February 9, 2001
at Williams Arena, Minneapolis, MN
TOP-RANKED MINNESOTA WRESTLERS TROUNCE NO. 21 PENN STATE 37-3
On Senior Day at Williams Arena, the top-ranked University of Minnesota wrestling team thrashed No. 21 Penn State 37-3, winning nine of ten matches with three of the wins coming by technical fall and four by major decision. The Golden Gophers, winners of 12 consecutive dual meets, tallied 46 takedowns to the Nittany Lions' six to improve to 17-1 overall and 6-0 in the Big Ten.
The meet opened at 141 pounds with seventh-ranked Chad Erikson posting a technical fall on PSU's Eric Narkiewicz. The match, which featured an Erikson three-point near-fall in each period, was terminated at 5:43 with the score at 20-4. At 149 pounds, third-ranked Jared Lawrence gave Minnesota another five team points with his 21-5 (6:35) technical fall triumph over Brent Narkiewicz. Lawrence, 25-4 on the year, notched seven takedowns and two near-falls in the win. Fifth-ranked Luke Becker maintained the Golden Gopher domination, dropping Aaron Wright with a 13-5 major decision at 157 pounds. With the win, Becker improves to 25-5 overall and 5-1 in the Big Ten.
Senior Brad Pike closed out his home career at Minnesota with a commanding 22-7 (5:31) technical fall victory over the Nittany Lions' Doc Vecchio at 165 pounds. Pike, ranked third in the nation, notched eight takedowns and a near-fall to move his record to 27-4 overall. At 174 pounds, No. 12 Jacob Volkmann kept the Maroon and Gold shutout going with his 8-3 win over Mark Becks. Minnesota's Damion Hahn, ranked No. 5 at 184 pounds, moved the team score to 26-0 with his 14-4 major decision triumph over No. 14 Jeff Knupp. Hahn never trailed and ended with 1:42 of advantage time.
The Golden Gophers' lone loss of the meet came at 197 pounds as true freshman Eli Ross fell to Pete Mielnik 10-3. Gold Country rebounded at heavyweight behind second-ranked Garrett Lowney's exciting 6-3 win over PSU's Bob Jones. Lowney, up 4-3 in the third period, scored a takedown with six seconds remaining to ice the match. The redshirt freshman remains undefeated on the year at 12-0.
At 125 pounds, third-ranked Leroy Vega dropped Josh Moore 10-2 to move the Golden Gophers to 33-3 on the scoreboard. Vega, 5-1 in the Big Ten, tallied a reversal with seven seconds left to earn the major decision. Senior Brett Lawrence ended the meet and his home career in the Maroon and Gold with a 14-6 major decision of Marat Tomaev at 133 pounds. Lawrence, ranked third, scored four takedowns and a near-fall to gain the victory.
The Golden Gophers, winners of 26 of their last 27 Big Ten dual meets, hit the road for duals against No. 24 Wisconsin and No. 4 Iowa next weekend. Minnesota battles the Badgers Friday, February 16 at 7 p.m. in Madison, Wis., and the Hawkeyes Sunday, February 18 at 12:30 p.m. in Iowa City, Iowa.