2001-02 College News - 11/28 Minnesota Gophers Update

Minnesota Gophers Update

11/28/01

The top-ranked Golden Gophers battle No. 2 Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla., Sunday, Dec. 2, in a much - anticipated dual meet.

Meet Webcasts: Sunday's bout between the Golden Gophers and Cowboys will be broadcast live on OSU's athletic website. KSPI's (93.7 FM) J. Carl Guymon will call the action live over the Internet at www.okstate.com.

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.

About the Cowboys: Oklahoma State, ranked second in the nation, returns four All-Americans from its 2000-01 team that took third place at last season's NCAA meet. They include Matt Brown (125, 6th), Johnny Thompson (133, 2nd), Shane Roller (157, 3rd) and Tyrone Lewis (174, 5th). The Cowboys' took third place last year and had one individual champ in 197-pound senior Mark Munoz.

This season, OSU has another strong lineup from top to bottom with seven of its ten wrestlers ranked in Amateur Wrestling News' top 20. The Cowboys have started out strong this season, shutting out both Embry-Riddle and Tennessee-Chattanooga, sweeping the Cliff Keen Open titles, and placing six at the Oklahoma Open. OSU's contest with the Golden Gophers opens up a stretch of dual meets versus some of the nation's top-ranked teams. After Minnesota, the Cowboys face No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 24 Oregon State, Oregon and No. 5 Iowa.

Last Year vs. the Cowboys:
No. 2 Oklahoma State 25, No. 1 Minnesota 12
Sunday, Jan. 7, 2001 • Williams Arena • Minneapolis, Minn.
141 - No. 10 Chad Erikson (MINN) dec. Johnny Thompson (OSU), 13-7
149 - No. 2 Reggie Wright (OSU) dec. No. 3 Jared Lawrence (MINN), 9-6
157 - No. 5 Luke Becker (MINN) dec. No. 15 Shane Roller (OSU), 7-4
165 - No. 3 Brad Pike (MINN) dec. No. 7 Ty Wilcox (OSU), 4-3
174 - No. 11 Tyrone Lewis (OSU) dec. No. 15 Matt Kraft (OSU), 9-4
184 - No. 4 Dan Cormier (OSU) maj. dec. No. 3 Damion Hahn (MINN) 19-7
197 - No. 2 Mark Munoz (OSU) pinned Eli Ross (MINN), 5:30
HWT - James Huml (OSU) pinned Mike Flanagan (MINN), 2:24 125 -
No. 17 Matt Brown (OSU) dec. No. 3 Leroy Vega (MINN), 4-3 133 -
No. 4 Brett Lawrence (MINN) dec. No. 3 Charles Walker (OSU), 7-6

No. 2 Minnesota 20, No. 1 Oklahoma State 12
Sunday, Jan. 21, 2001 • State College, Pa. • Championship - National Duals
125 - No. 5 Leroy Vega (MINN) dec. No 10 Matt Brown (OSU), 6-4
133 - Johnny Thompson (OSU) dec. No. 2 Brett Lawre n ce (MINN), 4-1
141 - No. 8 Chad Erikson (MINN) dec. No. 5 Charles Walker (OSU), 4-0
149 - No. 2 Reggie Wright (OSU) dec. No. 3 Jared Lawrence (MINN), 3-1, OT
157 - No. 5 Luke Becker (MINN) dec. No. 11 Shane Roller (OSU), 7- 2
165 - No. 3 Brad Pike (MINN) pinned Billy Gabel (OSU), 6:34
174 - No. 11 Tyrone Lewis (OSU) dec. Jacob Volkmann (MINN), 8-4
184 - No. 4 Damion Hahn (MINN) dec. No. 3 Daniel Cormier (OSU), 4-3
197 - No. 2 Mark Munoz (OSU) dec. No. 9 Owen Elzen (MINN), 9- 4
HWT - No. 5 Garrett Lowney (MINN) dec. James Huml (OSU), 3-2
* Minnesota deducted one team point for unsportsmanlike conduct

The Series: Oklahoma State holds a 14-5 advantage over the Golden Gophers, dating back to 1941. Last season, Minnesota and OSU met twice on the mat in dual meets with each squad taking one contest apiece. The Cowboys took first blood, downing the shorthanded Maroon and Gold 25-12 in front of 9,565 Minnesota fans at Williams Arena. The Golden Gophers exacted their revenge later at the National Duals, dropping OSU 20- 12 in the championship meet of the National Duals.

Home-Opening Shutout: Minnesota opened its 2001-02 dual meet season in dominating fashion, shutting out 21st-ranked Boise State 42-0 in the Golden Gopher home opener at the Sports Pavilion in front of 1,453 fans. The Maroon and Gold posted four major decisions, a technical fall and a pin in the drubbing.

The meet began at 197 pounds with second-ranked Owen Elzen registering a 17-1 (4:15) technical fall on Bronco Josh Ward. Elzen had three takedowns and four near falls in the rout. Heavyweight Garrett Lowney opened his dual season in the win column, dropping BSU's 19th-ranked Boe Rushton with a shutout, 6-0.

At 125 pounds, second-ranked Leroy Vega proved victorious in the closest match of the afternoon, defeating 10th-ranked Ben VomBaur 6-4. Vega built a 6-1 lead into the third period, but VomBaur stormed back and nearly caught up. But Vega prevailed and remained undefeated on the season. Ryan Lewis notched the day's first major decision, downing Jesse Brock 11-1. Lewis ended the match with 2:50 of advantage time.

Next, at 141 pounds, fourth-ranked Chad Erikson defeated No. 11 Gabe Vigil 11-4 to push the team score to 18-0. Trent Hatlevig was then credited with the win by forfeit at 149 pounds. Third-ranked Luke Becker got the only pin of the day, rolling Mitch Morgan 1:33 into the first period.

At 165 pounds, No. 10 John Hardy opened up his dual meet season with a convincing 19-8 major decision win over Tyler Robertson. Hardy had six takedowns and a near fall in the victory. Third-ranked Jacob Volkmann kept the shutout alive at 174 pounds, beating Pat Owens with a 12-3 major decision. Finally, at 184 pounds, No. 7 Damion Hahn posted the final major decision of the afternoon with his 12-4 win over Tony D'Amico.

The 42-0 triumph was the Golden Gophers' first shutout since their 45-0 rout of Princeton last season. Minnesota is next in action Sunday, Dec. 2, in a much-anticipated bout versus second-ranked Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla.