Contact | Subscribe | Advertise | Links | Youth | H.S. | College | Club | News/General
Feb. 14, 2003
The second-ranked University of Minnesota lost thriller of a dual meet to arch-rival No. 4 Iowa, 22-18, tonight in Iowa City, as the Hawkeyes won their third meet of the season over the Golden Gophers. Minnesota (15-5, 5-1 Big Ten) dropped its first Big Ten meet since Feb. 20, 2000, against Iowa (20-13), and its first road conference meet since Feb. 6, 1998, at Penn State (21-13).
The Border Brawl at Carver-Hawkeye Arena began with a huge win for the Black and Gold as No. 6 Luke Eustice gave UI six points right out of the gate with his pin of No. 17 Bobbe Lowe in 3:22. Lowe is winless at 0-3 against the elder Eustice from Blue Earth, Minn. The Golden Gophers cut the lead in half at 133 pounds as top-ranked Ryan Lewis defeated No. 4 Cliff Moore, 11-7. Minnesota tied the dual after the 141-pound match with No. 14 Derek Phillips' 5-4 edging of No. 15 Luke Moffitt. It was the first meeting between the two grapplers and improved Phillips to 5-1 on the season.
The Maroon and Gold took their first lead at 9-6 with No. 2 Jared Lawrence maintaining his dominance on No. 14 Ty Eustice with an 11-4 decision. Lawrence is now 22-2 overall, 5-0 in the Big Ten and 3-0 vs. the younger Eustice. Iowa retook the lead in a shocking 157- pound match as No. 8 Joe Johnston pinned second-ranked Luke Becker in 3:50. It marked the first time Becker has been pinned this season.
At 165 pounds, No. 5 Jacob Volkmann shifted the momentum to the Golden Gophers with a fall over Jason D'Agata in 1:24. It was Volkmann's fourth pin of the season and gave Minnesota a 15-12 lead with four matches to go. The Hawkeyes stole the momentum back with three consecutive wins, including No. 21 Ryan Fulsaas' 3-2 upset of No. 9 Damion Hahn at 197 pounds. It was Hahn's first loss to Fulsaas. UI took the 174-pound bout with No. 3 Tyler Nixt downing No. 14 Josh McLay, 5-4, and No. 3 Jessman Smith posted a 16-3 major decision on Matt Nagel at 184 pounds.
With the shocking win at 197 pounds, Iowa clinched the dual meet with a 22-15 lead. Therefore, the absence of top-ranked heavyweight Steve Mocco, due to a UI and Big Ten-sponsored suspension, was of little consequence. Minnesota's No. 10 Garrett Lowney closed out the nailbiter with a 5-2 win over Paul Bradley.
Minnesota returns to action at Wisconsin on Sunday, Feb. 16, at 2 p.m. The Golden Gophers are in a battle for the 2003 Big Ten Dual Meet Championship. Minnesota stands at 5-1, while Michigan State and Iowa at 4-1 are a win away from creating a three-way tie atop the conference standings