Jan. 27, 2006
IOWA CITY, Iowa - The Boilermakers were unable to break the streak of futility against Iowa on Friday evening, as Purdue fell to the Hawkeyes 28-11 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in front of a crowd of 2,495.
Purdue (8-6, 0-3 Big Ten) has now dropped 21 consecutive duals to the Hawkeyes, and have not won vs. Iowa in 26 straight duals dating back to the 1961 season. Purdue's last victory against the Hawks came on Feb. 25, 1961, in Iowa City 23-9. Since that win, the Boilermakers are 0-25-1.
Chris Fleeger, Ben Wissel and Nathan Moore provided the Boilermakers with their team points, but the efforts of the trio were far from enough.
After Lucas Magnani defeated sophomore Brandon Tucker 7-2 to start the dual, the Boilermakers grabbed a brief team lead with a win at 133.
Fleeger, a senior ranked sixth in the nation, dominated Daniel Dennis to the tune of an 18-2 technical fall. The match was stopped 25 seconds into the third period when Fleeger scored fourth takedown of the match, gaining a 15-point advantage. The Boilermaker 133-pounder led 10-0 after the first period thanks to four two-point nearfalls.
Iowa stormed past the Boilermakers on the team scoreboard with wins in the next five weight classes, including major decisions at 141, 157 and 174 pounds, and a pin at 165 by Eric Luedke over Dan Bedoy.
The close match in that stretch came at 149 pounds, where second-ranked Ty Eustice defeated Purdue's Doug Withstandley, who is ranked ninth in the nation. Eustice scored a second-period takedown to edge ahead and post the 4-2 win.
Purdue got its second win of the dual in the 184-pound match, as Wissel defeated Paul Bradley 5-3. Wissel, ranked third in the nation, scored two takedowns in the first period and set the match on cruise control through the last two periods. The win over Bradley, who is ranked seventh in the nation, gives Wissel six wins over wrestlers ranked in the top 10 this season, including two against Illinois' Pete Friedl, one against American's Josh Glenn and one against Cornell's Joe Mazzurco, the only losses by those wrestlers this season.
The Boilermakers got a needed emotional win at 197 when Moore, ranked 20th in the nation, scored a takedown in overtime to defeat Dan Erekson 10-8. Moore trailed 7-4 entering the third period, but an escape and takedown knotted the score at 7-7. Erekson's escape in the final five seconds and Moore's point for riding time sent the match into a sudden victory period, where Moore won with a takedown 18 seconds into the extra frame.
The dual concluded with a major decision for the Hawkeyes at heavyweight.
Purdue stays on the road with a trip up to Madison and a 1 p.m. dual vs. the Wisconsin Badgers on Sunday at UW Field House.