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#1 Hawkeyes head to North Central Invite to close first semester

by: Tanner Lafever5 hours agoTannerLafever

Less than 36 hours after one group of Hawkeyes wrapped up its final competition of 2025, another will do the same – Sunday, at the North Central College Invitational.

There, in Naperville, Illinois, the top-ranked Iowa women will match wits against one of the toughest fields they’ll see all season.

Among a Who’s Who of teams registered are most of the top national title contenders from both the NCAA and NAIA ranks.

NCAA:

  • #1 Iowa
  • #2 Grand Valley State (MI)
  • #4 North Central (IL)
  • #5 Colorado Mesa
  • #6 King (TN)

NAIA:

  • #2 Providence (MT)
  • #3 Grand View (IA)
  • #4 William Penn (IA)
  • #7 Indiana Tech
  • #11 Southern Oregon

That abbreviated list also doesn’t include six other teams from the latest NCAA Coaches Poll, nor the likes of prospective Division I varsity programs Tarleton State or Oklahoma State – the latter of whom the Hawkeyes just dualled last weekend.

And I haven’t even mentioned Menlo College (CA) – the 2024 NAIA national champs who are currently transitioning to NCAA status.

Combine that firepower with the likelihood of some other talented entries from beyond the collegiate ranks and you’ve got yourself one whale of a tournament to close the first semester.

How to watch

December 14 (Sunday) – @ North Central College Invitational

  • Location: Naperville, IL (Hal and Benna Wilde Res/Rec Center)
  • Time: 9:00 a.m. (CT) start
  • TV/streaming: live on FloWrestling

Who to watch

As of now, it remains unclear which (and how many) Hawkeyes will take the mat on Sunday.

An entry list was not provided among Iowa’s weekly notes, and the typical day before social media graphic has yet to go out as well.

Alas, it could be a bit of a skeleton crew compared to most big tournaments attended by the Hawkeyes.

Head coach Clarissa Chun indicated that may be the case during her post-dual(s) presser last weekend. With finals next week, plus a road dual (victory) on Thursday night against NAIA #3 Grand View, elements may conspire to lighten the Iowa travel party headed to Naperville.

One Hawkeye whom you can count on competing, however, is Class of 2026 signee Madison Nieuwenhuis.

The Michigander isn’t a stranger to college opens, either – having won a title at the Midlands Championships back in 2023.

She’ll enter a field at 103 pounds that could be littered with top-tier collegians – perhaps including several of her future teammates.

Coverage plans

I just wanted to give folks a heads up that my coverage tomorrow – at least on social media – will be a bit of a departure from the norm.

That’s because I’m making the 90-minute drive from Milwaukee to Naperville to watch the tournament in person. And without the benefit of multiple screens and brackets/results right at my fingertips, it’d be a challenge to provide the same sort of detailed, match-to-match updates I typically strive for.

(I recognize this may actually be a huge relief to some people who follow me on social media, lol.)

Regardless, I’ll still put together a comprehensive recap of Iowa’s entire performance after the fact. It just might take an extra day or two until I’ve been able to go back and watch/rewatch every match.

Short time

Anyway, that’s it from me!

Hopefully you’re able to curl up somewhere warm and tune in for Sunday’s action. Because whether the Hawkeyes are on the mat or not, you can pretty much be sure there’ll be some high-level wrestling taking place somewhere once the opening whistle blows.

As always, thank you guys for reading/following along. And I’ll talk to you again real soon.

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