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#3 Iowa picks up pace after sluggish start, blanks Bellarmine, 40-0

by: Tanner Lafever24 hours agoTannerLafever
Jordan Williams celebration
No Iowa wrestler was more exciting on opening night than Jordan Williams, whose highlight-reel pin at 157 pounds made for one heck of a Hawkeye debut. (Photo Credit: Ross Bartachek/IA Wrestle)

A sluggish start eventually gave way to a firework-laden finish, as #3 Iowa shut out Bellarmine in its home debut on Thursday night.

Perhaps it was the unusual weeknight setting – which I noted in my dual preview – the oddity of starting at 197 pounds, or the late arriving crowd for the 6:00 p.m. dual (official attendance listed at 10,971), but the Hawkeyes didn’t exactly get out of the gates quickly to start their 2025-26 season.

With just one ranked wrestler in its lineup (#28 Daulton Mayer at heavyweight), Bellarmine wrestled 4/5 matches before intermission to closer-than-expected, albeit unthreatening decisions. Another after the break made it 5/6.

But that’s when a quartet of Hawkeyes put the pedal to the metal and gave the home fans in attendance something to get excited about.

Pin, technical fall, technical fall, technical fall was how things finished – as Iowa flexed its muscles from 157 through 184 pounds.

The result, a 40-0 final to start the latest Iowa men’s wrestling campaign.

Here’s some more on the dual that was inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Williams wows to begin bonus-point run

Jordan Williams did just about everything right in his Hawkeye debut at 157 pounds.

His team-first pin of the season injected the home crowd with some much-needed energy, and the way he did it certainly did hurt his cause.

The Little Rock (AR) transfer came out firing right off the whistle, getting to an upper body tie/outside trip and throwing Jeb Prechtel to his back for an early seven-point move.

Williams quickly transitioned to a tilt attempt before cutting his Bellarmine opponent for another exchange.

This time, Williams looked inside trip, only for Prechtel to fall into a single leg shot that proved to be his own demise.

Quicker than fans could yell, “Welcome to Iowa City, Jordan!” the first-year Hawkeye had slapped a cradle on his foe – eventually readjusting during a prolonged sequence to secure the fall.

About the only thing the jovial, dancing Williams did ‘wrong’ was toss his headgear to the bench while running off the mat – which as a ‘point of emphasis’ for officials this season will mean a loss of a team point.

(I know – lame!)

Jordan Williams appeared to realize his headgear toss ‘error’ immediately in its aftermath. (Photo Credit: Ross Bartachek/IA Wrestle)

“A lot of energy. Big moves worked. Stuck with the cradle and got a big fall. We needed a fall – good job,” said Iowa head coach Tom Brands of his exciting new 157-pounder.

As for Williams’ impression of his Iowa/Carver debut?

“It felt great. There’s no place like Iowa, and I’ve experienced it since I first got here,” said the redshirt junior.

“It’s different. It’s probably the only place you can go where people love wrestling this much. So, I’m grateful to be here.”

The big dogs eat

Iowa’s four highest ranked wrestlers entering this season all made those rankings look appropriate on Thursday night.

Leading off, #2 Drake Ayala put Iowa’s first bonus points of the dual on the board, overwhelming Trace Eckman with five first/second period takedowns – the last of which was followed by a four-point tilt to secure a 19-4 technical fall.

‘No Brake’ Drake was aggressive from the outset, giving the Carver crowd its first jolt after sitting through three-consecutive decisions to begin the dual.

Later, identically ranked #2 Patrick Kennedy would post an identical scoreline via an identical sequence.

Takedown, takedown, takedown, takedown, takedown, four-point tilt, 19-4 technical fall.

The only difference was that his came at 174 pounds and wrapped before the first-period buzzer.

The two other bonus-point victories of the evening came within the same 157-184 pound run that I mentioned earlier.

At 165, #2 Michael Caliendo actually gave up Iowa’s lone takedown of the dual when he went for an early headlock attempt (because why not?).

Eventually, Mikey regained his bearings, building a 4-3 first-period lead to a 22-6 technical fall.

A whopping 15 of those points came during a 1:20 stretch spanning the end of the second period and start of the third.

And finally, #3 Angelo Ferrari closed things out at 184 with a furious finish against Gavin Ricketts.

With 1:10 left in the bout, the fan-favorite (redshirt) freshman was in control but ‘only’ leading 7-2.

Not satisfied with a regular (or major) decision, Ferrari stepped on the gas to score 13 points (incl. four takedowns) over those final 70 seconds – the last of which came mere tenths of a second before the final buzzer sounded:

With the 20-5 win, Iowa fans left Carver riding high off a four-man bonus-point flurry to close Dual #1.

Improvements to be made for several first-timers

Of the five matches Iowa won by regular decision on Thursday evening, four included wrestlers making their first foray at Carver-Hawkeye Arena:

  • #17 Massoma Endene, a 3-0 winner at 197 pounds
  • #10 Dean Peterson, a 5-1 victor at 125
  • #10 Nasir Bailey (7-1 at 141)
  • Kael Voinovich (7-3 at 149)

Each of Endene, Peterson and Bailey transferred to Iowa City this offseason looking to make a change from their previous situations.

For Endene, a three-time Division III national champion, can he compete at the highest level?

For Peterson, a three-time NCAA qualifier without an All-American finish, can he reach the podium in his last college season?

As for Bailey (up a weight at 141), can he regain the freshman form that saw him place fourth at NCAAs before falling short as a sophomore?

None of the trio appeared as crisp or active as their best accolades would suggest – not that anyone should be ringing alarm bells after one dual.

None were threatened in their matches either – for some additional context.

The same could be said for redshirt freshman Kael Voinovich, who got the nod at 149 over Ryder Block.

Even as the Iowa legacy (his older brother Victor was listed as an option at 157) appeared to tire down the stretch, he was still the only wrestler taking shots between him and Bellarmine’s Zac Cowen.

Meanwhile, the fifth-and-final ‘slow starter’ was #5 Ben Kueter – who tallied a pair of first-period takedowns at heavyweight only for the pace to slow on the mat in the second/third periods.

Like Endene, perhaps he could also use some work on his leg ride defense after Bellarmine foes rode out both Hawkeyes in the third period.

(Mind you, this was still Kueter’s first competitive match since undergoing offseason hip surgery.)

Short time

That’s a wrap of the season-opener for the third-ranked Hawkeyes.

Next up, things get more competitive in a hurry as Iowa heads to the National Duals Invitational on November 15-16.

There, a $200 thousand prize awaits the winner of a deep, loaded field in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

I’ll have much more previewing that exciting event come next week. In the meantime, enjoy a 1-0 start for Tom Brands’ 20th Iowa team since taking over as head coach.

It’s certainly not a finished product just yet, but there are plenty of intriguing pieces for Brands to put in play throughout the long season ahead.

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