The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

The independent newspaper of the University of Iowa community since 1868

The Daily Iowan

Marinelli upset highlights Session 1 at Big Tens

Iowa has four wrestlers in the semifinals at the Big Ten Championships, but Alex Marinelli isn’t one of them.
Iowas+165-pound+Alex+Marinelli+battles+Michigans+Logan+Massa+during+Big+Ten+Wrestling+Championships+Day+1+at+the+Breslin+Student+Events+Center+in+East+Lansing%2C+MI+on+Saturday%2C+Mar.+3%2C+2018.+Marinelli+lost+to+Massa+in+overtime.+%28Ben+Allan+Smith%2FThe+Daily+Iowan%29
The Daily Iowan; Photo by Ben Al
Iowa’s 165-pound Alex Marinelli battles Michigan’s Logan Massa during Big Ten Wrestling Championships Day 1 at the Breslin Student Events Center in East Lansing, MI on Saturday, Mar. 3, 2018. Marinelli lost to Massa in overtime. (Ben Allan Smith/The Daily Iowan)

EAST LANSING, Michigan — Things could have been better for Iowa wrestling in the first session at the Big Ten Championships in East Lansing.

After the first two rounds of actions, just four Hawkeyes made their ways into the semifinals. Hawkeye 125-pounder Spencer Lee, 149-pounder Brandon Sorensen, 157-pounder Michael Kemerer, and heavyweight Sam Stoll all made the cut, while their teammates have fallen into the consolation bracket.

“There’s a lot of wrestling left, and if you’re going to grade us right now, then it wasn’t ideal,” Iowa head coach Tom Brands said. “Right now, we’ve got to improve, we’ve got to come back strong.”

There’s one notable absence from that list: Alex Marinelli at 165 pounds.

Entering the tournament with a 14-0 record, the second-seeded Marinelli suffered his first loss at the hands of No. 7 seed Logan Massa of Michigan, 8-6, in a sudden-victory period.

Despite the loss, his comeback was furious. Heading into the third period, he faced a 3-1 deficit, and after another takedown, came back with a reversal and a takedown with seven seconds left in the period. The takedown needed a review, but was upheld and sent the match into Iowa’s third sudden-victory period of the session.

That’s when Massa sealed his fate, scoring another takedown to secure the upset.

“It’s one of those things where when you’re a competitor and things don’t go your way, you got to get up and you got to do the right thing, and the right thing is to get to the next step,” Brands said. “The next step is tonight. And it’s really before then, it’s how your mind is going forward.”

Brands stuck with the competitive theme when talking about Marinelli, saying he was going to be fine and they would get him ready to go.

Marinelli doesn’t have a lot of time to absorb the loss. The Miamisburg, Ohio, native, as will his teammates, will be back in action tonight.

It’s a big night for many, such as Lee, who will face former national champion Nathan Tomasello of Ohio State in the semifinals, and Kemerer, who is tasked with Bo Jordan.

But it’s also an important night for Marinelli. After the loss, the 165-pounder isn’t guaranteed a spot in the NCAA Tournament. However, 10 Big Ten wrestlers from the 165 weight class will receive automatic bids, tied with 125 for the most in any class.

Brands stressed the importance of how deep the bracket is at 165. Featuring grapplers such as Marinelli, Isaiah Martinez of Illinois and Vincenzo Joseph of Penn State, it will be a fight to the finish.

“We’ve got to be ready to go for tonight,” Brands said. “It’s not like we go tomorrow. We got to go to the hotel, we got to get ready to go, and we got to come back tonight in the same day. We’ve got to right the wrong.”

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About the Contributor
Pete Ruden, Pregame Editor
Email: [email protected] Twitter: @PeteyRuden Pete Ruden is the Pregame Editor at The Daily Iowan, where he has worked since the beginning of his college career. He has covered a variety of sports at the DI, including football, men's basketball, baseball, wrestling, and men's tennis. Currently a senior, he served as a sports reporter his freshman year, before becoming the Assistant Sports Editor and then Sports Editor his junior year.