UNI PANTHERS (3-5-1)
Wt. Name Year Hometown 07-08 Record
125 Caleb Flores R-Fr. Rosemead, Calif. 3-12
133 Josh Baldridge Jr. Haysville, Kan. 3-3
141 C.J. Ettelson Sr. Hudson, Iowa 8-8
149 Charlie Ettelson So. Hudson, Iowa 11-8
Nick Pickerell R-Fr. Albia, Iowa 15-6
157 Seth Pugh R-Fr. Columbus Junction, Iowa 11-7
Tyson Reiner So. Mitchell, S.D. 1-5
165 Moza Fay Jr. Anamosa, Iowa 15-6
174 Alex Dolly Sr. Mishawaka, Ind. 11-8
184 Danny Dunning Sr. Waterloo, Iowa 8-5
Andy O'Loughlin R-Fr. Independence, Iowa 8-12
197 Andrew Anderson Jr. Sioux City, Iowa 13-9
285 Dustin Bauman R-Fr. Stratford, Wis. 9-10

NIU Huskies (8-5, 2-1 MAC)
Wt. Name Year Hometown 07-08 Record

125 TJ Wunnicke Fr. Dodgeville, Wis. 13-8

133 Pat Castillo RS-Sr. Western Springs, Ill. 19-5

141 Tristen DeShazer RS-Fr. Wichita, Kan. 7-7

or Pat McLemore RS-Fr. Hinckley, Ohio 7-3

149 Kalen Knull RS-Sr. Urbana, Ohio 11-10

157 Bryan O'Connor Fr. Carol  Stream, Ill. 7-8

165 Jesse Linczmaier Jr. Fox Lake, Ill. 14-6

174 Duke Burk RS-So. Peoria, Ill. 18-3

184 Brad Dieckhaus Fr. St. Charles, Mo. 5-6

197 Jake Smith RS-Fr. Bennington, Neb. 6-10

or Scott Penny Fr. Granite City, Ill. 0-0

285 Dave Benner Sr. Fowler, Ind. 13-10

UNI, NIU LOOK TO SETTLE TWO-YEAR TIE
UNI and Northern Illinois will look to settle a two-year battle after each of the past meetings ended in ties. UNI and NIU tied 17-17 last season in Cedar Falls, and then were knotted at 16-16 in 2006 in DeKalb.

PANTHERS OWN STRONG HISTORY VS. HUSKIES
The Panthers own a 20-1-5 all-time record in dual matches against the Huskies. NIU's only win in the series came in the 1997-98 season.

NIU HEAD COACH TO FACE HIS FORMER SCHOOL
As a collegiate student-athlete, NIU head coach Dave Grant transferred to the University of Northern Iowa from the University of Kentucky after the Wildcats dropped their wrestling program.

He gained All-America status for the Panthers in 1984 with an impressive 32-11-1 record and an eighth-place showing at the NCAA Championships as a 158-pound competitor. He followed that successful campaign with a 20-4-1 mark at 167 pounds as a senior and completed his collegiate career with an 86-37-4 (.693) ledger.

UNI ON RADIO/INTERNET
UNI Panther wrestling fans can follow Friday's dual between the Panthers and Huskies via the radio and internet. Fans in the Cedar Valley can listen in on 99.3-FM (KWAY) and fans outside the local area can tune in via UNI's website and listen through UNI Panthers All-Access for a nominal fee. Benjamin Hupke (play-by-play) and Benji Dolly (analyst) will have the call.

MOZA PINS TO WIN
Junior 165-pounder Moza Fay (Anamosa, Iowa) leads the squad this season with 15 total wins and five falls.

Fay is ranked as high at No. 6 at 165 pounds by RevWrestling.com.

Fay reached the Round of 12 at last year's NCAA Championship and will be looking to make his second trip to nationals this season.

He has a career mark of 80-24 entering Friday's match with Northern Illinois.

C.J. CLOSES IN ON TOP 20 VICTORY CHART
C.J. Ettelson will take his 88 career wins into this Friday's dual with Northern Illinois. Ettelson needs four more wins to rank in the top 20 at UNI when it comes to individual victories.

Efonda Sproles (1979-82) ranks No. 20 on the Panthers' all-time victory list with 92. Kirk Myers (1978-82) and Rich Powers (1988-92) are tied at the top of the list with 134 wins apiece.

Ettelson moved to 88-45 overall in his career and 25-19 in duals.

UNI IN NATIONAL POLLS
The Panther wrestling team remained ranked No. 25 in the USA Today/InterMat/NWCA national rankings despite a loss to No. 3-ranked Oklahoma State.

UNI FALLS TO #3 OKLAHOMA STATE
The No. 3-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys scored a 33-0 dual win over the University of Northern Iowa Panthers in wrestling action on Jan. 25 at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

"I thought our guys fought extremely well," UNI head coach Brad Penrith said. "The funny thing about it, we gave takedowns away at 125, 174, 184 and 197 when we were in deep."

The Cowboys won all 10 matches but only scored bonus points at 133 pounds on a fall from No. 1-ranked Coleman Scott.

UNI's Tyson Reiner (Mitchell, S.D.) showed some fight at 157 pounds as he notched a pair of third period takedowns to push OSU's Newly McSpadden to the buzzer. But Reiner was unable to wipe out McSpadden's riding time from the first period and suffered a 6-5 loss. McSpadden's only takedown of the match came on an offensive shot from Reiner.

"Reiner had him on the ropes and he was chasing him," Penrith said. "Tyson performed really well tonight."

The spotlight match of the night came at 165 pounds with No. 5-ranked Jake Dieffenbach taking on UNI's No. 11-ranked Moza Fay. For the second straight match, the Panthers were the aggressor but came up on the short end of the final score. Dieffenbach was able to hang on for a 5-3 victory over Fay. It marked the first time in four dual matches against Oklahoma State that Fay had lost to the Cowboys.

SIXTEEN UNI NATIONAL CHAMPIONS RETURN FOR BIG EVENT
Sixteen wrestlers who won national titles while wrestling for the University of Northern Iowa were the stars of a very special celebration at the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum (DGIWIM) on Dec. 16

The event, called the UNI Night of Wrestling Champions, was held Dec. 16 following the UNI-Iowa State wrestling meet at the McLeod Center. All 16 NCAA champions were recognized at dual's intermission.

"This is a great way to honor the greatest athletic tradition in Northern Iowa history," said Kyle Klingman, associate director of the wrestling museum. "As far as we know, nothing like this has ever been done to honor past UNI wrestling champions. Since the museum is all about history we felt this was a great way to recognize some of the sport's greatest champions."

The event was co-sponsored by the UNI Panther Wrestling Booster Club and DGIWIM.

"I am really excited and honored that we are able to have this many champions come back and participate in our champions night," said Ty Kimble, president of the UNI Wrestling Booster Club. "I've had the fortune of seeing all these national champions since 1966 and it was exciting to see the majority of these guys who were national champions for UNI. It was a fantastic night for fans, wrestlers, and obviously myself."

The celebration recognized athletes who participated at Iowa State Teachers College, State College of Iowa, and the University of Northern Iowa. The school was known as ISTC from 1909 through 1961, was changed to SCI in 1961 and finally to UNI in 1967.

In the long history of the school there have been 13 Division I national champions who have won 21 titles, and 14 Division II national champions who have won 22 titles. Twenty-two former NCAA champions are still living and 16 attended both the meet and the reunion.

"What a unique and great opportunity to get these great champions back all at once," UNI head wrestling coach Brad Penrith said. "These are the men who shaped and formed our institution and our wrestling program. It's something that's long overdue and with the help of the Dan Gable Wrestling Museum and their staff's continued efforts to preserve the history of wrestling, these great champions will not be forgotten."

Gerry Leeman won the national title in 1946 and is the senior member of the group. A longtime coach at Lehigh University, he currently resides in Cedar Falls.

"I think what the museum is doing is extremely important," said Leeman. "This is great publicity for the program. I think it's noteworthy that this new facility is being used to honor past champions and to improve local wrestling."

The Division I national champions who attended were Leeman, Bill Nelson (titles in 1947, 1948, and 1949), Bill Smith (1949 and 1950), Keith Young (1949, 1950, and 1951), Gene Lybbert (1952), Jim Harmon (1953) and Tony Davis (2000).

The Division II national champions who attended were Jim Sanford (1963), Don Parker (1966 and 1967), Clint Young (1971), Jim Miller (1974 and 1975), Ken Snyder (1974 and 1975), Randy Omvig (1975), Gary Bentrim (1976, 1977, and 1978), Keith Poolman (1978), and Ken Gallagher (1980).

Julie McCready represented her late husband Mike at the event. Mike McCready was a Division II NCAA champion in 1972 who won a total of 15 national titles in freestyle, Greco-Roman, and college.

PLEDGES FOR PINS
The 2007-08 wrestling season is well underway, but it's still not too late to participate in our second "Pledges for Pins" drive.

Let's look at what is being accomplished with pledges for last year's team total of 48 pins that brought in nearly $25,000.

A complete makeover of both sides of the West gym's north hallway, including action shots of all UNI national champions. (View the plans at www.thesignpeople.net; click on "Artwork," then enter "wrestling" as the "magic word.")

Coach Brad Penrith's former office now serves as a wrestlers' study and video room and contains a desk for assistant Tolly Thompson. The room's new doors now open into the assistant coaches' office.

A former athletic trainer's room was updated for the first time in about 30 years to become Brad's office.

Exposed plumbing was covered in a tiny custodial office now used for wrestling supplies.

Why is a Pledges for Pins drive necessary? Panther wrestlers compete in the first-rate McLeod center but sorely lack updated facilities in the West gym, which remains their home. This site pales in comparison to that of nearly every other Division I university, a definite recruiting disadvantage for the Panthers.

In recent years, rising costs and lower state funds have combined to severely limit help from the university itself, so those of us who care about returning the UNI program to its stature as one of the top in the nation are lending our support.

Any pledge amount, from $1 up, is welcome. Donors may specify a maximum number of pins for their contribution; for example, $20 for a maximum 50 pins ($1,000). Outright donations are also welcome, but PLEASE specify to the UNI Foundation that these are for the Pledges for Pins project. Contributors will be sent a statement at the end of the season, and all contributions are tax-deductible.

Pledges and donations should be sent to Pledges for Pins, UNI Foundation Accounting, 1221 W. 23rd St, Cedar Falls, IA 50614 -0239.

Last year, Panther wrestlers built an elementary school playground, moved a hospital daycare center's playground equipment, donated money for Christmas gifts for a classroom of low-income children (and sang them carols), read to children at area schools, and served as Safe Date escorts during Homecoming Week. And they did all this while posting the fifth-highest GPA in the nation, behind Duke, Stanford, Brown and Princeton! Now we can show them our spirit and concern.

NCAA DIVISION I WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS IN ST. LOUIS
The 78th Annual NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships take place March 20-22, 2008, at Scottrade Center in St. Louis.

The Gateway City will once again host the tournament for two years as it heads back to the Arch in March.

For tickets to the 2008 championships, visit Ticketmaster.com or charge by phone at 314/ 421-1888 or 866/ 646-8849 (toll free).

For more information about the 2008 Wrestling Championships visit www.NCAAsports.com or www.stlsports.org/wrestling.

Good seats are still available for the 2008 NCAA Wrestling Championships. Fans can order tickets by calling 866/ 646-8849 or logging on to Ticketmaster.com. Tickets start as low as $60.

Groups of fifteen or more can call 314/ 206-7388 for great ticket discounts and special packages.

THE Brad Penrith SHOW
The Brad Penrith Show will be broadcast each Wednesday on KWAY (99.3-FM) from 7 p.m. - 8 p.m. Benjamin Hupke will serve as the show's host.

BOOSTER CLUB MEETINGS
The UNI wrestling Booster Club meetings are held the first Wednesday of every month at Biemann's Chuck Wagon on 2627 Center Street in North Cedar Falls (old 218).

WEEKLY PRESS LUNCHEONS
The UNI head coach Brad Penrith or a member of his coaching staff will be available at the weekly Press Luncheons held each Monday beginning at 12 noon in the back room of Pepper's Grill and Sports Pub located at 620 East 18th Street in Cedar Falls.