February 9, 2001
NO. 1 GOLDEN GOPHER WRESTLERS PUMMEL NO. 11 MICHIGAN STATE 32-3
The top-ranked University of Minnesota wrestling team destroyed No. 11 Michigan State 32-3 at the Sports Pavilion, winning nine of ten matches with five of the victories coming by major decision. The Golden Gophers did not allow a takedown for four straight matches, from 149 to 174 pounds. The Maroon and Gold grapplers, winners of 11 consecutive dual meets, improve to 16-1 on the season, including a 5-0 mark in Big Ten dual meets.
The meet opened at 125 pounds with third-ranked Leroy Vega downing No. 4 Chris Williams 9-3 in one of Vega's most impressive performances on the year. Minnesota's lone loss on the night came at 133 pounds as No. 3 Brett Lawrence fell to MSU's fifth-ranked Pat McNamara 6-0. Lawrence never got going in the match and gave up 2:22 of advantage time to the Spartan.
The Golden Gophers responded in a big way, winning the meet's final eight matches. At 141 pounds, seventh-ranked Chad Erikson defeated No. 17 Mike Castillo 9-8. Erikson tallied an escape with 19 seconds remaining to earn the eventual match-wining point. The Maroon and Gold then put together a string of domination in the next four matches, winning all four by major decision and not allowing a Spartan takedown. Third-ranked Jared Lawrence started the streak of mastery, dropping No. 18 Karl Nadolsky 17-6. Lawrence, 24-4 overall, notched seven takedowns during the match.
Next, at 157 pounds, fifth-ranked Luke Becker overwhelmed Charlie Sageman, cruising to a 16-5 major decision. Becker, 4-1 in the Big Ten, led the entire match and ended with 1:44 advantage time. Brad Pike gave Minnesota another four team points with his 16-7 triumph over Cory Posey at 165 pounds. Pike tallied seven takedowns and improved to 26-4 overall on the season. At 174 pounds, No.12 Jacob Volkmann dominated Nate Mesyn with a 10-0 victory to move Minnesota to 22-3 on the scoreboard. Volkmann ended the match with an astonishing 4:13 of advantage time.
The Golden Gophers' major decision win streak stopped at 184 pounds, but No. 5 Damion Hahn proved victorious with his 9-7 decision over John Wechter. With the score tied at six in the third period, Hahn tallied an escape and takedown to break his two-match losing streak. At 197 pounds, sixth-ranked Owen Elzen provided some match-ending excitement in his 5-3 win over No. 9 Nik Fekete. Trailing 3-2 in the third, Elzen scored a takedown with eight seconds left and gained a point by advantage time to defeat the Spartan.
Second-ranked heavyweight Garrett Lowney gave Minnesota four more team points in the closing bout with his 9-0 major decision win over Matt Lamb. With the win, Lowney remained undefeated on the year at 11-0 overall, including a 5-0 mark in Big Ten dual meets.
Minnesota hosts Penn State, Sunday, Feb. 11 at 1 p.m. at Williams Arena to close out its home schedule.