Assad Enjoys His Home Debut As Hawkeyes Top Huskers

Tom Brands said taking the redshirt off freshman 184-pounder Abe Assad was “the right decision.”

“We’re rolling with our guy, the Iowa wrestling coach said after Saturday’s 26-6 win over Nebraska at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. "When I say I knew it was the right decision, I was kind of being arrogant there.”

It’s not arrogant if you’re right.

Assad, ranked 10th nationally, won his first home match of the year, a 6-4 decision over fifth-ranked Taylor Venz, but it wasn't easy on a night when a lot of things weren't easy for the top-ranked Hawkeyes.

Assad broke a 3-3 tie with an escape to start the third period, then scored a takedown with 46 seconds left.

Assad had trailed 2-0 and 3-1 in the match, but tied it with a takedown with 59 seconds left in the second period.

“Digs himself out of a hole, first time here at Carver-Hawkeye Arena,” Brands said. “No big deal. Just go wrestle. That’s what he did.”

But Brands knew it would be a big deal for Assad to wrestle in the large arena with more than 12,000 fans in attendance. Which is why, after weigh-ins, Brands walked Assad to the arena floor to get a first look.

“I think, at first, it’s hard to wrap your head around how big it is,” Assad said. “It was nice to see it, how big the mat is, how it’s going to feel.”

Brands told Assad to put the hood on his sweatshirt up to be incognito to the early-arriving fans. It didn’t work.

“Took a couple of pictures,” Brands said. “Household name already, huh.”

The decision to put Assad into competition came as the Hawkeyes headed to road dual meets against Indiana and Purdue last weekend. Assad was put into a spot in the lineup that Cash Wilcke and Nelson Brands have wrestled at this season.

“He didn’t give me bullet-point reasons on why I was wrestling and Cash and Nelson weren’t,” Assad said of the conversation with Tom Brands. “He thought maybe I was the better option long-term. He liked my style, I think.”

Assad won both of his matches as a Hawkeye last weekend by decision. He had wrestled unattached in four tournaments this season — the Grand View Open, the Lindenwood Open, the Jim Koch Open and the Midlands Championships. With Saturday’s victory, he’s 18-3 this season.

“You see the wrestling that he’s doing out there, and it’s good wrestling,” Brands said. “You’re seeing things he’s doing in the room showing up in his wrestling.

“It was the right decision because he’s the better wrestler right now. He gives us the better chance at 184.”

The Hawkeyes (7-0 overall, 4-0 Big Ten) won eight of the 10 matches against the seventh-ranked Huskers (5-2, 0-2), but outside of Spencer Lee’s technical fall to open the night at 125, there were no other bonus points.

“Three to one, 7-4, 6-4, 5-2,” Brands said, going through some of the final scores. “We’ve got to get better. Too many close matches.”

Michael Kemerer needed a takedown with 17 seconds left to defeat Mikey Labriola, 3-1, at 174. Kaleb Young got a takedown with 34 seconds left for a 6-4 win over Peyton Robb at 157.

It was the lowest point total in a dual this season for the Hawkeyes.

“I don’t think these guys are, like, the No. 1 team in America and they’ve crowned themselves as champions,” Brands said. “I don’t think that’s the case. I don’t think they think they’re all that. I think we got outstrategized. We got outcoached.”

Brands was asked if he was disappointed in the win.

“I’m not disappointed,” he said. “This is January 18. We’re going to March 20th, or 21st, or whatever the date is. We’re building. We’re working.”

Lee, ranked No. 1 nationally at 125, continued his dominance by completing the technical fall over Alex Thomsen with four seconds left in the first period. Lee, now 9-0, has wrestled into the second period in only four matches this season. He has won six times by technical fall.

Lee had a takedown at the 1:26 mark of the first period, then record four four-point near-falls.

“It’s just a scoring-points mindset,” Lee said. “People joke about that now, I don’t care. It’s just all about scoring points, no matter what’s on the clock.

“Score hard, score fast, score a lot.”

Lee advised Assad on what it would be like in his first home match.

“I just told him Carver is a hard place to wrestle,” Lee said. “You’ve got to be relaxed and ready to go. It’s hard for everyone. It’s cold, it’s loud. Nerves. Everything.”

Assad handled it just fine. He took his time after the match ended, soaking in the atmosphere of victory.

“I kind of cherished it,” he said. “Hopefully you get a lot of those moments, right?”