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November 24, 2002
Minnesota dumps Northern Illinois 26-17
The third-ranked University of Minnesota wrestling team downed No. 25 Northern Illinois, 26-17, today in DeKalb, Ill., in a dual meet highlighted by bonus points in five of 10 matches. The shorthanded Golden Gophers won six bouts, but the Huskies won a match each by fall and technical fall to keep the score close. The 17 points given up to NIU are the most allowed in a Minnesota win since UM downed Iowa 20-17 on Jan, 21, 2001.
The meet began at heavyweight with Chad Mentel defeating Zac Jensen, 8-3, to give Minnesota an early 3-0 lead. Mentel was filling in for third-ranked Garrett Lowney who underwent surgery earlier in the week to repair a pinched nerve in his shoulder. The Huskies took their only lead of the meet in the next bout as Matt Kucala pinned true freshman Andrew Domingues in 6:11. The Maroon and Gold got back on top at 9-6 as No. 4 Ryan Lewis pinned Sam Hiatt in 2:01. It was Lewis' 19th pin as a Golden Gopher.
Northern Illinois tied the meet at nine as Josh Wooten downed Tommy Owen, 11-6, in the 141-pound match. The Maroon and Gold put the meet out of reach in the next four matches, pushing its lead to 26-9 after the 174-pound bout. Top-ranked Jared Lawrence got it started with his career's 25th pin, rolling Oliver Vasquez in 4:13. Then, in the featured match of the day, top-ranked Luke Becker dropped No. 3 Scott Owen, 9-4, to extend Minnesota's lead to 18-9. With the win, Becker moved his win streak to 21 consecutive matches.
At 165 pounds, No. 4 Jacob Volkmann registered a 17-0 technical fall over Jeremy Benesh to give UM five more team points. Josh McLay rounded out the Minnesota scoring at 174 pounds, defeating George Kirgan, 5-3. The Huskies won the final two bouts as No. 9 Ben Heizer tallied a 16-0 technical fall on Casey Flaherty at 184 pounds and James Oliva downed Eli Ross, 8-4 at 197 pounds.
Minnesota next hosts Virginia Tech on Sunday, Dec. 1, at 5 p.m., at Williams Arena.