In a shocking turn of events, Iowa wrestler Spencer Lee lost Friday’s NCAA Men’s Wrestling Tournament after being pinned by his opponent, Matt Ramos of Perdue.
As Iowa’s 125-pound three-time NCAA champion, Lee would have been only the fifth person in sport’s history to become a four-time national champion, The Athletic reported.
The significance of the upset was expressed by his mom, Cathy, who was captured ripping off her own glasses, tearing them apart, and throwing them to the ground. A clip of the incident went viral on social media.
Iowa wrestler Spencer Lee suffered a massive upset, causing his mom to commit war crimes on her glasses pic.twitter.com/nNopcOjwra
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) March 18, 2023
“Spencer Lee’s mom Cathy, an alternate for the U.S. Olympic judo team, and her glasses did not survive that match,” one ESPN broadcaster said, according to Fox News.
Prior to his match with Ramos, Lee underwent surgery during the 2022 season after suffering torn ACLs in both of his knees, The Athletic reported. He had also won 58 consecutive matches before this. (RELATED: Biden’s Bracket Busted Hours Into March Madness By Mammoth Upset)
In the first period of their match, Ramos caught Lee by his back and won in a takedown, according to the Des Moines Register. Lee pulled through in the second period and scored four back points. By the third round, Lee was leading by 7-4 when Ramos took over in the last 30 seconds of the match, the Register reported. Ramos pinned Lee only seconds before time ran out and won the match.
🚨 UPSET ALERT 🚨
(4) Matt Ramos pins (1) Spencer Lee! @Matt_Ramos2 is headed to the finals!
📺 ESPN#NCAAWrestling x @PurdueWrestling pic.twitter.com/Jalh7tD9Il
— NCAA Wrestling (@NCAAWrestling) March 18, 2023
Ramos previously lost to Lee in January so he celebrated his victory in an interview after the match. “Spencer is the guy to beat at 125. I’ve been working for that. He’s been in my head every single day. I’ve just been striving for it,” Ramos told ESPN’s Quint Kessenich, according to the Register.
After Lee’s loss, the Iowa wrestling team pulled through and won seven consecutive matches, thereby securing their spot in Session 5 of the tournament. However, it was announced Saturday that Lee had medically forfeited due to health issues from previous injuries.