Feb. 3, 1998
No. 5 Sun Devil Wrestling Takes on No. 2 Iowa
Grapplers Set to Host Biggest Home Match of the Season
On Tap: The Arizona State wrestling team, ranked fifth in the nation, is back at home this weekend in its biggest home match of the season against second-ranked Iowa. The match starts at 3 p.m. in the University Activity Center and will be televised by Fox Sports Arizona on tape delay. Barry Beutel (play-by-play) and Tim Johnson (color) will call the action.
Last Week: The Devils had a good weekend, going 2-0 against Pac-10 foe Oregon and BYU. On Friday night the Devils defeated the 19th-ranked Ducks 27-11. The next afternoon in Provo, Utah, ASU took on BYU and handily defeated the Cougars 31-9. Grapplers Michael Kawamura, Shawn Ford, Steve Blackford, Matt Suter, Casey Strand, and Aaron Simpson all recorded victories in both matches.
About the Hawkeyes: Second-ranked Iowa is coming off two huge wins over Big Ten opponents. On Thursday the Hawkeyes shut out Northwestern 40-0. The following night, Purdue fell victim to the Hawkeyes 30-6. Iowa features nine wrestlers who are ranked in the top 20. Hawkeye senior Mark Ironside (134) is ranked number one in the Big Ten and the nation, and has a perfect record at 22-0. Also ranked number one in the Big Ten and the nation for Iowa is senior Joe Williams, who also has an unblemished record at 21-0.
Tentative Hawkeye Lineup:
118: #8 Eric Juergens (12-2) 158: Gabe McMahan (17-8) OR
126: #6 Doug Schwab (17-7) Ben Uker (5-8)
134: #1 Mark Ironside (22-0) 167: #1 Joe Williams (21-0)
142: #4 Jeff McGinness (22-2) 177: #16 Paul Jenn (15-7)
150: #15 Kasey Gilliss (7-5) OR 190: #3 Lee Fullhart (19-2)
Jamie Heidt (14-4) HWT: #10 Wes Hand (17-5)
The Series: Iowa leads the all-time series with the Devils 14-1-1. Iowa holds the series lead for matches played in Tempe at 6-1-1. The last win for the Devils came in '87-'88 in Tempe.That year was also the last time the Devils won the national championship.
Up Next: ASU heads out on the road for their next two matches. On Monday night, February 9th the Devils head up to Wyoming to take on the University of Wyoming at 7 p.m. The Devils then take on Cal-State Fullerton in a Pac-10 matchup on Valentine's Day, February 14th at 7 p.m.
ASU Lineup118 Michael Kawamura, So. 18-12, 8-8 dual 126 Shawn Ford, Sr. 5-3, 5-2 dual 134 Quinn Foster, Fr. 17-6, 9-6 dual 142 Tracy Brown, Sr. 20-9, 12-4 dual 150 Steve Blackford, Fr. 22-3, 15-1 dual 158 Matt Suter, Sr. 20-6, 7-3 dual 167 Casey Strand, Jr. 20-6, 12-4 dual 177 Aaron Simpson, Sr. 24-2, 16-0 dual 190 Jake Harman, Sr. 11-14, 5-11 dual Hwt Joe Micela, Sr. 13-12, 7-8 dual
* ASU wrestling returns three All-Americans to this year's squad.
* Matt Suter (158)
* Casey Strand (167)
* Aaron Simpson (177)
* Senior Aaron Simpson (177) has a perfect dual record this season at 16-0. Simpson also has recorded a team-high eight pins on the season. His quickest fall came at 0:25.
* Junior Casey Strand (167) has posted a team-best six major decisions this season.
* ASU has finished in the top 10 nationally in 11 of the previous 13 seasons.
Shedule
Date Opponent Result/Time
Nov. 29 Oklahoma State L, 22-9
Dec. 4 Oregon State W, 34-8
Dec. 5-6 Las Vegas Invite Second
Dec. 29-30 Midlands Invite Fourth
Jan. 4 Reno Duals
vs. Boise State W, 35-3
vs. Michigan L, 18-19
vs. Rider W, 19-12
Jan. 9 New Mexico W 53-6
Iowa State W 19-16
Jan. 11 Oklahoma L 21-17
Jan. 17-18 National Team Duals All Day
Jan. 23 Cal Poly-SLO 7 p.m.
Jan. 30 Oregon 7 p.m.
Jan. 31 Brigham Young 2 p.m.
Feb. 8 Iowa 3 p.m.
Feb. 9 Wyoming 7 p.m.
Feb. 14 Cal-St. Bakersfield 7 p.m.
Feb. 22 Fresno State 3 p.m.
Fe. 28- Pac-10 Championships All Day
Mar-1
Mar. 19-21 NCAA Championships All Day
All home matches are bolded and held at the University Activity Center.