Drake Ayala grew up in Iowa, so he understands the intensity of the Cy-Hawk rivalry.

Iowa’s senior 133-pounder, though, doesn’t think he has to remind the rest of his teammates about what Sunday’s dual between #3 Iowa and the sixth-ranked Cyclones in Ames means.

“It’s to the point where it's kind of unsaid,” Ayala said Tuesday. “They know how big it is. They know how important it is to the school, to this town, to this state.”

Michael Caliendo, who grew up in Geneva, Illinois, certainly gets it.

“It's fun,” he said. “Everybody comes out to wrestle. Everyone's on top of their game. And, you know, the crowd is always there. It's definitely fun. Like Drake said, everyone knows the rivalry, so, yeah, it's definitely a fun thing to be a part of.”

Iowa, which leads the series 70-16-2, has won 20 consecutive duals in the series, and 50 of the last 52.

Iowa coach Tom Brands, who has been a part of this series as a competitor and as a head coach, doesn’t think there needs to be more emphasis. Brands said of the dual: “It’s highlighted, it’s underlined, it’s circled in red,” but that, he said, is because it’s the next dual on Iowa’s schedule.

“I think that they're well aware and with the media that's put out and the back and forth, and how easy it is to contact your former teammates, and how much communication there is and how much communication is shared,” Brands said. “Because somebody sends me a text, and then I send it to 25 of my buddies, and then they send it to 25 of their buddies. I think that the significance is not lost on anybody.”

“It doesn't surprise me, because that's kind of the magnitude of it,” Ayala said of how his out-of-state teammates understand the rivalry. “Once you step foot on campus here, you kind of know.”

“I've always been a Hawkeye fan,” Caliendo said. “So obviously the in-state school is always going to be the rival.”

Iowa’s dominance in the series overshadows how close the duals have been in the last three seasons, with the Hawkeyes winning by a combined 13 points.

“I think the rivalry was pretty strong back a long time ago,” Brands said. “When (Gary) Kurdelmeier got the job here (in 1972), everything elevated and it’s a pretty good event.”

Ayala, 149-pounder Ryder Block and heavyweight Ben Kueter are the Iowa natives in the Hawkeyes’ expected lineup.

“I'm super excited,” said Ayala, who has won his matches in the dual with the Cyclones the last two years. “It’s Cy-Hawk. I'm an Iowa kid, and there's nothing better than this. That's what you dream about as a kid, and it's my third one, so I'm excited.”

“We rely on our leadership,” Brands said, noting the experience of Ayala and Caliendo. “(Patrick) Kennedy’s in that too. Kueter grew up in the state of Iowa, he grew up in Iowa City. And then you’ve got Mo Endene, who won three national titles at Wartburg, he certainly knows the significance of this. It’s not like we have to address this, where we have to hype this thing up.”

Streaking 

The streak against the Cyclones isn’t something the Hawkeyes talk about.

“We don't really focus on the pressure,” Ayala said. “I mean, you probably feel a little bit of pressure on Saturday, or Sunday, I guess. But pressure is a privilege, and we're lucky to be in the position we are. We’ve just got to go out there and just wrestle how we do, and I think we'll be fine.”

Ayala also said he doesn’t feel pressure wrestling in hostile road arenas like Hilton Coliseum is expected to be on Sunday.

“To be completely honest with you guys, I love going into enemy arenas,” he said. “I love it. I don't know. It's just something about who I am, I guess. It's super fun going into a hostile environment where everybody's cheering against you. It's a pretty cool experience, whether you're in Stillwater or Ames or State College or wherever.”

“I enjoy every match just as it comes,” Caliendo said. “But, yeah, I think it's fun going into the enemy territory and kind of silencing the crowd.”

Ayala Bounces Back

Ayala, ranked third nationally at 133, is coming off a 13-4 win over Pittsburgh’s Evan Talmadge in the Hawkeyes’ 36-0 win over the Panthers in last Friday’s dual at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Ayala was coming off losses to top-ranked Lucas Byrd of Illinois and #2 Ben Davino of Ohio State in the National Duals.

Ayala will face sixth-ranked Evan Frost on Sunday.

“I'm just focused on me and what I do,” he said. “I’ve got to get back to wrestling like Drake Ayala and get better every day. And I think that's what I'm doing. I'm just excited, focusing on myself, not really on my opponent.”