Date: January 31st, 2016
Time: 7PM
Location: West Gym, Cedar Falls, IA
Video: Link ($)
Live Stats: Trackwrestling
Online: Follow us on Twitter, @IAwrestle and here for our play-by-play thread, for updates!
InterMat rankings
UNI Panthers 3-7 (2-4 MAC) 
125- #7 Dylan Peters
133- #15 Josh Alber
141- Trevor Jauch or Tyler Willers
149- Adam Perrin
157- Bryce Steiert
165- #13 Cooper Moore
174- Kyle Lux
184- Drew Foster
197- Jared Bartel
285- #17 Blaize Cabell
#20 Kent State 8-3 (4-1 MAC) 
125- Del Vinas
133- #9 Mack McGuire
141- Anthony Tutolo
149- #18 Mike DePalma
157- #3 Ian Miller
165- Tyler Buckwalter
174- Jairod James
184- Cole Baxter
197- #16 Kyle Conel
285- Devin Nye
Following the non-conference dual with Iowa State later today UNI turns right around with a ranked conference foe Saturday night in #20 Kent State. It’s the last home dual for the Panthers, who will honor 11 seniors as their careers in purple and gold come to an end. The senior were apart of the first class that head coach Doug Schwab brought in, so it means a little extra for everybody.
“It’s the first class that I was out in their home. You really build that relationship, that bond,” Schwab said on Thursday to On Press Row. “This is something that it’s not going to be just a five year relationship with these guys, it’s going to be way beyond that.”
Beyond the seniors wrestling, UNI will be looking to repeat an upset that they had last year in Ohio. The Panthers were on the road then, defeating KSU 21-16, winning six of the ten matches. Along the way unranked Jarrett Jensen scored the biggest upset of his career, defeating then number-four Ian Miller at 157 pounds. Jensen is out of the lineup this year – he had shoulder surgery – but will be honored as a senior and will watch true freshman Bryce Steiert take on Miller.
Speaking of last season, there are some other familiar faces coming to Cedar Falls for Kent State. At 125 pounds Del Vinas will get a chance at redemption as he lost to Dylan Peters last year by pinfall. Peters will look to repeat the outcome and hopefully give the Panthers a boost, as he did last Sunday against Ohio.
At 133 pounds Mack McGuire comes in to the West Gym with a higher ranking than he had last year but he’ll look to duplicate the result, when he defeated Leighton Gaul 4-1. Unlike last year though UNI will put a ranked wrestler out on the mat in #15 Josh Alber. This would be a big win for Alber, as he has dropped his last two matches to MAC opponents. McGuire is a three-time NCAA qualifier and has placed third at the MAC Championships the previous two years.
The other rematch from last season comes at 165 pounds, where #13 Cooper Moore will look to improve on his decision victory over Tyler Buckwalter. Moore is undefeated in MAC contests this season, but has only won one of those matches with bonus points, and a win by eight points or more could be huge in this dual.
141 and 149 pounds are still up in the air for the Panthers, as 141 pounder Trevor Jauch is still coming off a knee injury he sustained last Friday in the dual with Central Michigan. Schwab said last week that they (UNI) has to be smart with Jauch, and not push him back too quickly with the MAC Championships and the NCAA’s so close – only five weeks until the MAC’s. We haven’t heard any official word on why Jake Hodges was out of the lineup last week either. Adam Perrin stepped in for his first competition in two years but was defeated by Ohio’s Cullen Cummings 11-6.
At the upper weights 174 and 184 pounds seem to be winnable matches for the Panthers. 174 pounders Kyle Lux and Drew Foster have separated a bit, with Foster bumping up to take Cody Caldwell’s place at 184. It seemed that Foster had been weighting in at 174 the last two duals and then bumping up to 184, giving up the ten pounds and dropping both matches. That may not be the case anymore, as Schwab talked about it on On Press Row yesterday.
Jared Bartel looks to get his second MAC win of the season, but he’ll have to upset #16 Kyle Conal to do it. Conal is a redshirt freshman and has really put together a good year thus far, going 19-4 on the year, even defeating Ohio’s Phil Wellington by pinfall.
At heavyweight #17 Blaize Cabell will continue to try to score more takedowns than the rest of his teammates combine – although hopefully they make it tough on him. Last week he broke the scoreboard at the West Gym, scoring 11 takedowns and 25 points on his way to a tech fall. He’ll most likely wrestle Devin Nye, who is 23-11 on the year.
Obviously this is a bit of tough spot for the Panthers, not only do they have a tough opponent in Kent State, but they wrestling them the next night after wrestling a top-15 team in Iowa State. While the schedule doesn’t do the them any favors, they’ll be up for the challenge as it’s senior night and the dual’s at home, which always seems to provide UNI with a spark.
We’ll have all the action from the West Gym Saturday night, so check back for our play by play thread and Twitter updates @IAwrestle!