IOWA CITY, Iowa - No. 2 Mizzou wrestling finished back-to-back ranked wins Saturday afternoon at the 2015 National Duals Finals after a 23-9 semifinals win over No. 11 Lehigh. The win advances the Tigers to Sunday morning's championship matchup against No. 1 Iowa.
The Tigers (23-0) and Hawkeyes (17-0) are the nation's last two unbeaten Division I programs. Action is set for an 11:30 a.m. (CT) start tomorrow, and can be seen live on the Big Ten Network. Fans can also follow along on TrackWrestling.com and Twitter (@MizzouWrestling).
Following their 23-13 win over No. 12 Illinois earlier in the day, the Tigers again put up 23 points in their semifinals contest. Mizzou grapplers claimed wins in seven of 10 matches against Lehigh, and were led by major decision wins by redshirt sophomore Lavion Mayes and redshirt senior Drake Houdashelt.
Mayes racked up ranked wins in both of his matches today at Carver Hawkeye Arena, as he took down Illinois' No. 12 Steven Rodrigues and Lehigh's No. 20 Randy Cruz.
Redshirt senior Alan Waters and sophomore J'den Cox continued their perfect 2014-15 campaigns, claiming decision wins in their respective matches. Waters enters tomorrow's National Duals championship contest with a 26-0 record while Cox now checks-in at 29-0.
Overall this season, Mizzou has accumulated an impressive eight wins over ranked opponents. Among those ranked wins, five have come against current top-15 ranked foes and three have occurred versus top-10 opponents.
Check-in to MUTigers.com for the latest information on all things Mizzou wrestling. You can also find the Tigers on social media, by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter (@MizzouWrestling).
Match-By-Match Results vs. No. 11 Lehigh
125: No. 1 Alan Waters (M) def. Scott Parker (L) by 6-3 decision
133: No. 12 Mason Beckham (L) def. No. 20 Zach Synon (M) by 9-4 decision
141: No. 5 Lavion Mayes (M) def. No. 20 Randy Cruz (L) by 11-3 major decision
149: No. 1 Drake Houdashelt (M) def. Drew Longo (L) by 10-2 major decision
157: No. 17 Mitch Minotti (L) def. No. 12 Joey Lavallee (M) by 2-0 decision
165: Mikey England (M) def. Marshall Peppelman (L) by 6-1 decision
174: No. 4 Johnny Eblen (M) def. Santiago Martinez (L) by 4-2 decision
184: No. 3 Nathaniel Brown (L) def. No. 9 Willie Miklus (M) by 7-3 decision
197: No. 1 J'den Cox (M) def. No. 10 Elliot Riddick (L) by 4-0 decision
HWT: No. 10 Devin Mellon (M) def. Doug Vollaro (L) by 5-3 decision