2001-02 College News - Golden Gophers travel to Michigan

Golden Gophers travel to Michigan

1/23/02

Streaking: Minnesota has now won a school-record 25 consecutive dual meets, dating back to last season. The Maroon and Gold ended the 2000-01 regular season on a 14-meet winning streak. Gold Country's last loss came to Oklahoma State on Jan. 7, 2001, by a score of 25-12 with the Golden Gophers employing a shorthanded lineup. The previous longest dual meet streak in Golden Gopher wrestling history was 23 duals from Jan 22, 1999 to Jan. 23, 2000. Following a 20-17 loss to OSU at the 1999 National Duals, Minnesota reeled off 11-straight dual triumphs to end the season. The U then opened the 1999-2000 season with a 12-meet streak before falling to Iowa State 17-16 at the 2000 National Duals.

DID U know...that, during Head Coach J Robinson's tenure at Minnesota, the Golden Gophers are 11-5 in Big Ten dual meet openers? The Maroon and Gold have won three consecutive conference openers. Minnesota last loss to start the Big Ten season came on Jan. 23, 1998, as No. 3 Iowa downed the No. 2 Golden Gophers 20-12 at Williams Arena. Last season, Minnesota opened the conference schedule with a suffocating 29-6 win over Michigan. Gold Country has not lost a Big Ten dual meet on the road since Feb. 6, 1998, at Penn State (21-13).

The top-ranked Golden Gophers (11-0) head to the state of Michigan for meets against No. 6 Michigan on Friday, Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. in Ann Arbor and No. 13 Michigan State on Sunday, Jan. 27 in East Lansing. The dual meets versus the Wolverines and the Spartans are the first Big Ten meets of the season for the Golden Gophers. Minnesota went a perfect 8-0 in the conference last year.

About the Wolverines: Michigan enters the Big Ten season with a 9-2 overall record and a No. 6 ranking. Michigan entered the National Duals last week with a 6-0 record and posted wins over Edinboro, Iowa and Oklahoma, and losing to Minnesota and Iowa State. The Wolverines took fifth place in the tournament. The Maize and Blue currently have nine wrestlers ranked in the top 20 in their respective weight class. They are led by top-ranked Otto Olson at 174 pounds. The Wolverines return five All-Americans - A.J. Grant (125 pounds), Mike Kulczycki (149), Olson, Andy Hrovat (184) and Matt Brink (Hwt). Michigan finished fourth at Big Tens and seventh at NCAA's last season.

The Series: Michigan holds a 24-20-2 record over Minnesota in a series dating back to 1944. The Golden Gophers and Wolverines met once last season with Minnesota winning 29-6 at the Sports Pavilion. Gold Country has not lost to the Wolverines since Feb. 18, 1996, a streak of six matches.

About the Spartans: Michigan State comes into the meet versus Minnesota with a 3-3 overall record. The Spartans have defeated Central Michigan, Clarion and Lock Haven, and have lost to Michigan, Oklahoma State and Penn. MSU went 1-2 at National Duals and did not place. Michigan State returns three All-Americans this season in Chris Williams (125 pounds), Gray Maynard (157) and Nik Fekete (197). Fekete, however, is out for the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury. The Spartans finished in 15th place at the 2001 NCAA Championships with 39 points.

The Series: Michigan State holds a 30-22 advantage over Minnesota in a series dating back to 1946. The Golden Gophers and Spartans met once last season with Minnesota winning 32-3 at the Sports Pavilion. Gold Country has not lost to the Spartans since Feb. 24, 1996, a streak of seven matches.

"Border Brawl I" Approaches: Undoubtedly the highlight of the 2001-02 schedule, arch rivals 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 nail biting triumphs over the Hawkeyes in 2000-01. "Border Brawl I" also exists as an attempt by Minnesota to break the NCAA wrestling dual meet attendance record of 15,291, set on Feb. 22, 1992, when Iowa defeated Iowa State 29-8 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.

As of January 22, 8,000 tickets have been sold for the Border Brawl in the 19,000-seat Target Center.

Mike Max will be serving as in-arena master of ceremonies for the Border Brawl. The event will feature highlight videos, instant replays, taped and live interviews with wrestlers, coaches and fans, pyrotechnics, and much more.

The Hawkeyes return just two All-Americans in Mike Zadick (149) and Ben Shirk (165), but, 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 of13,128 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.

Two Straight National Duals Titles: Minnesota captured its second consecutive NWCA National Dual Meet Championships title last weekend in Columbus, Ohio, downing seventh-ranked and host Ohio State 26-8 in the title meet. It was Minnesota's third National Duals title in five years. Minnesota also won the crown in 1998. The Maroon and Gold have finished no worse than third for the past six National Duals tournaments. Minnesota defeated No. 14 Northern Iowa (27-12), No. 8 Penn (35-6) and No. 4 Michigan (23-12) before dropping the Buckeyes for the title. The Golden Gophers took first in 1998 and 2001, second in 1999 and 2000, and third in 1997. Minnesota holds a 23-7 record at the National Duals.

Atop the Polls: The Golden Gophers are ranked as the top team in the nation, according to several major wrestling polls. Gold Country is listed as the No. 1 squad by National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA), InterMat, W.I.N. and TheWrestlingMall.com.

On a Record Streak: Minnesota (11-0) has now won a school-record 25consecutive dual meets, dating back to last season. The Maroon and Gold grapplers ended the 2000-01 regular season on a 14-meet winning streak and finished 19-1 overall and 8-0 in the Big Ten. Gold Country's last loss came to Oklahoma State on Jan. 7, 2001, by a score of 25-12 with the Golden Gophers employing a shorthanded line up. The previous longest dual meet streak in Golden Gopher wrestling history was 23 duals from Jan 22, 1999 to Jan. 23, 2000. Following a 20-17 loss to OSU at the 1999 National Duals, Minnesota reeled off 11-straight dual triumphs to end the season. The U then opened the 1999-2000 season with a 12-meet streak before falling to Iowa State 17-16 at the 2000 National Duals. The 23-meet win streak topped Gold Country's previous two 18-dual meet winning streaks.

On the Road Again: Minnesota has not lost a road dual meet since January 23, 2000, when Iowa State dropped the Golden Gophers, 17-16, at National Duals. The last time Gold Country lost a meet outside of the National Duals was on February, 6, 1998, at Penn State as the U of M fell 21-13 in State College, PA. The Maroon and Gold has now won 23 straight road dual meets, including this season's National Duals. Over the past five seasons, Minnesota has compiled a 56-3 record on the road, including the meets at the National Duals. When not including the National Duals, Minnesota has a 38-1 mark for road meets in the last five seasons. During that same span, the Golden Gophers are 27-4 at home in dual meets.

Home Sweet Home: Minnesota has not lost a dual meet in the Sports Pavilion since Jan. 26, 1996, when the Golden Gophers fell to top-ranked Iowa 27-12. Minnesota has now won 24 consecutive dual meets at the Sports Pavilion. Overall, the Maroon and Gold holds a 32-2 record in the venue, which opened for the 1993-94 season. The Golden Gophers are undefeated in each season in the arena except for 1995-96 when Gold Country went 1-2. Minnesota does not compete in the Sports Pavilion for the remainder of this season as they move next door to Williams Arena for the on-campus meets.