The 2020-2021 Iowa Hawkeye wrestling team capped a near perfect season, showing a level of dominance rarely shown in college wrestling. The 2021-2022 team is equally as impressive, and returns 10 former All-Americans. It should come as no surprise to anyone that the Hawkeyes are again the number 1 ranked team in the nation! In this article we will dive into the 5 reasons Iowa is favored to repeat as National Champions. So without further ado, lets get into it.
1. Bonus Points: Very few teams can match the bonus rate Iowa puts out. Spencer Lee, Austin DeSanto, Jaydin Eierman, Alex Marinelli, Michael Kemerer, and Tony Cassioppi are all known to rack up bonus points in bunches. In a tournament format this is especially important. With the team race expected to be very close this year, bonus points will likely make the difference.
2. Depth: As Iowa proved last season, its not the number of individual champions that make up a team championship, it’s the depth of the team that wins the title. Iowa will likely qualify all 10 weight classes, and I fully expect all 10 to score points, and its not out of the realm of possibility for all 10 to wind up on the podium. This would be a first for Iowa wrestling.
3. Seniors: Iowa has strong senior leadership on this year’s team, and these seniors are some of the best pound for pound in the nation. But, what sets these seniors apart from some of the others, is unmet goals. These guys are using their extra year of eligibility for one reason, to win national titles. Both team and individual titles are on the line, and the Hawkeyes plan on bringing home both. Spencer Lee, Austin DeSanto, Jaydin Eierman, Alex Marinelli, and Michael Kemerer are all back and are all in the hunt for a national title.
4. Spencer Lee: Mr. Lee is back and is aiming to make history, by becoming the first 4x NCAA champion in school history. Spencer winning another title will generate huge points for Iowa, as well as spark a surge within the program and get everyone else fired up.
5. Superior Coaching: Iowa is led by one of the best coaches in the country. Coach Tom Brands has been named NWCA coach of the year 3x and has led the Hawks to 6 Big 10 team titles, and 4 NCAA team titles. Bottom line, Coach Brands knows how to get his wrestlers prepared, and there is no one I would rather have leading the Hawkeyes into battle.