No. 2 Iowa State Returns Home For No. 19 Illinois

AMES, Iowa - The second-ranked Iowa State wrestling team will be back in Hilton Coliseum for a Saturday-night dual with No. 19 Illinois. Action begins at 7 p.m., as the Cyclones look to improve on their 6-2 dual record. ISU notched its best NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals finish since 2000, earning second place with a 3-1 mark in the event Jan. 9-10.

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Dual Nine: Illinois
Sat., Jan. 16; 7 p.m. CST
Ames, Iowa ? Hilton Coliseum
Live Stats: Link
Online Video: Clone Zone

Cyclone Notebook
? Iowa State plays host to No. 20 Illinois Saturday in Hilton Coliseum. The meeting is the first dual meet between the teams since 1964.
? ISU posted its best National Duals finish since 2000, earning second place Jan. 10 in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Cyclones beat Bloomsburg, No. 8 Maryland and No. 3 Ohio State before falling to No. 1 Iowa, 19-12.
? Iowa State notched a team runner-up finish at the 47th Annual Midlands Championships in Evanston, Ill., Dec. 29-30. ISU's Jake Varner took the 197-pound crown.
? The Cyclones are 6-2 in the 2009-10 season with earlier dual victories coming Nov. 12 in Hilton Coliseum over South Dakota State (43-3), Dec. 19 at UNI, 42-0 and Jan. 3 at No. 6 Minnesota by a score of 19-16.
? ISU is currently ranked 2/2 in the Intermat and W.I.N. Magazine polls, respectively.
? Iowa State is 995-263-20 all-time in duals, dating back to 1916.
? The Cyclones are coming off a third-place showing at last year's NCAA Championships.
? Iowa State returns four grapplers who earned All-America honors in at the 2009 NCAA Championships: Nick Gallick (141), Jon Reader (165), Jake Varner (197) and David Zabriskie (HWT). ISU 133-pounder Nick Fanthorpe was an All-American in 2008.
? The Cyclones' five returning All-Americans sport a combined record of 58-9 thus far in their 2009-10 campaigns.

Iowa State vs. Illinois Series Notes
? The Cyclones trail the Fighting Illini 5-3 in the series, dating back to 1935. ISU and Illinois haven't met in dual competition since 1964.
? Iowa State was victorious in its last two meetings with Illinois (1963-64). ISU handled Illinois 23-3 and 28-4, respectively.

Scouting Illinois
? The Fighting Illini are 5-2 in dual competition thus far in the 2009-10 season. Illinois has dual victories over Davidson (47-0), West Virginia (23-15), Findlay (46-3), McKendree (29-16) and SIU-Edwardsville by a score of 48-0.
? UI dropped close duals to Missouri (16-18) and Pittsburgh (15-18) earlier this season.
? Illinois has three wrestlers ranked within the top-10, according to Intermat. Senior 184-pounder John Dergo is the second-ranked grappler in the country at his weight. The Illini's Ryan Prater is ranked 10th at 141 pounds and teammate Patrick Bond has garnered the same ranking at 197 pounds.
? Three ISU-UI matchups occured at the Midlands Championships Dec. 29-30 in Evanston, Ill. Cyclone grapplers were victorious in all three of the bouts. Cyclone Duke Burk edged Illinois's Jordan Blanton by decision, 9-8. ISU standout Jake Varner pinned the Illini's Patrick Bond in 2:37. Heavyweight David Zabriskie won for the Cyclones over Marty Smith by decision, 12-5.

No. 2 ISU Falls to Top-Ranked Iowa; Best National Duals Finish Since 2000
? No. 2 Iowa State fell to top-seeded Iowa 19-12 in the finals of the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals Jan. 12 in the UNI Dome. The team runner-up finish is the best performance by the Cyclones since winning the event in 2000. Iowa State finished third in last year's National Duals. ISU posted a 3-1 record in the tournament this weekend, and stands at 6-2 in duals this season.
? The Cyclones advanced to the finals with a 23-9 semifinal victory over No. 3 Ohio State. ISU's Jerome Ward took down 2008 NCAA champion Mike Pucillo by a score of 5-3 in the 184-pound matchup.
? Iowa State went 2-0 in the first day of the National Duals with wins over Bloomsburg (38-7) and Maryland (26-6).
? Four ISU grapplers were perfect over the two-day event. Cyclones Jake Varner and Ward recorded a 4-0 mark. Iowa State heavyweights David Zabriskie and Kyle Simonson each were 2-0 splitting time at the weight.

Three League Honors In A Row For Cyclones
? Iowa State's Jerome Ward has been named the Big 12 Wrestler of the Week, it was announced by the conference Monday. This is the first Conference honor of Ward's career. Ward went a pristine 4-0 at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals Jan. 9-10 in Cedar Falls, Iowa in the UNI Dome.
? Ward's spotless record is even more impressive when you consider the opponents he downed en route to the mark. The sophomore Iowa Stater turned away 2008 NCAA Champion Mike Pucillo of Ohio State by a score of 5-3. Ward, an NCAA qualifier at 184 pounds last season, needed an extra period of time to defeat sixth-ranked Hawkeye Phillip Keddy in sudden victory, 7-5.
? This is the third Big 12 weekly honor received by a Cyclone this season. Ward's teammates Jake Varner (197) and Andrew Long (125) have been honored this season.

Players Mentioned

Duke Burk

Duke Burk

Nick Fanthorpe

Nick Fanthorpe

Nick Gallick

Nick Gallick

Andrew Long

Kyle Simonson

Kyle Simonson

Jake Varner

Jake Varner

Jerome Ward

Jerome Ward

David Zabriskie

David Zabriskie

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