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Bonus points power Iowa past No. 9 Illinois

PHOTO BY BRIAN RAY/HAWKEYESPORTS.COM - Iowa’s Spencer Lee has the upper hand against Illinois’ Justin Cardani during their 125-pound wrestling match on Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. Lee pinned Cardani in 2 minutes, 27 seconds, as the top-ranked Hawkeyes rolled to a 36-6 victory.

IOWA CITY — The top-ranked University of Iowa wrestling team used three pins and three major decisions to dismantle No. 9 Illinois on Sunday, 36-6, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Iowa outscored the Illini 71-29 in match points, held a 23-5 advantage in takedowns, and earned the largest margin of victory in the series since 2003 (40-4). Iowa extended its Big Ten Conference winning streak to 21 duals and its home winning streak to 18.

The Hawkeyes got falls from Spencer Lee, Jaydin Eierman and Tony Cassioppi, and major decisions from Austin DeSanto, Kaleb Young and Michael Kemerer.

“I think you are seeing a lot of bonus points and that is a tribute to our guys,” said Iowa head coach Tom Brands. “The philosophy has been there. We had three falls today. Those are important. They send a message.”

For the third time in as many duals this season, Lee led off with a first-period fall, again against a ranked opponent at 125. He scored a takedown nine seconds after the whistle and earned a pair of nearfall points before eventually settling in for the fall in two minutes, 27 seconds.

DeSanto piled up six takedowns to earn an 18-6 major at 133, and Eierman, who racked up 38 falls in three seasons at Missouri, registered his first as a Hawkeye. He led 5-3 in the third before locking up a cradle and securing his first fall as a Hawkeye in six minutes, eight seconds, at 141.

Murin won the first of two top 10 wins for Iowa, scoring a takedown in the final minute at 149 to defeat No. 8 Michael Carr, 3-1. Kaleb Young gave the Hawkeyes a 23-0 lead at the brea by scoring three takedowns in the final period of a 13-4 major decision at 157. It marked the third time in three duals Iowa swept the first five weight classes.

“The thing that you cannot coach against is pace,” said Brands. “They definitely feed off Spencer’s energy.”

Iowa returned from the break with a 10-2 major decision from Kemerer at 174, a 4-0 decision from Jacob Warner at 197, and a closing pin from Cassioppi at 285. Cassioppi led 3-0 before cradling Luke Luffman, the No. 5 heavyweight in the country.

Illinois won decisions at 165 and 184. Joe Kelly made his Hawkeye debut at 165 and dropped a 10-6 decision. Nelson Brands lost 3-1 in sudden victory to No. 11 Zach Braunagel.

Iowa returns to action next Sunday, wrestling a triangular at Purdue against the No. 19 Boilermakers and No. 11 Ohio State.

No. 1 Iowa 36, No. 9 Illinois 6

125–Spencer Lee (IA) pinned Justin Cardani, 2:27; 133–Austin DeSanto (IA) major dec. Lucas Byrd, 18-6; 141–Jaydin Eierman (IA) pinned Dylan Duncan, 6:08; 149–Max Murin (IA) dec. Michael Carr, 3-1; 157–Kaleb Young (IA) major dec. Johnny Mologousis, 13-4; 165–Luke Odom (ILL) dec. Joe Kelly, 10-6; 174–Michael Kemerer (IA) major dec. D.J. Shannon, 10-2; 184–Zach Braunagel (ILL) dec. Nelson Brands, 3-1 SV1; 197–Jacob Warner (IA) dec. Matt Wroblewski, 4-0; 285–Tony Cassioppi (IA) pinned Luke Luffman, 4:30.

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