CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – UNI wrestling will open its home dual season against a top-10 team.
No. 9 Missouri comes to the West Gym as the three-time Mid-American Conference champion.
"I think it's good to have a big dual early," said head coach Doug Schwab. "Why do you want to work into the season? You have to be ready from the first match on."
UNI has already faced No. 17 Rutgers and No. 19 Oregon State. The Panthers' win came over unranked Hofstra. Mizzou opened the season with a 36-7 win over Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.
It will be a top-15 matchup at 125 pounds.
LINEUPS – Missouri vs. UNI
125: No. 13 Barlow McGhee (sophomore, 5-0) vs. No. 7 Dylan Peters (junior, 5-0)
Peters is currently tied for sixth among all Panthers with the most career falls. One more pin would give him sole possession of the spot. Peters has started his fourth year undefeated (including his redshirt year). As a redshirt freshman, he won his first nine matches by fall. As a sophomore, he won his first 10 matches before falling to No. 5 Joey Dance of Virginia Tech. He won six of those matches by fall.
Peters returns as UNI's sole All-American after placing sixth at the NCAA championships in 2014. He won his third Finn Grinaker Cobber Open last weekend.
Missouri sophomore Barlow McGhee picked up the most impressive win of his career to-date when he took down last year's NCAA runner-up Zeke Moisey of West Virginia in the championship match of the 125-pound weight class at the Joe Parisi Open Saturday. The 14-4 major decision over Moisey capped a perfect 5-0 week for McGhee, four wins coming in the tournament and one in the season-opening dual victory over SIU Edwardsville on Friday.
SERIES – Peters leads the series, beating McGhee 2-0 by decision both times.
133: Zach Synon (junior, 8-1) vs. No. 16 Josh Alber (RS freshman, 6-0)
Alber cracked the top-20 rankings after knocking off No. 19 Anthony Giraldo of Rutgers in his third dual of the season. Giraldo gave Alber his only major decision loss of the 2014-15 season when Alber competed unattached at the Midland Championships. Alber won the Finn Grinaker Cobber Open las weekend.
Synon is the returning MAC champion at 133 pounds. His win last year earned him an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. He is currently the MAC leader.
SERIES – Synon beat Alber in their first match-up (3-2), but Alber was able to avenge the loss in overtime (7-4) at the 2014 UNI Open.
141: Matt Manley (junior, 9-2) or Le'Roy Barnes (senior, 6-2) vs. Jake Koethe (RS freshman, 10-3) or Trevor Jauch (senior, 6-1)
Jauch knocked off No. 15 Jamel Hudson of Hofstra by pinning him in 5 minutes, 35 seconds in his first dual of the season. He won the Cobber Open last weekend. He transferred from Missouri last season and competed unattached in one tournament while on the Panther roster.
Koethe took third at last weekend's Cobber Open and won the Buena Vista Open competing unattached as a true freshman.
Manley moved up a weight after qualifying for the NCAA tournament at 133 pounds when he was a redshirt freshman. He was Mizzou's starter in the 2014-15 season at 133 pounds before Synon took over.
Barnes won the NJCAA tournament at 133 pounds as a sophomore. After transferring to Missouri, he took a medical redshirt year. He started six duals for Mizzou at 141 pounds last season, winning all of them. He is 2-0 in the career MAC duals.
149: No. 6 Lavion Mayes (junior, 5-0) vs. Jarrett Jensen (senior, 0-0) or Gunnar Wolfensperger (junior, 4-2)
Jensen was UNI's starter at 157 pounds last year. He finished sixth at the MAC Championships. He went on a five-match win streak that included decisions over No. 29 Sparty Chino of Ohio and No. 4 Ian Miller of Kent State.
Wolfensperger returns as UNI's starter at 149 pounds. He won the Finn Grinaker Cobber Open last weekend and already has two falls and tech fall on the season.
Mayes is a two-time NCAA qualifier at 141 pounds. He earned his first All-American title by placing seventh at 141 pounds last season. He went on a 21-match win streak to start last season and placed third at the MAC Championships. He wrestled two duals at 149 pounds last year.
157: Matt Lemanowicz (junior, 4-3) vs. Bryce Steiert (freshman, 4-2)
Steiert is the first freshman to start for the Panthers since Joey Lazor started in 2010. He won his first open tournament last weekend at the Cobber Open. He finished his prep career ranked third in the nation.
Lemanowicz had a career high of 19 wins last season. He wrestled in one dual last year for Mizzou and lost his only dual so far this season.
165: Daniel Lewis (RS freshman, 3-1) vs. Taylor Berger (senior, 1-2) or No. 3 Cooper Moore (junior, 0-0)
Moore is a two-time NCAA qualifier and the second Panther to win two consecutive MAC titles. He has not competed yet this season.
Berger has been UNI's starter at 165 in the first three duals of the year. Both of his losses came to top-15 opponents (No. 12 Seth Thomas of Oregon State and No. 9 Anthony Perrotti of Rutgers).
Lewis notched 15 falls last year competing unattached for Mizzou. He placed in four of the five tournaments he competed in for the Tigers. He won his first dual of the season.
SERIES – Both Panthers have lost to Lewis. Lewis pinned Moore in the UCM Open, the first tournament of the season last year. Berger was also pinned a week later at the Joe Parisi Open.
174: No. 6 Blaize Butler (senior, 0-0) or Tim Miklus (RS freshman, 6-5) vs. Drew Foster (RS freshman, 3-3) or Kyle Lux (senior, 4-0)
Foster lost his first two duals for the Panthers and was second at the Cobber Open to Lux. Lux won his first dual for UNI and pinned Foster at the Cobber Open. Lux has wrestled at three weight classes for UNI (165, 174 and 184 pounds).
Butler transferred from Virginia to complete his collegiate career at Mizzou. He beat nine NCAA qualifiers as a sophomore and was second at the ACC Tournament last year.
As a native of Altoona, Iowa, Miklus returns to compete in his home state. He placed in four of six tournaments he competed in unattached.
SERIES – Foster beat Miklus (6-4) at the Joe Parisi Open in 2014.
184: No. 9 Willie Miklus (sophomore, 1-0) vs. Cody Caldwell (senior, 5-3)
Miklus earned the MAC's Freshman of the Year award in 2015. The redshirt finished seventh at the NCAA tournament. He had 18 starts at 184 pounds and wrestled three duals at 197 pounds. He was 6-0 in MAC duals.
Caldwell qualified for the NCAA tournament at 174 pounds as a sophomore. He took third at the Cobber Open last weekend.
SERIES – Miklus pinned Caldwell at last year's dual in Missouri.
197: No. 2 J'den Cox (junior, 6-0) vs. Jared Bartel (junior, 3-2)
J'den Cox is a two-time NCAA All-American. He won nationals as a true freshman and was fifth last year as a sophomore.
Bartel took sixth at the MAC Championships last year and won the UCM Open last season.
HWT: James Romero (freshman, 11-5) vs. No. 6 Blaize Cabell (senior, 4-1)
Cabell is a two-time NCAA qualifier. He was second at the MAC Championships last year and third as a sophomore. Cabell has notched several career bonus points with 12 major decisions, four tech falls and six falls.
Romero is a two-time state champion as a prep in New Mexico. He finished his high school career with a 114-17 record.
