TULSA, Okla. – David Carr fell in the national finals, 8-2, to Missouri’s Keegan O’Toole Saturday night inside the BOK Center. It is Carr’s lone loss of the season, and only the third of his career, as he finishes the year with a 27-1 record.

The result flipped two regular season matches which Carr won.

Carr never found his offense in the match, rather, it was O’Toole who secured takedowns in the first and third periods. O’Toole also had an escape and two near fall points, as well as a riding time point, in the final period.

Carr is Iowa State’s first two-time NCAA finalist since Jake Varner did it four times from 2007-10.

Marcus Coleman placed fifth at the 2023 NCAA Championships Saturday morning inside the BOK Center. Coleman ends his career for the Cyclones with a 99-42 record and as a two-time All-American.

The Ames native fell, 5-2, to the No. 2 seed Trent Hidlay of NC State in the consolation semifinals. After a scoreless first period, Coleman earned a reversal on the edge of the mat to start the second. Hidlay escaped and took a 3-2 lead with a takedown and ride out to end the period. Coleman was penalized for a stalling point in the third and, after a Hidlay escape, couldn’t muster a takedown to get back into the match.

Coleman the received a medical forfeit from Trey Munoz in the fifth-place match.

Iowa State finished the tournament in 11^th place with 47.0 team points. It is ISU’s best placement since 2013 and the Cyclones’ highest team score in the tournament since 2010.

TULSA, Okla. – University of Iowa wrestler Real Woods finished as the NCAA runner-up at 141 pounds on Saturday night at the 2023 NCAA Championships in the BOK Center.

Woods dropped a 6-4 decision to second-seeded Andrew Alirez of Northern Colorado in the finals.  After a scoreless first period, Woods grabbed a 2-0 lead with near fall points, but Alirez countered with a reversal and four-point near fall (that was made four points from two by instant replay) to take a 6-2 lead.

“I wanted it so bad that I put myself in an exposed position and it bit me in the butt,” said Woods.

Woods got a quick escape with 20 seconds left in the period and at the 1:22 mark of the third to close the gap to 6-4, but he couldn’t secure the tying takedown.

The finals appearance was the first of Woods’ career and he finished the tournament a three-time All-American.  He was a first-team All-American in 2020 and finished sixth in 2022.  He finished the 2022-23 season with a 20-1 record.

“I am always proud of myself, I never let that fly,” said Woods. “I am never disappointed in myself.  Interestingly enough, after this outcome, I am not disappointed in myself. I am simply angry. It hurts, I am not disappointed in myself, I am proud of myself. I am ready to move forward.

“That is what life is about and that’s what is so beautiful about this sport. This is the kind of stuff you’re going to deal with in life, through any hardship, you’re going to deal with this pain and the fact you need to move forward and move on and continue to grow.  That’s just life.”

Woods was one of six Hawkeyes to reach the medal stand. He advanced to the title bout by outscoring his opponents, 40-7, and posting three major decisions.  His appearance in the championship round extended Iowa’s streak of NCAA finalists to 33 consecutive tournaments.

Iowa placed second in the team race with 82.5 points to win a team trophy for the 14th time in the last 15 championships.

Five University of Iowa wrestlers – Spencer Lee (125), Max Murin (149), Nelson Brands (174), Jacob Warner (197) and Tony Cassioppi (285) – capped their 2023 NCAA Championships run during Saturday’s medal rounds at the BOK Center.

All five Hawkeyes finished in the top six at their respective weights at the championships. Cassioppi finished fourth at heavyweight, Brands and Warner were fifth, respectively, and Lee and Murin both placed sixth.

Woods will return to the Iowa lineup in 2022-23 along with four-time All-American Tony Cassioppi, 2023 All-American Nelson Brands, 2020 All-American Abe Assad and past NCAA qualifiers Drake Ayala, Brody Teske, Cobe Siebrecht and Patrick Kennedy.

AUSTIN, Texas – The Drake University women’s basketball team came up just short of a NCAA Tournament upset victory on Saturday. The No. 12 seed Bulldogs (22-10, 14-6) battled the No. 5 seed Louisville Cardinals (24-11, 12-6) until the final moments in an 83-80 brawl as the Bulldogs’ season came to a halt.

Each team led 12 different times in a back-and-forth affair. Sophomore guard Katie Dinnebier led Drake in scoring with 20 points on a perfect 3-of-3 three-point shooting while dishing out seven assists and grabbing four rebounds.

Both Grace Berg and Anna Miller added 17 points apiece for the Bulldogs. Berg chipped in with five boards and two assists while Miller snagged four rebounds and distributed the same number of assists.

Courtney Becker and Sarah Beth Gueldner each scored 11 points to round out the Bulldogs’ scoring attack. Gueldner also hit a trio of key three-point shots while Becker corralled five rebounds.

Both teams got out to a hot start as Louisville outscored the Bulldogs 25-23 in the first period. Drake controlled the boards early and led by as many as seven points in the opening period. Dinnebier dealt with the Cardinals’ disruptive full-court press to lead the scoring with eight points after the first 10 minutes.

The No. 5 seed Cardinals were able to jump out in front in the final minute of the quarter with an old fashioned three-point play by forward Olivia Cochran.

Drake found a little rhythm in the early stages of the second quarter, erasing the Cardinals’ four-point lead with back-to-back Grace Berg buckets. After a Louisville timeout, the Bulldogs eventually worked their way to a 36-31 advantage before the Cards countered.

With star guard Hailey Van Lith on the bench with two fouls, the Cardinals leaned on their balanced attack to rally before the half. Morgan Jones and Nyla Harris scored on two consecutive possessions in the final 40 seconds of the second quarter to knot the score.

Grace Berg led Drake with 12 points while Maggie Bair paced the Bulldogs with five rebounds and four blocks at the break.

The Bulldogs doubled Louisville up on the glass in the first two quarters, 18-9, and eventually outrebounded them 33-28 for the game. They also completed their second-straight half shooting over 60% from the field, making 15 of their 24 field goal attempts.

Midway through the third period, Mykasa Robinson went 1-for-2 from the charity stripe to give the Cardinals a narrow lead. Drake was able to regain a 52-50 lead on a Katie Dinnebier three-pointer, her second triple of the game. After swapping the lead on the other end, Courtney Becker reached double figures to give Drake another slight advantage.

Louisville had the final say in the third period as Liz Dixon swished a short-corner deuce to give the Cardinals a 56-54 lead with 10 minutes to play.

After a Louisville lay-in to open the fourth quarter, Katie Dinnebier calmly buried her third three-point shot in three attempts to cut the deficit to just one. Merissah Russell answered for the Cardinals with a three-ball of her own to regain a four-point advantage. Louisville was able to build a 65-60 lead with just under seven minutes to play.

With under three minutes to play the Bulldogs got within one of Louisville twice, on back-to-back threes by Anna Miller and Sarah Beth Gueldner, and again on a pair of Dinnebier free throws. Hailey Van Lith responded with four-straight for the ACC Tournament runner-up Cardinals before Drake finally drew even.

Trailing 75-72 with just under 90 seconds to play, Grace Berg scooped one in to accompany a Cardinal foul. She completed the three-point play to tie the game.

Van Lith, a First Team All-ACC player, responded again with an elbow jumper to give the Cardinals the late lead. Katie Dinnebier kept the Dogs within striking distance, sinking her seventh and eighth free throws of the game to trim the deficit to back to one.

Louisville extended their lead to 81-77 before Gueldner splashed a deep three to trim the Cardinals’ lead back to just one. The Bulldogs were then able to force a Cardinal turnover with 3.3 seconds left in regulation. Anna Miller drilled a free throw to give the Bulldogs a fighting chance, but Louisville was able to dribble out the clock and secure the 83-80 win.

“It was a hard-fought game…I thought we were very, very competitive,” Suzie Glazer Burt Head Coach Allison Pohlman said after the game. “We stayed composed as the game went on and, in these situations, details matter. A couple more layups here and there, an offensive rebound, a couple more free throws, those sorts of situations [matter]. We came up a little bit short, but I’m proud to say that I love Drake University and the women in our locker room.”

The Cardinals will advance to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament and will take on the winner of the No. 4 seed and site host Texas Longhorns and No. 13 seed and AAC Tournament champion East Carolina.

Drake’s remarkable season comes to an end with a record of 22-10 overall.

Arkansas roared back from a 12-points deficit to post a heart stopping 72-71 win over West Region top seed Kansas at Wells Fargo Arena, eliminating the defending NCAA champions.

That’s Arkansas coach Eric Musselman who was shirtless after the game while leading Razorback fans in cheers.

It was the first time the Jayhawks lost this season after leading at halftime. With head coach Bill Self on the mend following a heart procedure assistant Norm Roberts directed Kansas.