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Gophers take on Wildcats, Boilermakers this weekend
February 2, 2005
THIS WEEK: The seventh-ranked Golden Gophers (6-6, 0-2) will look to get back on track this weekend on the road. Minnesota will face No. 15 Northwestern (9-1, 2-1) on Friday night in Evanston, Ill. The Golden Gophers will then travel to West Lafayette, Ind., for a Saturday night dual against Purdue (7-8, 1-2).
GOLDEN GOPHERS FALL IN BIG TEN OPENER: Minnesota struggled last weekend in a pair of losses to Michigan State and Michigan. The Golden Gophers wrestled without a pair of starters at 174 and 184 pounds, including redshirt freshman Roger Kish, who sat out with a skin infection. In four matches over the weekend at 174 and 184, the Golden Gophers suffered three pins and a major decision.
On Friday vs. the Spartans, Michigan State won seven of 10 matches in a 28-14 win. Third-ranked Nick Simmons started the dual with a 9-0 major decision against No. 5 Bobbe Lowe at 125 pounds. The Golden Gophers' three wins came from Mack Reiter (major), Matt Nagel (pin) and Cole Konrad (pin).
On Sunday against Michigan, the Wolverines avenged a loss at the National Duals with a 24-19 victory. The difference in the match proved to be at 184 pounds as Joshua Weitzel earned a pin of redshirt freshman Jeremy Larson. At the National Duals, Kish defeated Weitzel. Lowe and Reiter got the Golden Gophers off to a 10-0 start, but the Wolverines won the next six matches. Minnesota finished strong with a pin from Matt Koz at 197 pounds and a 7-2 decision from Cole Konrad over No. 3 Greg Wagner of Michigan.
THE SERIES WITH NORTHWESTERN: The Golden Gophers lead the all-time series against Northwestern by a 35-17-1 advantage, including an 8-4-1 edge in duals held in Evanston, Ill. The two teams did not meet a year ago. In the last meeting, Minnesota claimed a 41-3 victory at the Sports Pavilion on Feb. 9, 2003. The Golden Gophers have won the past six meetings with the last Northwestern win coming on Jan. 20, 1996, by the score of 25-9. Head coach J Robinson owns an 11-4-1 record during his tenure against Northwestern.
ABOUT THE WILDCATS: Northwestern enters this weekend sky high after beating Iowa, 22-19, last Sunday. It was their first win over the Hawkeyes in 37 years. The Wildcats are off to a strong start in the Big Ten with a 2-1 record, as well as a 9-1 record overall. Freshmen Ryan Lang (141) and Jake Herbert (174) are a perfect 10-0 in the dual meet season.
The Wildcats return 15 of 20 letterwinners from last year's team which finished 9-9 overall and 0-8 in the Big Ten.
POTENTIAL WILDCAT-GOPHER MATCHUPS: At 125 pounds, a couple of familiar foes are scheduled to meet. Senior All-American Bobbe Lowe has won both meetings against the Wildcats' John Velez. In Lowe's first season as a Golden Gopher in 2002-03, he earned an 18-4 major decision in Minnesota's 41-3 victory against the Wildcats. The two then met in last year's consolation bracket of the Big Ten Tournament. Lowe pinned Velez in 6:12.
LAST TIME VS. THE WILDCATS: Minnesota won nine of 10 matches in a dominating 41-3 victory against Northwestern at the Sports Pavilion on Feb. 9, 2003. The Golden Gophers posted two wins and five major decisions. In a match that started at 125 pounds, the Wildcats did not register their first takedown until the 184-pound match.
Bobbe Lowe began the dual with an 18-4 major decision against John Velez at 125 pounds. Top-ranked Ryan Lewis followed with a pin in 4:24 against Jon Ott. Second-ranked Jared Lawrence registered a fall in 2:36 against Josh Ballard at 149 pounds, while second-ranked Luke Becker earned an 18-5 major against Mike Kimberlin at 157. Brendan Curry registered the lone Wildcat win with a 9-4 decision against Casey Flaherty at 184.
THE SERIES VS. PURDUE: Minnesota owns a 40-17-2 advantage in the all-time series against Purdue, including a 10-3 edge in duals held in West Lafayette, Ind. Last year, the Boilermakers snapped a seven-match losing streak against the Golden Gophers with an 18-15 win at Williams Arena last season. Head coach J Robinson has a 10-3 record against Purdue.
ABOUT THE BOILERMAKERS: Purdue enters this weekend with a 7-8 record, including a 1-2 mark in the Big Ten. The Boilermakers picked up their first league victory with a 21-12 win at Ohio State last Friday. Purdue has been defeated by Northwestern (27-10) and Penn State (32-7).
The Boilermakers return 11 of 21 letterwinners from a team that finished 18-6 overall and 4-4 in the Big Ten last season. The Boilermakers finished in 27th place at the NCAA Championships.
COMMON OPPONENTS: Minnesota and Purdue have one common opponent this season. The Golden Gophers defeated Central Michigan twice at the National Duals, while the Boilermakers dropped a 37-3 dual against the Chippewas on Jan. 16.
SAY IT AIN'T SO: Minnesota has started 0-2 in the Big Ten for the first time in 18 years. The 1986-87 squad finished 0-8 in the league. The Golden Gophers have also not started 0-3 since 1986-87.
CHECK THE CALENDAR: The year's shortest month has also been one of Minnesota's most productive recently. Last year, the Golden Gophers entered February with a 7-5 record and then went 5-1 to close out the season at 12-6. Minnesota has gone 42-4 over the past eight Februarys dating back to 1996-97.
MOVIN' ON UP: Redshirt freshman C.P. Schlatter came to Minnesota as a key component of the nation's top-ranked recruiting class in 2003. He didn't disappoint during his redshirt year as he dominated with an 11-0 record in open tournaments with three pins, three majors and two technical falls. That domination continued into the offseason as he won the Gold Medal in Greco at the Junior Pan-American Championships in Venezuela in July. In the first match in the freestyle competition, he suffered a serious knee injury which kept him out of the Golden Gopher lineup until this past December.
After 13 matches back in the lineup at 149, the coaches moved Schlatter up to 157 for last Sunday's dual against Michigan. He will likely stay at the weight for the remainder of the season. The last time a prized recruit made a mid-season change in weight class was Damion Hahn. He earned All-American honors at 184 pounds during his first two seasons, but after coming back from a serious knee injury, he moved up to 197 pounds midway through his junior season in 2003. He went on to win the first of his two national titles at that weight.
CHECK YOUR SCORECARD: Minnesota has yet to use the same lineup in two dual meets this season. While Tommy Owen and Quincy Osborn at 141 pounds and Matt Koz and Jon Duncombe at 197 pounds have been trading starts, the Golden Gophers have been ravaged by injury. Bobbe Lowe, Osborn, Owen, C.P. Schlatter, Gabriel Dretsch, Josh McLay and Roger Kish have all missed at least one dual meet due to injury or illness. Kish sat out last weekend's dual meets against Michigan State and Michigan due to a skin infection. His return is unknown.