Start a new scorecard, because the ISU wrestling team is proving this isn’t the traditionally lopsided in-state rivalry of the past three decades.

One of the oldest rivalries in collegiate wrestling took a turn two years ago, as a new chapter appears to have surfaced in the historically uneven matchup between the Cyclones and the University of Iowa.

Heading into Friday night’s duel in Hilton Coliseum, seventh-ranked Iowa State (3-0) will have the unfamiliar challenge of facing the fifth-ranked Hawkeyes (1-0) with a chance to stretch a winning-streak, albeit modest. In 2003, the Cyclones earned their first dual victory over the Hawkeyes since 1987, following that win with a 19-16 decision last season.

Iowa still holds a commanding 52-16-2 lead in the series, but redshirt senior Nate Gallick said he believes Iowa State has finally taken that next step toward being equals.

“I think as a program, we have definitely closed the gap,” Gallick said. “We had some real strong teams in the past, but we really just haven’t gotten it done. There might have been a mental block, but as for now, we are wrestling Iowa to beat them.”

Redshirt junior Travis Paulson said shedding their previous role in the rivalry two years ago was “something special to remember,” also referencing coach Bobby Douglas’s statements about the mentality that needs to be pieced together with talent.

“What coach Douglas always says is it’s either a battle of wills or a battle of skills,” Paulson said. “And if we are wrestling the Hawkeyes and can’t beat them with skills, then we better beat them with wills.”

Paulson’s brother, Trent, represents half of one of the marquee matchups of the dual. The second-ranked 157-pounder can improve to 4-0 in his career against third-ranked Joe Johnston, an opponent he beat once already this season. It’s one of four slated matches between ranked wrestlers in the dual.

Douglas, the Paulsons and redshirt junior Kurt Backes all agreed the dual is evenly matched.

Backes faces a familiar foe at 184 pounds in last year’s fifth-place NCAA Tournament placewinner, Paul Bradley. His only win in five attempts against Bradley was as a freshman in the 2003 dual, just weeks after being pinned by the Hawkeye.

Backes said the dual represents an intensifying of the season.

“There is no better way to start off the season than with our main rival,” said Backes, who has wrestled in only two matches this season because of an injury. “We look forward to the rivalry. It’s a great way to test ourselves a quarter of the way through the season.”

With strengths pitted against strengths, the meet has the feeling of being every bit as close as last year. Grant Nakamura’s pin and decisions by Gallick and Trent Paulson were key, as the then-second-ranked Cyclones closed out the win.

“We match up real well,” Backes said. “I would say that they match up well with our weights, and they match up well with ours. It could go either way, it just depends on who shows up. The ball is in our court now. We have the edge; we need to try to build a streak.”

Douglas said the match will show the progress of both this young season and the rivalry.

“This is report-card time for us. It’s a time to evaluate ourselves,” Douglas said. “Obviously, the rivalry has grown tremendously from its beginning to the present. Any time Iowa and Iowa State are together, it’s a good match. It shows you how good you are and how far you have come, and that’s what we are trying to find out.”