It's Here: Hawkeyes Ready For Night Against Nittany Lions

No. 1 vs. No. 2.

A sold-out Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

A chance to take down your biggest rival — not just in the conference, but nationally.

No, Iowa 125-pounder Spencer Lee said, it’s not business as usual for the Hawkeyes this week.

Friday’s 8:05 p.m. dual between the top-ranked Hawkeyes and No. 2 Penn State promises the most intense night of the season for Iowa.

“Every dual meet is the biggest thing in the world, and we treat every dual meet as the biggest thing in the world, because it’s the next thing,” Lee said. “It happens to be Penn State, which is the biggest dual meet of the year.”

The Hawkeyes insist that that facing the Nittany Lions hasn’t been circled on the calendar.

What has happened to this point is Iowa has won every dual meet — and add the Midlands Championships team title to that resumé — by dominating every opponent. The Hawkeyes have three shutouts, and the most matches they’ve lost in a dual is three against Princeton and Ohio State.

Four Hawkeyes expected to be in the lineup against the Nittany Lions — Lee (10-0), 165-pounder Alex Marinelli (14-0), 174-pounder Michael Kemerer (8-0) and 285-pounder Tony Cassioppi (13-0) are undefeated. Those four join 149-pounder Pat Lugo (13-1), 133-pounder Austin DeSanto (12-1) and 157-pounder Kaleb Young (11-2) in the top five in the national rankings at their respective classes.

So, asked if this could be a season-defining moment for the Hawkeyes (8-0 overall, 5-0 Big Ten), coach Tom Brands said, “I think if you put your eggs in that basket back in December, you would find yourself in trouble a little bit. We’ve had season-defining moments the entire year. We’re not just looking at 10 guys representing 10 weight classes. That’s another story.

"Now, this week? Yes. Keep a good thing going. Keep a good thing going in a tremendous atmosphere.”

“What’s next is the next big thing,” said Lee, who has won seven of his matches by technical fall. “What’s next would have been Penn State immediately when I walked off the mat (in last Friday's dual against Ohio State), right? There was no looking past anyone. You never look past anyone ever. No matter who they are or what their record is, blah, blah, blah, who cares, you go out there and wrestle as hard as you can for seven minutes or whatever, every single match, every time out.”

The focus has been there all season for the Hawkeyes. Now they can prepare for the biggest target of all to date.

Penn State (7-1, 4-0) has won the last four national titles, and eight of the last nine. The Nittany Lions have won three of the last four duals against the Hawkeyes.

“We know that they are a worthy opponent,” Brands said. “We have to make sure we don’t miss anything, because they are a worthy opponent. They set the standard. They set it high.

“The thing that matters is, it’s on the calendar. It’s time to go. The expectations are always high — go out there and deliver.”

“I haven’t beaten them since I’ve been in college,” Marinelli said. “We’ve got something to do.”

Two matches of the night will have the top two wrestlers at their respective classes — top-ranked Vincenzo Joseph against Marinelli, and top-ranked Mark Hall against Kemerer. Combined, the four wrestlers are 44-0 this season.

Marinelli is 2-0 against Joseph in his career.

“He’s another guy stepping out there, shaking my hand, grabbing me,” Marinelli said. “I’ve got to do something to him that he doesn’t want to happen.”

“Marinelli is a handful,” Brands said. “Marinelli gets up for big matches. Marinelli is a unique competitor that way.

“It’s not just Joseph. It’s the big matches. Marinelli, he delivers.”

Kemerer and Hall are meeting for the first time.

The dual marks the end of a three-week stretch in which the Hawkeyes were at home against ranked opponents. They defeated Nebraska, then Ohio State, both in front of crowds in excess of 10,000.

This will be something completely different. Carver-Hawkeye will be loud, and the Hawkeyes will be in front of a big crowd.

Brands is OK with that.

“Pressure is a good thing,” he said. “Every time out I want to perform my best. That’s pressure. When you look within at the challenges, how are you going to be remembered, how are you going to write your career story, you’re doggone right there’s pressure.”

Hawkeyes vs. Nittany Lions. No. 1 vs. No. 2.

Now you can think about it, Brands said.

“It’s highlighted, circled, asterisk,” he said. “And we’re here.”