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1/9/2001
The top-ranked Golden Gophers take on No. 19 Nebraska Friday, Jan. 11, at 7:30 p.m. at the Sports Pavilion in Minnesota's final nonconference dual meet before National Duals and the Big Ten season.
The Maroon and Gold comes into the meet undefeated at 6-0 while the Huskers stand at 7-3.
About the Huskers: Nebraska is currently ranked 19th in the nation, according to InterMat. The Cornhuskers are led by four wrestlers ranked in the top 10 in their respective weight class - Jason Powell (4th, 125 pounds), Bryan Snyder (1st, 157), Travis Pascoe (10th, 184) and Justin Ruiz (6th, 197). Snyder, a senior, is the top returning wrestler in the nation at 157 pounds. He finished second last season at the NCAA Championships to T. J. Williams of Iowa. Snyder is 20-0 overall this season and 10-0 in dual meets.
The Huskers finished in eighth place at last year's NCAA Championships, scoring 52.5 points and earning three All-American honors. Snyder is the lone returning All-American he joins Powell and Tony Denke (165 pounds) as the returning NCAA qualifiers.
The Big Bout: It's No. 1 versus No. 3 at 157 pounds as Nebraska's Bryan Snyder faces off against Minnesota's Luke Becker in the highlighted bout of the dual between the Golden Gophers and Cornhuskers Friday night. Snyder holds a 3-1 advantage in the series versus Becker, but the last three meetings have been decided by a combined four points. Last season, Becker downed the Husker 4-3 in Lincoln before Snyder got his revenge at National Duals (3-1) and at NCAAs (3-2). This season, Snyder is 20-0 overall while Becker stands at 17-1. The 157-pound bout will certainly be the spolight matchup as the Huskers battle the Maroon and Gold.
#1 Minnesota (6-0) vs. #19 Nebraska (7-3)
Friday, January 11, 7:30 pm - Sports Pavilion, Minneapolis, MN
|
Probable Minnesota (6-0 overall) starters |
01-02 overall |
dual record (pins) |
|
|
125 |
No. 2/3 Leroy Vega (Sr., Portage, Ind.) |
15-2 |
5-1 (0) |
|
133 |
Eric Anderson (Fr., Browerville, Minn.) |
0-1 |
0-1 (0) |
|
141 |
No. 2/4 Chad Erikson (Sr., Apple Valley, Minn.) |
10-1 |
3-1 (4) |
|
149 |
No. 3/3 Jared Lawrence (Jr., Sandpoint, Idaho) |
15-1 |
5-0 (6) |
|
157 |
No. 3/3 Luke Becker (Jr., Cambridge, Minn.) |
17-1 |
6-0 (8) |
|
165 |
Nate Baker (RS Fr., Lakefield, Minn.) |
23-7 |
2-1 (6) |
|
or No. 10/9 John Hardy (Jr., Princeton, Ind.) |
14-4 |
2-1 (3) |
|
|
174 |
No. 6/7 Jacob Volkmann (So., Henning, Minn.) |
14-2 |
5-0 (5) |
|
184 |
No. 6/7 Damion Hahn (So., Lakewood, N.J.) |
14-6 |
4-2 (1) |
|
197 |
No. 3/3 Owen Elzen (Sr., Eyota, Minn.) |
16-2 |
6-0 (5) |
|
Hwt |
No. 5/7 Garrett Lowney (So., Freedom, Wis.) |
12-2 |
5-1 (4) |
|
Probable Nebraska (7-3 overall) starters |
01-02 overall |
dual record |
|
|
125 |
No. 7/4 Jason Powell (So., Midwest City, Okla.) |
17-2 |
9-1 |
|
133 |
Joey Malia (So., Billings, Mont.) |
10-5 |
7-3 |
|
141 |
Dusty Spaulding (So., Council Grove, Kan.) |
12-6 |
3-4 |
|
149 |
Scott Burnett (Jr., Oberlin, Ohio) |
7-8 |
2-4 |
|
or Jeremy Baker (So., Blue Springs, Mo.) |
7-8 |
2-3 |
|
|
157 |
No. 1/1 Bryan Snyder (Sr., Easton, Pa.) |
20-0 |
10-0 |
|
165 |
Tony Denke (Sr., Longvalley, S.D.) |
10-5 |
7-3 |
|
174 |
Jason High (Jr., Independence, Mo.) |
3-8 |
0-2 |
|
or Jason Zakaras (Fr., Omaha, Neb.) |
2-10 |
0-2 |
|
|
184 |
No. 13/12 Travis Pascoe (Fr., Ruthdrum, Idaho) |
14-4 |
8-2 |
|
197 |
No. 6/9 Justin Ruiz (Fr., Murray, Utah) |
17-4 |
8-2 |
|
Hwt |
Pat Miron (Jr., Saint Croix Falls, Wis.) |
7-8 |
3-5 |
Meet Webcasts: All of Minnesota's home dual meets will be webcast live on www.gophersports.com. Former Golden Gopher wrestlers Willy Short and Jesse Krebs will call the action from the Sports Pavilion or Williams Arena for the season. Listeners can access the webcast by clicking on the Gameday section of gophersports.com, the official Internet home of Golden Gopher athletics.
In addition, TheWrestlingMall.com will provide updated match-by-match results for many dual meets throughout the season, including the bout versus Nebraska.
"Border Brawl I" Approaches: Undoubtedly the highlight of the 2001-02 schedule, archrivals Minnesota and Iowa face off at Minneapolis' Target Center on Friday, Feb. 1, in "Border Brawl I" for conference bragging rights in a rematch of the Golden Gophers' two nailbiting triumphs over the Hawkeyes in 2000-01. "Border Brawl I" also exists as an attempt by Minnesota to break the NCAAwrestling dual meet attendance record of 15,291, set on Feb. 22, 1992, when Iowa defeated I owa State 29-8 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes return just two All-Americans in Mike Zadick (149) and Ben Shirk (165), but, as always, Iowa boasts a top recruiting class which is helping in their reloading for 2001-02.
Tickets for the much-anticipated meet at the Target Center are available through Ticketmaster at (651) 989-5151 or www.ticketmaster.com.
Iowa holds a 53-20-1 advantage over Minnesota in a series dating to 1926. In the last meeting between the Golden Gophers and Hawkeyes, No. 1 Minnesota edged No. 4 Iowa 17-16 in an electrifying dual meet in front of 10,048 fans at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. The Maroon and Gold stormed out to a 14-0 lead and held on to hand the Hawkeyes their fourth loss of the season and snap their 15-dual meet home winning streak. Gold Country's last loss to the Hawkeyes came in 1999-2000 in front of a school-record crowd of 13,128 at Williams Arena as No. 1 Iowa downed No. 2 Minnesota 20-13. Zadick and freshman heavyweight Steve Mocco are currently ranked No. 1 in the nation at their respective weights.