The No. 3-ranked and seeded OU wrestling team was sent packing back to Norman sooner than anticipated after losing two matches Saturday at the 2006 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
OU fell to fifth-seeded Iowa, 21-15, after losing to sixth-seeded Central Michigan, 19-15, earlier in the day. The Sooners started off the Duals with a 19-15 victory over Cornell.
"Obviously we're disappointed with our overall showing, but I was pleased with the way our guys battled back," head coach Jack Spates said in a press release.
Though the results were not what the Sooners were expecting, there were a few bright spots. Seniors Teyon Ware and Jake Hager as well as junior Sam Hazewinkel all went undefeated for the weekend. Ware was the only Sooner able to register a fall on the day when he pinned Cornell's Matt Easter.
The problem for OU is at the middle weight divisions. In the 12 matches between 157 pounds and 184 pounds, the Sooners only won two while losing 10.In the contests against Iowa and Central Michigan, OU entered the final two matches with only nine points. The Sooners were down 21-9 against Iowa and 19-9 against Central Michigan. Junior 197-pounder Joel Flaggert and Hager won the last two matches in both contests, but the deficit was too much to overcome.
Against Iowa, OU was missing four of its starters due to injury and could not pull out the victory to move on to the Sunday matches.
"We're disappointed, but the key thing is what we do with it," Spates said. "We have to use this to our advantage. We need to get healthy and come back and battle hard next weekend."
The Duals featured 15 of the top 25 teams in the nation, including four other Big 12 schools to go along with the Sooners. Minnesota upset top-ranked Oklahoma State, 21-14, to win the championship Sunday afternoon.The Sooners couldn't carry over the momentum from the weekend before when they dominated at the Lone Star Duals in Grand Prairie, Texas. In three matches, OU outscored their opponents 127-16, including a 47-0 thrashing of Clarion University. Hager was named Big 12 wrestler of the week for his efforts at the Duals.
OU will look to get back on winning track when they host Fresno State.
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