Pitsch scores upset victory as Sun Devils fall to No. 9 Iowa State, 32-3

TEMPE, Ariz. - For the second dual in a row, the Arizona State University wrestling team faced a Top 10 team from Iowa and came out on the short end of the scoring, this time falling to No. 9 Iowa State, 32-3, Sunday afternoon inside Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. The Sun Devils, who saw only senior Patrick Pitsch score an upset victory at 165 pounds to record team points, fell to 9-7 on the year while the Cyclones improved to 14-4.

"I can't think of any other team in the country that would wrestle both Iowa schools in the same weekend," Head Coach Thom Ortiz said. "We do that to prepare for the Pac-10 Championships and the NCAA Championships by putting our kids through a tough grind. If we wanted to win 17 duals, I could schedule 17 easy duals, but our goal is to get better, so we face some of the best. Again, I am proud of Pitsch and I know he is excited and back in the mode he wants to be in to compete at a high level."

After dropping their first six bouts of the dual and trailing the visitors, 21-0, Pitsch took to the mat and put on an aggressive performance, scoring a takedown in the first period for a 2-1 lead. His opponent, sixth-ranked Jon Reader, chose down in the second and reversed the Sun Devil captain before he escaped to tie the bout at three. In the third period, Pitsch chose down and escaped before holding on for a 4-3 win.

Two bouts featured Top 20 foes with the Cyclones getting the better of the Sun Devils in both. First up was a freshman battle at 125 pounds where No. 17 Tyler Clark scored a 9-2 decision over No. 14 Anthony Robles. The second battle came at 184 pounds where No. 15 Brent Chriswell gave undefeated and top-ranked Jake Varner all he could handle in a 5-2 decision.

The Sun Devils will close out their regular season next Sunday at 2 p.m. when they play host to Pac-10 rival Stanford. The dual will be the final home appearances for a trio of seniors in Pitsch, Rick Renzi (174) and Jason Truslon (197).

#9 Iowa State at Arizona State
February 10 • Wells Fargo Arena • Tempe, Ariz.
Dual Official: Scott Hall • Attendance: 996
285 - #5 David Zabriskie (IS) major Kenny Lester (AS), 12-3
125 - #17 Tyler Clark (IS) decision #14 Anthony Robles (AS), 9-2
133 - #7 Nick Fanthorpe (IS) decision Todd Schavrien (AS), 8-2
141 - #20 Nick Gallick (IS) decision Chris Drouin (AS), 3-0
149 - Mitch Mueller (IS) major Jerrad Trulson (AS), 20-7
157 - #6 Cyler Sanderson (IS) major Alex Pavlenko (AS), 20-7
165 - Patrick Pitsch (AS) decision #6 Jon Reader (IS), 4-3
174 - Aaron Scott (IS) decision Cory Nelson (AS), 4-0
184 - #1 Jake Varner (IS) decision #15 Brent Chriswell (AS), 5-2
197 - #20 David Bertolino (IS) tech fall Thor Moen (AS), 17-2
#9 Iowa State (14-4) defeats Arizona State (9-7), 32-3