From the corner chair

Iowa wins, 40-3, and much more

Hawks won 9 of 10 bouts, getting pins from Alex Tsirtsis and Brent Metcalf and a technical fall from Chad Beatty.

Iowa had 32 takedowns and 91 match points. Bucknell had one takedown, yes, one takedown and 28 points.

How do you spell domination?

Iowa up 19-0 after 4 matches

Charlie Falck opened with a decision and Daniel Dennis followed with a major.

Iowa wrestling updates

Iowa all-American Jay Borschel will miss tonight's dual with mighty Bucknell after having a knee scoped. And second-ranked all-American Alex Tsitsis at 141 had a wisdom tooth pulled this week, but may still wrestle.

Wow.

Iowa is wrestling Bucknell because the program was nearly dropped and assistant Dave Hoffman is a Virginia Tech grad and former wrestler for Iowa Coach Tom Brands. Iowa will wrestle at Bucknell next year.

Follow updates on tonight's dual at www.twitter.com, under JROgden.

Why Bucknell?

The tougher team won that dual and most of the duels. Iowa was aggressive and kept trying to score right until the buzzer.

But why are the Hawkeyes wrestling Bucknell on Friday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena (7 p.m.). Please, tell me if you know.

Bucknell is 8-7 overall, 2-2 in the EIWA. Two wrestlers are ranked, Andy Rendos at 165 appears to be the best at No. 15.

The two teams have never met and, chances are, Bucknell will wish it never agreed to this dual after Friday.

I'm all for promoting wrestling, helping programs that need a little help. But aren't there other programs worthy of this dual, better programs that will test the Hawkeyes?

Just a thought.

Hawks win, but ...

Iowa wins 6 of the 10 bouts, with Dan Erekson scoring a big win at heavyweight.

Fireworks at Carver

Both coaches were screaming at each other -- Tom and Terry Brands vs. Barry Davis -- and even ex-coach Dan Gable got into the act, sharing some pointed comments with Davis.

Howe won with 7 seconds of riding time in second OT.

Iowa up 21-9 after Phil Keddy scored major decision.

Iowa up 14-6 at mid point

Brent Metcalf gets a pin, Daniel Dennis a tech fall and Charlie Falck a decision.

Wisconsin winners are Zach Tanelli, the only wrestler to beat Alex Tsirtsis this year (he's done it twice) and Ben Jordan.

Iowa up 9-0 on Wisconsin

Iowa up 9-0.

Back at Carver

I'll send updates throughout. You can also follow updates at www.twitter.com

Davis still a lot of fun

It will be a fun night, especially if you keep an eye on Davis.

At 47, Davis hasn't slowed a bit.

He jumps around, shouts encouragement and runs the edges of the mat.

He's as much fun as a back-and-forth high-scoring bout.

So if you're looking for a little side entertainment on Friday, glance over at the Wisconsin bench once and a while.

And read Friday's Gazette. I'll write a profile on Davis.

Sanderson ready for run

He was like that as a wrestlers, too, soft-spoken and not one to pound his chest.

But at is weekly news conference on Monday, he talked about what it's going to take to win the NCAA title, something he thinks the Cyclones can and will do.

Here's a few highlights:

"That's all I expect out of these guys. That's all I talk to them about is fight, fight, fight. Fight for every point ...

"We have the talent, the skill - we're just lacking the fight: the love of the battle, doing what we do in practice ...

"I'm not getting the best out of everybody ... we've got to get more out of our guys.

"I know how to win; I think I know how to win as well, if not better than, anybody in the world."

As I noted before, don't think this Iowa-Iowa State battle is over. Sanderson is getting down and dirty with his team and the Cyclones WILL be ready for a battle in March. They probably are a better tournament team than dual team, too.

I'll have more of this interview in my Sunday column.

Hawks win

Jay Borschel, Phil Keddy, Chad Beatty and Dan Erekson all won for Iowa, Erekson by pin, to end the dual.

Nebraska-Omaha won in D-II, Augsburg beat Wartburg in D-III, Southern Oregon won the NAIA title, and Oklahoma City the women's freestyle crown.

Cornell up 13-8

I'm heading to UNI-Dome floor and will be back and end of dual.

Cornell back on top

Up next? No. 3 Morningstar vs. No. 1 Mack Lewnes at 165.

Total attendance 15,867

There a 8,236 here for the finals.

Metcalf dominates again; Iowa up 8-6

Metcalf finishes 4-0 here with a pin, two technical falls and a major. He'll be OW again if Iowa can win.

Tsirtsis by major; Cornell up, 6-4

Cornell up 6-0

Cornell up 3-0

A little about Cornell ...

Cornell is 4-0 and is led by defending NCAA champion Jordan Leen at 157 pounds. Mack Lewnes at 165 is ranked No. 1 and Steve Anceravage at 174 is NO. 3.

The Hawkeyes will, once again, be without Charlie Falck at 125. That could hurt.

Matches are beginning.

ISU third; Coe 4th

Coe finished fourth, falling to Delaware Valley, 22-15.

Jake Varner gave ISU a 20-16 lead heading into the heavyweight bout when he beat top-ranked Craig Brester.

No TV for National Duals

ESPNU is taping the finals for replay on Jan. 17 at 1 a.m. (Iowa time), Jan. 27 at noon and Feb. 1 at 5:30 p.m.

No reason was given for the change from IPTV, which the University of Iowa announced last week.

Iowa, ISU winners and losers

Jay Borschel lost, 5-4, to second-ranked Brandon Browne at 174.

ISU's Nick Gallick at 141, Mitch Mueller at 149, Jake Varner at 197 and David Zabriskie at heavyweight won vs. Cornell. Gallick, Varner and Zabriskie all are 3-0 here.

Iowa-Cornell for Duals title

The Hawkeyes beat Nebraska, 22-11, winning seven of 10 bouts. Cornell beat ISU, 22-15.

The Iowa-Cornell final is at 3 p.m. and you can see it live at IPTV.

In D-III, Wartburg beat Coe, 33-9, after the Kohawks jump to a 6-0 lead.

Iowa, ISU update

Iowa State is down, 10-6, to Cornell, also at 165.

Wartburg is up 15-6 over Coe on the Division III mat.

Back at Duals

Iowa and Iowa State on the NCAA Division I mat, along with Coe against Wartburg.

Iowa is wrestling Nebraska, Iowa State is taking on Cornell. J.J. Krutsinger, subbing for the injured Charlie Falck, just picked up his first win of the weekend, giving Iowa a 3-0 lead.

Check back later for more updates.

Cyclones survive

Varner, who lost in the Midlands finals with the team title on the line, put ISU up 16-15 after Boise had pulled ahead 15-10 going into the final two matches.

"It's a tough one to lose," Boise State Coach Greg Randall, a former Mount Vernon prep, told me. "That's a first for me, to be that close to the second-ranked team in the nation." ISU will wrestle Cornell in today's semifinals.

Hawks win again

Nebraska needed a win at heavyweight to topple Penn State.

On the Division III mat, Wartburg downed Luther, 39-3, and Coe beat up Wisconsin-LaCrosse, 31-7.

Coe and Wartburg will be in a semifnals today.

Round 2 winners ...

The Cyclones popped Indiana, coached by former Hawkeye Duane Goldman, 35-0; Boise, coached by former Mount Vernon prep and Hawk Greg Randall, upset Barry Davis' Wisconsin Badgers, 24-12; and Tom Ryan and the Buckeyes whipped host UNI, 32-12.

Upper Iowa was a winner on the D-II mat and Cornell lost to Johnson & Wales in D-III.

The winners are ...

In Division III, Wartburg, Luther, Wisconsin-LaCrosse and Coe were winners.

The only upset in D-I was Penn State's 20-19 win over eighth-seeded Missouri.

Iowa will wrestle Minnesota at 1 p.m., Penn State meets Nebraska.

Wartburg beat Wabash, 46-0; Luther beat Olivet, 25-7; LaCrosse topped Dubuqe, 35-9; and Coe whipped Concordia, 25-12.

Wartburg meets Luther at 1, Coe wrestles LaCrosse.

Iowa State is ready to take the mat.

Hawks win; No Falck

The only loser in the first dual was J.J. Krutsinger, who has replaced Charlie Falck in the lineup at 125.

Falck injured his ankle the Midlands Championships and will not wrestle this weekend. He did not weigh in Saturday morning, meaning he will not be able to wrestle today or Sunday.

Iowa's win Saturday was higlighted by pins from Brent Metcalf at 149 and Dan Erekson at heavyweight.

Good Hawekeye crowd

Iowa is leading Wyoming, but J.J. Krutsinger, wrestling for injured Charlie Falck, opend with a loss.

Brent Metcalf just got a pin at 149.

Clear the mats

After a snowy start to the day, Gazette photographer Cliff Jette and myself are in the UNI-Dome, ready for some wrestling.

The first-round is underway.

Iowa vs. Wyoming in Division I, Wartburg vs. Wabash, Luther vs. Olivet and Coe vs. Concordia on the D-III mats.

Stay tuned and I'll update with results a bit later.

National Duals

First, I'm anticipating another classic dual between Iowa and Iowa State on Sunday for the Division I title. Secondly, I'm looking forward to watching John Oostendorp's Coe team compete in Division III.

The Kohawks were as high as No. 2 in the national rankings earlier this season and a matchup with Wartburg in the semifinals is possible.

Watching Luther and Cornell also is a pleasure.

For updates throughout the weekend, click back here on this blog. I'll be updating periodically throughout Saturday and Sunday.