If you haven’t been paying attention to what has been going on in Madison this weekend you are missing out.
Starting off the action tonight was former Iowa Hawkeye Matt McDonough, who showed that when he is healthy, he is good enough to take on Nico Megaludis with a 4-0 win.
The real excitement was supplied by, as usual, Tony Ramos. Coming into a best of three series against a World Team Member is usually a daunting situation. Tony came out and he was vintage Ramos going to the move that made him famous in college. No, not the cowcatcher to the back, the infamous stare down. Hazewinkel smirked about it when he Ramos came out to the center. And why wouldn’t he? Ramos was barely getting his feet wet in the freestyle game. The stare down worked in college, this is the big leagues. Apparently Hazewinkel didn’t realize that probably crossed a line.
Ramos was supposed to transition quickly with his leg attacks, but was assumed to need some time to develop his scoring on the mat. To put those rumors to bed, Ramos got in on a shot, got behind Hazewinkel and was able to get a leglace for four points to take the first match 4-0. If Hazewinkel thought the stare down was a gimmick, Ramos had certainly gotten his attention now.
As if the veterans didn’t know Tony’s intentions, he made them pretty clear in this interview. “You see interviews. You watch Simmons, Hazewinkel, Escobedo, all they ever talk about winning a medal. They’re satisfied with winning a medal. If you think I go overseas and just bring back a bronze or a silver and be satisfied? You’re wrong. It’s about winning a gold, it’s not just about winning a medal.” I strongly encourage you to watch the rest of it in, it’s entirety.
Ramos came out for the second match, and I noticed that Hazewinkel made a point to stand behind Ramos, as if to avoid the stare. Ramos couldn’t get much going early on. He got hit with a passivity warning. You know Ramos by now, that isn’t his nature. So he hit a shot right away. Came up with Hazewinkel completely off the ground and was looking to score big. I am not sure what happened next, but after the flurry/scramble the score was 1-1 as they headed back to their feet. Ramos a point for the throw, Hazewinkel picking up a reversal point (I guess that’s what you would call it). Ramos was able to pick up a takedown immediately following a restart off a Hazewinkel passivity call. In the second Ramos was able to turn a Hazewinkel shot into a few more of his points to go up 5-1. Hazewinkel made it interesting with about 20-25 seconds to go by picking up 3 more points, but in the end we saw Ramos do his other move, the double rainbows, as he clinched his World Team Member spot.
[…] and Sam Hazewinkel to earn his spot at 57 KG. One thing that Ramos has been perfectly clear on are his intentions for the World Championships, “You see interviews. You watch Simmons, Hazewinkel, Escobedo, all they ever talk about [is] […]
[…] we watched him win his first conference and national title as a collegian. In the summer we saw him tear through Madison and claim the 57 KG spot, and later we saw him win his first Senior level international event in Canada. Tony even found […]
[…] the adjustment to freestyle, but all of that now seems like a silly afterthought. He ran through the World Team Trials taking down Angel Escobedo, Nico Megaludis, and eventually Sam […]
[…] but Metcalf stressed on how Team USA needs to be focused on medals, and it’s really all about gold medals, which is something that has been lacking lately. It cannot be stressed enough how wrestlers (both […]
[…] In his interview with Flowrestling’s Christian Pyles, Ramos let the world know the cold hard truth about Iowa wrestling : “If you’re a little guy and you don’t want to come to Iowa there’s a problem. I mean results are what results are. You can’t argue with them, it’s a fact and that’s where the best guys in the world are right now.” I think that about says it all really. Could a person actually argue that there is a better wrestling room to be in for lightweights than than the Hawkeye wrestling room? As if having two coaches who are past World and Olympic medalists weren’t enough, Iowa had to go out and take all of the 57 KG spots, just to drive the point home. Of course we all know that making the team isn’t enough for the Iowa room, for them it’s all about winning that gold medal. […]
[…] who took two matches from Nathan Tomasello to claim the 57 KG Junior World Team spot. Then it was Tony Ramos‘ turn as he shocked the world (and the 57 KG weight class) and defeated Angel Escobedo, Nico […]
[…] This is the kind of attitude and response we have come to expect from Ramos over the years Iowa fans have watched him compete. For the fans that didn’t really know Tony Ramos, he made his intentions very clear when after the World Team Trials he told fans in an interview that he is not satisfied with just making the team, he wants to win a gold medal. […]
[…] course you have probably heard that Brent Metcalf and Tony Ramos won the World Team Trials in Madison, Wisconsin and will be representing Team USA at the World […]
[…] through the challenge tournament and then facing Sam Hazewinkel for the spot. Ramos of course won that Team Spot by winning the first two matches. A reminder Phase II takes place next month to decide the 61 and […]
[…] former greats face off in a best of three showdown. Yesterday, Hawkeye fans were able to rejoice as Tony Ramos defeated Sam Hazewinkel to make his first World Team. What made the victory even more sweet was Ramos mentality after the match. Ramos isn’t going […]