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Minnesota hosts Ohio State on Sunday
2/21/02
The top-ranked and defending NCAA Champion Golden Gophers (18-0) host the fourth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes Sunday, Feb. 24, at 2 p.m. at the Sports Pavilion in Minnesota's last dual meet of the season. The meet will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Net. The Maroon and Gold enter the Ohio State meet with a 7-0 Big Ten record after defeating Wisconsin 40-4 and Illinois 27-6 last weekend at Williams Arena. With a win over the Buckeyes, the Golden Gophers would clinch a second consecutive perfect Big Ten season. Minnesota went a flawless 8-0 in the conference last year and has not lost a Big Ten dual meet since February 20, 2000 versus Iowa (20-13). After the Ohio State meet, the Golden Gophers have two weeks to prepare for the 2001 Big Ten Championships, held March 9-10 in Champaign, Ill.
Senior Day: Sunday's meet at the Sports Pavilion is not only Minnesota's final dual meet of the season; it's also the final dual meet of the careers of three Golden Gopher seniors - Leroy Vega, Chad Erikson and Owen Elzen. Each of the senior All-Americans will be recognized at halftime of the meet. Combined, Vega, Erikson and Elzen have compiled five All-America citations, an overall career record of 321-79 and a career dual meet mark of146-40. Vega is a three-time All-American and has not missed an appearance in the starting lineup at 125 pounds since becoming a starter in 1998-99. Erikson ranks fourth all-time on Minnesota's career pins list with 38. He earned his first All-America honor last season with an eighth-place finish at 141 pounds. Elzen has overcome numerous injuries, including two torn ACLs and a broken arm, and has quickly established himself as a title contender at 197 pounds. In the past two seasons, Elzen is 58-3 overall and 31-1 in duals. He picked up his first All-America honor last season, finishing third at NCAAs.
About the Buckeyes: Ohio State enters the meet versus Minnesota with a 19-3 overall record and a 4-2 mark in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes, somewhat surprising performers on the year, are currently ranked fourth in the nation in the WrestlingMall.com poll. OSU has nine of its ten starters ranked in he top 20 in their respective weight class, according to the WrestlingMall.com. The Buckeyes are led by sophomore heavyweight Tommy Rowlands. Rowlands, ranked second in the nation with a 28-3 overall record, was the runner-up last season at NCAAs, losing to Illinois' John Lockhart via tie breaker. In 2000-01, Ohio State finished in fifth place at Big Tens and in 16th place at the NCAA Championships. In addition to Rowlands, Robert Sessley earned All-America honors, finishing seventh at 141 pounds.
The Series: Minnesota holds a 31-10-3 advantage over Ohio State in a series dating to 1927. In the last meeting between the Golden Gophers and Buckeyes, No. 1 Minnesota downed No. 7 Ohio State 26-8, in the championship meet of the 2001 National Duals in Columbus, Ohio. The Golden Gophers have not lost to the Buckeyes since the 1992-93 season, a stretch of eight dual meets.
Meet Web casts: All of Minnesota's home dual meets will be web cast live onwww.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 web cast 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 this weekend's meet at the Sports Pavilion.
PERFECTION: In the 88-year history of intercollegiate wrestling at Minnesota, no Golden Gopher team has managed to remain undefeated in dual meets throughout an entire season. This year's edition of Gold Country grappling is on the verge of building on its first NCAA title by completing a perfect season. With a win over Ohio State this weekend, the Golden Gophers would finish 19-0 overall. Minnesota nearly accomplished the feat in 2000-01 with its only loss coming to Oklahoma State early in the season. Eight Minnesota teams have finished the season with a lone loss in duals. Prior to Minnesota's 19-1 record a year ago, the Maroon and Gold had not had a one-loss season since 1956-57 under legendary Head Coach Wally Johnson.
DID U know...that Minnesota has clinched the 2002 Big Ten Dual Meet Championship for the second consecutive season? The Golden Gophers, currently 7-0 in the conference, are the lone unbeaten Big Ten team. The Maroon and Gold handed second-place Michigan (6-1) their only loss of the season in late January, thereby ensuring the 2002 dual meet crown for Minnesota. The Golden Gophers won the conference dual meet title last year with a perfect 8-0 record. Gold Country has not lost a Big Ten dual meet since February 20, 2000 versus Iowa (20-13).
Strength of Schedule: The 2001-02 dual meet schedule for Minnesota is, once again, one of the toughest in the nation. Twelve of the 16 teams scheduled to face the U of M in dual meets are ranked in the WrestlingMall's top 25.They are No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Iowa, No. 4 Ohio State, No. 5 Oklahoma State, No. 8 Penn, No. 12 Illinois, No. 16 Wisconsin, No. 17 Nebraska, No.18 Purdue, No. 20 Northern Iowa, No. 21 Michigan State, and No. 24 Hofstra. It's clear that Gold Country's schedule is one of the strongest in the country.
7-0 in the Big Ten: The Golden Gophers pushed their Big Ten dual meet winning streak to 15 meets, dominating No. 16 Wisconsin, 40-4, and No. 13 Illinois, 27-6, at Williams Arena last weekend. Minnesota crushed No. 16 Wisconsin in front of 1,804 fans, winning nine of ten matches. The Golden Gophers claimed two victories by fall, two by forfeit and two by major decision. The meet began with the featured match of the night &endash; the 133-pound bout between top-ranked Ryan Lewis of Minnesota and No. 4 Kevin Black. Lewis proved why he is ranked No. 1 in the country, pinning Black in2:04 to remain undefeated. It was Lewis' seventh pin of the season. Versus Illinois, Minnesota won eight of ten matches in front of 2,372 fans to push its school-record dual meet winning streak to 32 meets. The Golden Gophers and Fighting Illini split the meet's first four bouts, but Minnesota won the final six to remain undefeated at 18-0 overall.
On a Record Streak: Minnesota (18-0) has now won a school-record 32consecutive 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 was23 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-meetstreak 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.
Another Streak: In addition to Minnesota's school-record 32 consecutive dual meet winning streak, one Golden Gopher wrestler is on quite a winning streak of his own. Junior Ryan Lewis has won 24-straight matches this season and currently ranks sixth all-time in consecutive matches won. The top-ranked 133-pounder from Vernal, Utah is yet to taste defeat this season with his 24-0 overall record and 13-0 mark in dual meets. With two more wins this season, Lewis will move into a tie for fifth place on the consecutive wins list with Dave Dean. Two-time NCAA Champion Tim Hartung leads the list with an astounding 58 consecutive matches won.
Lewis - Big Ten Wrestler of the Week: Junior Ryan Lewis has been named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week, following his outstanding performances last week in Big Ten dual meets versus No. 16 Wisconsin and No. 13 Illinois. It is the third conference honor this season for the Golden Gopher grappler from Vernal, Utah. Lewis, the nation's top-ranked wrestler at 133 pounds, dominated his Big Ten competition last week as the Golden Gophers moved two steps closer to a perfect dual-meet record for the season. On Friday, Lewis pinned Wisconsin's fourth-ranked Kevin Black in just 2:04 to record his seventh fall of the season. In Sunday's tilt, Lewis posted a 15-4 major decision over 15th-ranked Chad Hay of Illinois.
The Archrivals: Since the 1980-81 season, the Golden Gophers have defeated both Wisconsin and Iowa in the same year only five times (1993-94, 1997-98, 1998-99, 2000-01, 2001-02). In Minnesota's last season sweep of its archrivals prior to this year, the Maroon and Gold posted a 33-6 win at Wisconsin and two close victories over the Hawkeyes - a 20-17 win in the semifinals of the 2001 National Duals and a 17-16 nail biting triumph in Iowa City to close out the dual meet season. In the last 10 meetings, Minnesota holds an 9-1 record versus Wisconsin and a 6-4 record against Iowa. This season, Minnesota dropped Iowa 22-15 at Border Brawl and routed Wisconsin 40-4 last weekend.
15,646: College wrestling history was made three weeks ago in downtown Minneapolis' Target Center as the top-ranked Golden Gophers downed No. 2 Iowa at the Border Brawl in front of an NCAA-record 15,646 fans. The attendance set a new national mark for a college wrestling dual meet. The 15,646 Border Brawl fans eclipsed the previous record of 15,291, set on Feb. 22, 1992, when Iowa defeated Iowa State 29-8 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. The huge success of Border Brawl I has fans, media and U of M staff talking about continuing the entertaining and record-breaking event for years to come.
In the Bonus: Bonus points are the key to many dual meet and tournament wins. Major decisions, technical falls and pins are significant in deciding those tight duals. Overall, 46 percent of Minnesota's match victories (179/388) on the season have come with bonus point wins. As the Golden Gophers enter the meat of their dual season, below is a look at Minnesota's bonus point leaders in overall wins for the 2001-02 season (minimum 10 wins).
On the Record: Seniors Leroy Vega and Chad Erikson are on pace to enter the top four in Minnesota's all-time record book for career victories and pins, respectively. Vega is currently in fifth place in career wins with his record of 128-24-0. If he maintains his pace of 34 wins per season, Vega will finish his career as the third-winningest wrestler in Minnesota history. Ed Giese leads the list with an untouchable record of 159-34-3 while Billy Pierce ranks second at 142-26-0. Vega also ranks ninth in career win percentage at .842. In addition, Vega is seventh in career dual meet wins with his career record is 64-14. Erikson currently stands in a tie for fourth place on Gold Country's all-time career pins list with 38 falls. Erikson ranks fourth all-time behind Pierce (51), Tim Hartung (48) and Marty Morgan (47). He is tied with Jason Davids at 38 pins. Erikson also ranks second on the fastest pin list with his 14-second fall during the 1998-99 season. The record of 13 seconds is held by Jim Martinez.
The Ironman: Minnesota's diminutive standout, Leroy Vega, has competed in every dual meet match at 125 pounds for the Maroon and Gold in the past three seasons and in 2001-02. A remarkable feat, he is yet to miss an appearance in the starting position for the Golden Gophers. An All-American in his first three seasons in Gold Country, Vega has the chance to become Minnesota's second four-time All-American before his career is over. Vega improved upon his 1999 and 2000 performances at the Big Ten and NCAA Championships, placing second in the conference and third in the country for the best finishes of his career. This season, Vega, ranked second, is 27-2 overall and 17-1 in duals. Since losing in the Midlands title bout to World Champion and Olympic bronze medallist Alexis Vila, Vega has won 13 straight matches.
Top of His Game: In only his first season as the full-time 133-poundstarter, junior Ryan Lewis has made quite a name for himself in the college wrestling world. The Vernal, Utah native began the season ranked seventh and has seen his stock rise as he has compiled his 23-0 overall record. Lewis is now listed as No. 1 at 133 pounds. Lewis' last loss came to 2001 NCAA Champion Eric Juergens at last season's final dual meet at Iowa. He had missed the five duals prior to National Duals and the Midlands with a groin injury but has returned to action with a flourish, posting eight wins with bonus points in the last 11 meets. On the year, Lewis is 24-0 overall and 13-0 in duals, and has a team third-best seven pins.
Senior Swan Song: Senior Chad Erikson has a list of credentials that are impressive to say the least. But, up until last season, the great expectations went relatively unfilled for the 141-pounder from Apple Valley, Minn., as bad luck and untimely injuries plagued his first two seasons with the Golden Gophers. Nonetheless, Erikson ended the 2000-01 season with a 28-8 record, a team-high 10 pins, a runner-up finish at the Big Ten Championships and an eighth-place, All-America honor at the national meet. Needless to say, the expectations that were placed on Erikson were met, but the Minnesota coaches know that he has the tools to achieve even greater things during his senior season. So far this year, he has performed up to expectations, compiling a 14-3 overall record and a 7-3 mark in duals. Erikson, ranked seventh in the nation, posted one of the biggest wins of the season with his 17-6 major decision triumph over then-No. 2 Sean Gray of Virginia Tech. Erikson has not wrestled since the Iowa meet as the coaches are holding him out for tournament time.