The last match Iowa senior Matt McDonough wrestled in was not pretty. And some may even say he got outwrestled before pulling out a late move to seal the win.
That though was enough to impress the Big Ten Conference as McDonough was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week Tuesday. It was the fourth honor McDonough’s brilliant career and the second time this season he has been named Wrestler of the Week. He was previously honored on Nov. 20.
McDonough is a two-time champion and one-time runner-up at 125 pounds. He has won 42 straight matches and the last one of that streak came Friday night against top-ranked Penn State.
In that match, McDonough, ranked No. 1 at 125, edged second-ranked Nico Megaludis, 2-1, in overtime and set the tone for what would end up being a 22-16 upset win for third-ranked Iowa over No. 1 Penn State.
McDonough is now 14-0 on the year and 8-0 against ranked opponents.
The Hawkeyes have earned Big Ten weekly honors four times this season, which is more than any other school. McDonough has two of those honors, while Derek St. John earned the recognition in December and Nick Moore was honored just this past week.
McDonough’s four Big Ten weekly honors is more than any other Hawkeye in school history. The conference began awarding the weekly honors back in 1998-99.
The Hawkeyes (16-1, 6-0) return to the mat this weekend to conclude the Big Ten regular season. Iowa faces Illinois in Champaign, Ill., on Friday at 7 p.m., and hosts Nebraska on Sunday at 2 p.m. The Illinois dual will be televised live by BTN, while the Nebraska dual will be televised live by Mediacom.
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