Cathy Lee was a Pan Am Games silver medalist in judo in 1991.
The biggest upset in college sports involving Purdue Friday evening might not have taken place on the hardwood.
In the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in Tulsa, Iowa wrestler Spencer Lee suffered a shocking upset loss in the 125-pound semifinals to Purdue’s Matt Ramos. Lee is considered one of the most dominant collegiate wrestlers in history, and Ramos’s last-second pin denied him a record-tying fourth straight national championship.
As unthinkable as Ramos ending Lee’s 58-match winning streak was, his mother’s reaction to the stunning defeat was even more eyebrow-raising.
Cathy Lee — a flyweight judoka once upon a time who won a silver medal at the 1991 Pan American Games in Havana — destroyed her glasses in full view of ESPN’s television cameras.
Despite Lee’s unexpected loss, the Hawkeyes are in second place as a team entering the third day of competition, trailing only Penn State. Iowa has won 24 team national championships in total, the second most in Division I history behind Oklahoma State.
