The Gophers hit the road for the first time during the Big Ten season
this weekend to face a pair of ranked conference opponents. Minnesota
will meet the 18th-ranked Indiana Hoosiers on Friday, Feb. 2 at 7 p.m.,
in Bloomington and stop in Champaign, Ill., on Sunday, Feb. 4 to take
on No. 11 Illinois at 1 p.m.
Gopher Wrestling Notebook
Streaks, streaks and more streaks...
...Konrad Goes for 63 In a Row
Senior heavyweight Cole Konrad is currently riding the second-longest
winning streak in the nation at 61 consecutive matches. He trails only
Missori’s Ben Askren, who has won his last 73 contests. Konrad broke
Tim Hartung’s school record of 58 consecutive wins with his win against
Penn State on Sunday, Jan. 21 and will be going for numbers 62 and 63
this weekend.
...Schlatter Not Far Behind
Sophomore Dustin Schlatter is right on the heels of Konrad, currently
with 54 straight wins of his own, good enough for the third longest
streak in the country. Overall, Schlatter has won 66 of 67 matches for
a .985 win percentage in his collegiate career, which currently ranks
as the highest career winning percentage in school history.
...Rivera on a Roll
Junior Manuel Rivera has attracted the attention of fans across the
nation with his performance this season. Unbeaten at 29-0, Rivera
currently possesses the nation’s fifth-longest winning streak at 29
consecutive matches. He has earned bonus points in 16 of his 29 wins
this season.
Mack is Back!
Two-time All-American Mack Reiter made his first appearance of the
season competing unattached last weekend at the Jimmie Open in
Jamestown, N.D. Reiter dominated the competition on his way to the
133-pound title, pinning all four of his opponents. Reiter, who has
been out since the beginning of the season with a torn anterior
cruciate ligament, is scheduled to make his first dual meet start this
weekend.
The Series vs. Indiana
Minnesota has dominated the series against the Hoosiers, holding a
39-4-1 advantage all-time. The last time Indiana defeated the Gophers
was on Feb. 23, 1992 by a score of 29-13. Prior to that, Indiana had
not beaten the Gophers since 1968.
Minnesota downed Indiana, 25-13, on Senior Day last year in Minneapolis
to finish unbeaten at home for the fifth time under Head Coach J
Robinson. The Gophers broke a 13-13 tie with three wins to close the
dual.
The Series vs. Illinois
The Gophers hold a 26-21-2 advantage in the all-time series against
Illinois, but the Illini have held the upper-hand in the last two
meetings. While the two schools did not meet last year, Illinois topped
the Gophers twice in dual meets during the 2004-05 season and went on
to capture to its first conference title since 1952, finishing 6.5
points ahead of the Gophers at the 2005 Big Ten Championships.
Marquee Match-ups
Both of Minnesota’s opponents this weekend boast rosters stacked with
ranked opponents. Jayson Ness and C.P. Schlatter will face the stiffest
tests, as both are scheduled to face a pair of top-10 opponents. Ness
will take on No. 8 Angel Escobedo of Indiana on Friday and No. 6 Gabe
Flores of Illinois on Sunday. The featured match of the weekend will
most definitely occur in the 157-pound bout on Sunday when Schlatter,
ranked third in the country, meets Illinois’ top-ranked Mike Poeta.
First, he must get through No. 7 Brandon Tucker on Friday night.