UNI completes sweep of the Dakotas

The University of Northern Iowa wrestling team walked away from the West Gym with two more Western Wrestling Conference dual meet victories last Sunday. First, the Panthers (7-5, 5-1 WWC) handed the visiting North Dakota State Bison (5-7, 2-1 WCC) their first WWC  loss of the year, 22-18.  Then the Panthers turned around and defeated South Dakota State (4-6, 0-3 WCC) by a final of 25-12.

UNI's biggest victory came in the hands of junior David Bonin (157 pounds), who was able to defeat NDSU's No. 11-ranked Steven Monk in a close 3-2 decision. The victory broke a team tie and was the spark necessary to send the Panthers to a team victory. With the win against NDSU, a win later in the day against SDSU and the win against Iowa State in last week's dual, Bonin was awarded the WWC Wrestler of the Week award. This is the second time in Bonin's career that he has won this distinguished honor.

Along with Bonin, No. 11-ranked Joe Colon (133 pounds), No. 6-ranked Ryan Loder (184 pounds), Taylor Kettman (197 pounds) and Blayne Beale (285 pounds) all finished Sunday with a pair of wins to lead the Panthers to their two team victories.  

Colon continued his strong season with a major decision and a technical fall against the conference foes. Not to be outdone by his teammate, sophomore Ryan Loder countered with a 16-1 and a 17-2 pair of technical falls.  

Kettman and Beale each were able to close out the Panther team victories, Kettman with two decisions and Beale with a decision and major decision against the visitors from the Dakotas.  

The Panthers have had some time to rest this week with no tournaments or duals scheduled. During their time off, they have been able to prepare for the 2012 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals, which will be held in Ames on Sunday. The Panthers have been matched up against No. 24-ranked Virginia Tech. The Panthers are ranked fifth in their region and Virginia Tech (7-4, 3-1 ACC) is ranked fourth. UNI will also compete against another opponent depending upon the outcome of their dual against the Hokies.

UNI head coach Doug Schwab is familiar with the Hokies' program, having served as an assistant coach for the program for two consecutive seasons, from 2005-2006.

The regular season is winding down, and this is one of the Panthers' final tune-ups before they host the NCAA West Regional (Sunday, March 4), which helps wrestlers qualify for the NCAA Championships (March 14-17) in St. Louis.