NWCA National Duals 2015 Results: Quarterfinal, Semifinal, Final Recap Tracker

Before the NCAA Championships begin in late March, the country's top wrestlers will chase a different trophy at the NWCA National Duals at Carver-Hawkeye Arena this weekend. 

Battling it out for the title in Iowa City will be eight schools, including the top five in the country, 25 All-Americans and three defending champs. It's a star-studded wrestling showcase that will serve as the perfect appetizer before the collegiate sport's main course next month. 

Let's take a look at how the eight teams fared. 

Results

Round	Winner	Loser	Score
Quarterfinal	No. 1 Iowa	Chattanooga	44-3
Quarterfinal	No. 5 Cornell	No. 4 Minnesota	19-17
Quarterfinal	No. 11 Lehigh	No. 3 Ohio State	21-18
Quarterfinal	No. 2 Missouri	No. 12 Illinois	23-13
Semifinal	No.1 Iowa	No. 5 Cornell	24-8
Semifinal	No. 2 Missouri	No. 11 Lehigh	23-9
Final	No. 2 Missouri	No. 1 Iowa	18-12

Final Recap

In a battle between the top two seeds in the NWCA National Duals finals, the No. 2 Missouri Tigers emerged triumphant against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Sunday by a final tally of 18-12.

The National Wrestling Coaches Association captured an image of the victorious Tigers:

Mizzou improved its perfect record to 24-0 in handing Iowa its first defeat of the season. Alan Waters set the tone in the 125-pound match to start, narrowly earning a 5-4 win over opponent Thomas Gilman.

Tigers head coach Brian Smith weighed in afterwards, per NWCAOnline.com's Jason Bryant:

"

We won four of the first five in battles. They didn't let anything faze. We stuck with game plans. It was like the seventh or eighth match and I looked over to my assistant and said, "Gosh, everything I'm yelling out to the kids, they're trying and doing." Even the matches we lost, battling our butts off. I just couldn't be more proud of the team.

"

It was only fitting that reigning NCAA champion J'Den Cox clinched the championship, courtesy of a 4-3 victory over All-American adversary Nathan Burak.

Superior tactics, extraordinary individual performances and undeniable camaraderie have molded Mizzou into a wrestling juggernaut. Even the mighty Hawkeyes couldn't deny them of the top prize on Sunday, as the Tigers became the seventh team to win the NWCA National Duals title.

The NCAA Championships should be epic based on what unfolded in Iowa City. The hometown Hawkeyes will be out for revenge. Pressure will be on the Tigers to retain their status as the top team in the country.

One can only hope the next showcase lives up to the sensational display both Mizzou and Iowa put on this week.

Semifinal Recap

It's what everyone—outside of the teams that lost—wanted to see: Iowa vs. Missouri. The pair of undefeated squads stayed that way with big wins in the semifinals, booking spots in Sunday's championship. 

No. 1 Iowa got a good test from No. 5 Cornell, but the Hawkeyes simply had too much firepower. The Big Ten Network's Twitter feed provided a look at the match-clinching win Nathan Burak: 

Cornell forfeited the following match—meaning those in attendance wouldn't get another look at Bobby Telford, the No. 4 heavyweight in the country—to give Iowa a 24-8 win. 

In the other semifinal, Lehigh, fresh off an upset of No. 3 Ohio State, couldn't do the same against Missouri. The Tigers, led by stars Alan Waters and J'den Cox, rolled to a 23-9 victory. One fan discussed the legacy of Cox, who won a national title as a freshman and is ranked No. 1 at the 197-pound class:

After Sunday, there will be only one undefeated team in the nation. Waters vs. Thomas Gilman. Lavion Mayes vs. Josh Dziewa. Brandon Sorensen vs. Drake Houdashelt. Mike Evans vs. John Eblen. Cox vs. Burak. 

Buckle up. 

Quarterfinal Recap

Undefeated and top-ranked Iowa entered as the overwhelming favorite against Chattanooga. Sean Boyle started things off with an overtime win over Thomas Gilman to give the Mocs an early 3-0 advantage, but it was all Hawkeyes from there. 

Sophomore Cory Clark, senior Michael Kelly, senior Mike Evans, sophomore Sammy Brooks and senior Bobby Telford all earned pins, leading Tom Brands' team to a thoroughly dominant 44-3 victory:

The Hawkeyes will take on No. 5 Cornell later Saturday. Behind a dominant performance from sophomore All-American Gabe Dean, the Big Red jumped out to a 19-10 lead and were able to hold off a late surge to upset No. 4 Minnesota. 

On the other side of the bracket, No. 2 Missouri was able to stay undefeated, but it was given a tough test by No. 12 Illinois. 

Giving Mizzou an early lead in one of the most anticipated matches of the day, second-ranked Alan Waters controlled most of the way in his defeat of back-to-back 125-pound NCAA champion and No. 1 Jesse Delgado.

Ilinois' Twitter feed noted the rarity of the loss: 

Mizzou looked ready to pull away after using that victory to jump to a 10-3 lead, but the Illini fought back and ultimately cut the deficit to 16-13 with just two matches remaining. The Tigers, fortunately, had one of the nation's ultimate weapons still waiting to go, as defending national champ J'den Cox dominated to secure the dual. 

One fan put it best: 

In the final quarterfinal, it was No. 11 Lehigh booking a spot against Cox and Mizzouri with a nail-biting win over No. 3 Ohio State.  

The Buckeyes got off to a good start, unsurprisingly, thanks to three-time national champion Logan Stieber. Ranked by FloWrestling.org as the top pound-for-pound wrestler in America, he had little trouble earning a pin against Randy Cruz. 

Patrick Kalista of The Latern provided a look at one particularly impressive take down: 

The Mountain Hawks bounced back, though, and the roller-coaster dual would enter the final match with the score all tied. Heavyweights Doug Vollaro and Nick Tavanello went to overtime, and it was the former who was able to move his team to the semifinals with a late take down. 

Pretty good timing for this achievement from head coach Pat Santoro:

He'll look to get another upset out of his team against Missouri in the semifinals, but with the combination of Waters and Cox, the Tigers look incredibly difficult to beat. 

On the other side, the home favorite Hawkeyes show little indication of slowing down. Barring an unforeseen turn of events, we're headed for an undefeated battle between the country's two premier teams on Sunday. 

All team rankings courtesy of NCAA.com. All individual rankings courtesy of InterMatWrestling.com unless noted otherwise.