8-5 decision at 165, and a win by fall (3:38) by
Dalton Westerlund early in the second period of the 174-pound bout. The five wins gave the Peacocks a 21-9 lead with three matches to go.
The Dragons claimed narrow decisions at 184, Jared Chambers over Baumler 3-1, and at 197, Kevin Christman over Parmely 8-7. With the gap cut to six points, Hopp (#7) lined up against Garrett Gray (#2) and scored a takedown in the first sudden victory period to win 4-2 and close out UIU's victory to stay alive in the tournament.
The Peacocks upset #3 Maryville in their second elimination dual of the afternoon to earn their berth into the placing rounds for the ninth time in the last ten years. Upper Iowa won six matches including Walker's second pin of the day to post a 21-12 win over the Saints and move on at the National Duals.
Upper Iowa got out to a quick start thanks to a hard fought win by
Maleek Williams (5-4) over Alex Waggoner at 125 and Walker's second pin (2:46) of the day. Walker's fall came against Dakota Bauer (#7) near the end of the first period.
Nate Rodriguez (#1) scored a 5-0 win at 141 pounds to hand Roths his first loss of the day, but the Peacocks bounced back behind Penichet's third victory (6-2) of the afternoon over James Krischke (#10). Benitz (157) and Vance (165) both earned impressive decisions posting wins by scores of 11-4 and 6-0, respectively, as UIU's lead swelled to 18-3.
The Saints picked up three wins in a row at 174, 184 and 197 to pull within six, but
Logan Hopp wrapped a big day on the mat with his third win and second over a wrestler ranked above him in the latest national poll. Hopp outlasted Donnell Walker (#4) 6-5 to seal the win for the Peacocks 21-12.
Upper Iowa will face the #8 Bearcats of McKendree University at 8 a.m. CT on Friday morning. McKendree stayed alive after upsetting #2 Notre Dame College in their final dual of the day 22-16.
