It was another big weekend on the mat for the #2 Cyclones.
Three Iowa State seniors closed out their dual careers combining
for two pins and a major decision as the Cyclones defeated Virginia,
37-3, Sunday in Memorial Gym.
Seniors Trent and Travis Paulson pinned their opponents at 157- and
165-pounds, respectively. Senior Kurt Backes tallied his fourth major decision
of the season. The Cyclones won nine of 10 bouts and wrapped-up dual competition
with a mark of 13-3.
"I thought the weekend went well," Iowa State head
coach Cael Sanderson said. "We wanted to get some quality matches and work on
some individual fundamentals that we have stressed in practice. This was
our last competitive chance before the Big 12 Championships. We're going
to back to Columbia to wrestle the same way."
Trent Paulson provided the Cyclones with bonus points by sticking Mike
Sewell's shoulders to the mat in 1:32. Paulson, rated second at 157 pounds,
worked the Cavalier with three takedowns prior to the pin. The two-time
All-American finished his ISU dual career with a record of 108-20 and holds a
season mark of 22-4. His 108 career wins ties him with three-time
All-American Mike Van Arsdale, for 24th on the all-time Iowa State
list.
Travis Paulson followed with a fall of his own, a 5:18 pin of Matt
Federici at 165 pounds. Paulson was working towards a technical fall, taking a
15-3 lead into the final period when Federici started the period from the down
position. Paulson moved him to his shoulders, registering his second pin this
season. The win ups his record to 23-4 this season and his career mark to
101-29.
"There had been some close matches so I was happy to give us
additional bonus points," Travis Paulson said. "These dual matches were good
for us and will help us prepare for the Big 12 and NCAA meets."
Backes stayed hot, amassing more than six minutes of riding time in an 11-0
win over Calvin Cardillo. Backes now stands 23-4 this season and owns a
career mark of 103-28.
"I would have rather wrestled my final dual match at Hilton Coliseum in front
of our fans," Backes said. "But this worked out well because my parents could
come down from New Jersey to watch me wrestle. We traveled well on this
trip. I'm just looking to go out, have fun and win."
Iowa State's Nick Fanthorpe opened the dual by snapping Ross Gitomer's
six-match win streak with a 3-1 decision at 125 pounds. Fanthorpe is rated fifth
nationally and carries a 23-7 record in his rookie season. Redshirt
freshman Nick Gallick won his match at 133-pounds with a dramatic 11-9 decision
over Eric Albright. Gallick trailed 9-7 after two periods but got an escape
followed by a takedown with 1:11 left in the match for the win. The
Cyclone improves to 25-7 this season.
On Friday night, the Cyclones rolled Virginia Tech, 42-3, in
Cassell Coliseum. The Cyclones won nine of 10 matches, seven of which resulted
in bonus points. Travis Paulson (165) etched his name in Cyclone wrestling
history by recording his 100th-career win and Jake Varner tallied his 12th pin
of the season. ISU improves to 12-3 in dual action.
"This was a great win
for us, especially at this time of year," ISU head coach Cael Sanderson said.
"Our guys are going out there and wrestling hard for seven minutes, just like we
want them to. We told them we wanted a lot of offense and they generated the
points."
Travis Paulson became the 33rd Cyclone among a distinguished
list of ISU wrestlers with 100-career victories with a 16-5 major decision
against Eric Decker. Paulson, rated third nationally, began the second period
with a reversal and proceeded to takedown the Hokie two times. The two-time
All-American scored two more takedowns in the final period and closed out the
bout with a three-point nearfall. With the win, Paulson has won six matches via
major decision and his record stands at 22-4.
"My match felt good,"
Paulson said. "I wanted to try and push the pace so that I can get in better
shape for the Big 12 meet. I went out on the mat confident. It is great to reach
the century mark and be mentioned with the guys that are already there. I still
think that we are improving every week. This was a good win. We want to carry
the momentum from last week into these duals and then to the Big 12
Championship."
"Having Travis reach 100-career wins is great and he is
down in the history books of Cyclone wrestling," Sanderson said. "He put an
exclamation point on the match with the closing takedown."
After a Hokie
forfeit at 125-pounds, Nick Gallick opened the dual at 133-pounds with an 18-2
technical fall over Sheridan Moran. Gallick used five takedowns and two
three-point nearfalls en route to victory. Gallick, a redshirt freshman from
Tucson, Ariz., unleashed a relentless attack during the third period. He scored
three takedowns and registered his second three-point nearfall of the bout in
the final period. Gallick is ranked 14th nationally and carries a 24-7 season
mark.
Redshirt freshman Jake
Varner built on a 3-1 third-period lead over Steve Borja, getting a three-point
nearfall in the match's final minute and then pinning Borja with 44 seconds
left.
"It was exciting," Varner said. "It
was a good match for the end of the year to prepare for the Big 12 meet and
nationals. Our team looked real good. We went out there and
dominated."
The Iowa State wrestling team will return to the mat March 3 at the Big
12 Championships in Columbia, Mo. The Cyclones will be vying for their first
conference title since 1987 and will be looking to push forward to the NCAA
Championships at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Detroit, Mich., March 15-17.
Six-and-a-half months in
advance of Gene Chizik’s debut as head coach, Iowa State football fans are
demonstrating their anticipation for the 2007 season with their actions at the
box office. Cyclone fans have purchased more than half (17,207 as of Friday) of
last year’s record-setting total of 30,728 season tickets.
Most impressive, are the
more than 1,200 new season ticket orders and the nearly 175 additional
season tickets ordered by existing accounts.
“The excitement for
Cyclone football continues to grow since the hiring of Coach Chizik,” Director
of Athletics Jamie Pollard said. “Our fans are energized by his arrival, the
introduction of his coaching staff and the recent announcement of our incoming
recruits.”
Fans, who renew or order
new season tickets by the department’s Feb. 28 deadline, guarantee their 2006
seat location (if desired) and also qualify for the “Cyclone Sweepstakes”
promotion. More than 30 prizes – including items like an autographed football
from Chizik, lunch with Pollard, travel with the team to a road game and a table
(eight seats) for the upcoming Cy’s House of Trivia evening – will be
distributed through a random drawing for the individuals who met the renewal
deadline.
The Cyclones moved up the
renewal / order timelines a few weeks this season after receiving countless
inquiries about tickets and donations after Chizik’s hiring in November. Iowa
State established a school record for season tickets sold last fall and believes
it can surpass that total in 2007.
“With Coach Chizik’s debut
season and a home schedule as attractive as this one – featuring Iowa, Texas,
Oklahoma, UNI, Colorado, Kansas State and Kent State – there is no question we
can surpass our all-time best sales total for the second year in a row,” Pollard
said. “I want to personally welcome the 1,200 new members of the Cyclone family
who bought season tickets. The loyalty of ISU fans continues to
impress.”
Fans may order and or
renew tickets online at cyclones.com or may call (515-294-1816) or stop by (1800
South Fourth Street) the Athletics Ticket Office. The department will once again
track its sales progress online.
Zaid
Abdul-Aziz, an All-American Iowa State basketball player under the name Don
Smith from 1966-1968, will return to the ISU campus Feb. 20-23 to promote his
new book, Darkness to Sunlight: The Life-Changing Journey of Zaid
Abdul-Aziz.
During his visit, Aziz will
participate in the following activities:
- Lecture and book signing, Feb. 20
at 7 p.m., Memorial Union Pioneer Room
- Book signing at the Iowa State
University Book Store, Feb. 21 from 10 a.m. to noon
- “Guest in the Alley” with Cyclone
Alley, ISU’s men’s and women’s basketball student spirit group, Feb. 21 at 7
p.m. as the ISU men play Colorado at Hilton Coliseum
- Book signing at the Iowa State
University Book Store, Feb. 22 from 10 a.m. to noon
- Book reading, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m.,
Ames Public Library
All lectures, book signings, and book
readings are free and open to the public.
Darkness to Sunlight chronicles Aziz’s life from his childhood in
Brooklyn to his days as an Iowa State student during the politically turbulent
1960s to the successes and challenges of his professional basketball career and
his conversion to the Islamic faith. These subjects will also be covered in the
Feb. 20 lecture.
A 1998 ISU Athletics Hall of Fame inductee,
Aziz currently ranks 10th on ISU's all-time men’s
basketball scoring charts with 1,672 career points. He holds the Cyclone record
for career scoring average at 22.3 points per game. Aziz currently resides in
Seattle, Wash.
Finally, one of the topic on our premium board among subscribers is what Gene
Chizik had to say in his first appearance at the Greater Des Moines Cyclone Club
Luncheon on Friday. Click here to find out what people thought of ISU's
new football coach:
http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?S=171#S=171&F=2548&T=128572