The No. 22 ASU wrestling team went into the vaunted state of Iowa over the weekend and almost came away with a win over one of the nation's top teams.
On Sunday afternoon, the Sun Devils were in a winner-take-all position against No. 3 Iowa State with just one weight class left. Down 18-16, a win by freshman Rick Renzi in the 174-pound weight class would have given ASU the win. However, the Cyclones' Nick Passolano held tough, defeating Renzi 9-1 in a majority decision as Iowa State escaped with a 22-16 victory.
The loss left the team with an 0-2 record on the weekend trip, as ASU fell to No. 9 Iowa, 29-10 on Saturday in the season opener.
Against Iowa State, the Sun Devils actually came away with the same amount of victories (five) as the Cyclones in the individual bouts, but two wins by fall gave ISU the edge.
In the day's first match, junior C.B. Dollaway dropped a 9-4 decision to Kurt Backes in the 184-pound weight class to give Iowa State a 3-0 advantage. Junior Ryan Bader knotted the score at three by downing Trevor Smith, 6-3 in the 197-pound division.
Back-to-back wins by juniors Cain Velasquez and Jeremy Mendoza actually gave the Sun Devils a 9-3 advantage with six matches left, but the lead was short-lived.
Freshmen Steve Neff and Chris Frieje were each pinned in the 133- and 141-pound divisions to turn a six-point lead into a 15-9 deficit.
Senior Patrick Williams moved the Sun Devils to within three points with a 5-2 victory over Aron Scott in the 149-pound division, but sophomore Brian Stith's loss at 157 pushed the Iowa State lead back up to six at 18-12.
Needing two victories in the last two bouts to steal the win, freshman Patrick Pitsch answered with a 14-3 major decision over Mike Somsky at 165 for his first career collegiate victory.
The score was cut to 18-16 before Renzi's loss ended hopes of a comeback.
Against the Hawkeyes on Saturday, ASU again jumped out to an early lead but was unable to come away with the win.
A pin by Bader of Dane Pape evened the score at 6-6, and a 14-0 major decision by Mendoza two bouts later gave the Sun Devils a 10-9 edge.
However, Iowa then took control, winning the final five duals to hand ASU the loss.
It was the second consecutive year the Hawkeyes beat the Sun Devils in the season opener. Last year, Iowa came away with a 24-17 win in Tempe.
The wrestlers will continue the season when they travel to the Cliff Keen/Las Vegas Invitational on Friday and Saturday. ASU finished in fifth place in the prestigious tournament last season.
Reach the reporter at kyle.odegard@asu.edu.
