The top-ranked Golden Gopher wrestling team improved to 14-1 on the
season and 3-0 in the Big Ten with a convincing 32-9 victory over
Purdue on Sunday at the Sports Pavilion. Minnesota won seven of 10
matches on the day, earning bonus points in six, to hand the
Boilermakers their fourth straight loss.
From the first match of the day, the Boilermakers set out to prove they
would not be intimidated, as they wrestled a very aggressive style and
continuously attempted to fire shots despite being out-matched.
Fourth-ranked Jayson Ness quickly proved the strategy would not be
effective, earning a 14-5 major decision over Brandon Tucker at 125.
Tucker attacked Ness early in the first period, but Ness countered and
scored a takedown just 19 seconds and built a 5-1 lead at the end of
the first period. Tucker came out firing again in the second and scored
a takedown and back points in the first 30 seconds. His success was
short-lived, however, as Ness turned it around in the third with a
takedown midway through and a three-point near fall as time expired. He
added the bonus point with over three minutes of riding time. With his
major today, Ness has now earned bonus points in eight of his last 10
matches.
Purdue got three points back with a victory from Sean Schmaltz over
Mike Thorn at 133, but it was close as they would get for the remainder
of the dual, as Minnesota’s 1-2-3 punch of Manuel Rivera and the
Schlatter brothers gave the Gophers a 15-3 advantage before
intermission.
Rivera improved to 29-0 on the season with a 13-4 major decision over
Nick Bertucci at 141. Leading 4-1 after the second, Rivera took aim at
bonus points in the third, scoring an escape 10 seconds in and
immediately allowing Bertucci to escape. He used the same method three
more times in succession to build his lead to 12-4 and earned the bonus
point with 2:41 of riding time.
In the only match of the day featuring two-ranked opponents, top-ranked
Dustin Schlatter won close 3-2 decision over No. 11 Jake Patacsil at
149. Patacsil battled Schlatter throughout the first, a period which
saw both wrestlers countering each other’s attempts. Schlatter got on
the board when Patacsil was issued his second stall warning with 30
seconds remaining in the second and added a takedown late in the period
to take a 3-0 lead. Patacsil got a couple points back in the third on a
stall warning on Schlatter and riding time advantage, but Schlatter
prevented him from generating any offense to win his 54th consecutive
match.
C.P. Schlatter, ranked No. 3 in the country, continued his impressive
streak since returning from a knee injury by downing Purdue’s Jake
Murphy, 14-3. Schlatter went after Murphy immediately, scoring a
takedown just seven seconds and adding another takedown and back points
later in the period. He built his lead from there with a number of
impressive takedowns in the second and third, the last with just four
seconds remaining, to earn the major decision.
Purdue won its second match of the day at 165, with Justin Fraga
defeating No. 20 Jeremy Larson, 13-8, but the Gophers finished off the
Boilermakers with a pair of exciting victories in the next two bouts.
No. 12 Gabriel Dretsch overcame an early deficit to pin Jason Martin
with a lightning quick maneuver near the end of the first period.
Trailing 4-3 after a Martin reversal,
Dretsch got an escape with 15
seconds remaining in the first, quickly spun around and used a body
lock to take the Purdue wrestler down and immediately put him on his
back to earn the fall at the 2:52 mark.
Second-ranked Roger Kish followed by providing the most entertaining
match of the night with a 23-8 tech fall over Nick Skinner. Kish wasted
no time in attacking Skinner, scoring the bout’s first points with a
takedown just two seconds into the match. He built his lead to 8-4
entering the third period and provided the 3,487 in attendance at the
Pavilion with plenty to cheer about in the final two minutes. After
starting down to begin the third, Kish got the escape and immediately
went after Skinner, scoring a takedown and three-point near fall to
quickly extend his lead to 14-4. He then used a series of four
takedowns and got the bonus point for riding time advantage to earn the
tech fall. Kish’s 23 points scored in the bout tied a career-high for a
single match.
The Boilermakers got their final victory from No. 14 Nathan Moore, who
defeated Brent Eidenschink, 5-1, at 197. Eidenschink, a true freshman
from Detroit Lakes, Minn., has faced a ranked opponent in five of his
first six matches since earning a starting spot prior to the National
Duals.
Purdue forfeited at heavyweight to make the final score 32-9. With the
victory, senior Cole Konrad extended his school-record winning streak
to 61 consecutive matches, currently the second-longest active streak
in the nation.
The Gophers will hit the road next weekend to face a pair of ranked Big
Ten opponents. Minnesota will meet the Indiana Hoosiers on Friday, Feb.
2 at 7 p.m., in Bloomington and stop in Champaign, Ill., on Sunday,
Feb. 4 to take on Illinois at 1 p.m.
CSTV will air the Feb. 26 Minnesota-Michigan dual on tape delay on
Monday, Jan. 26 at 9 p.m.
Sunday, January 28, 2007 at Minneapolis, MN
#1 Minnesota 32, Purdue 9
125 - #4 Jayson Ness (MINN) maj. dec. Brandon Tucker (PUR), 14-5
133 - Sean Schmaltz (PUR) dec. Mike Thorn (MINN), 4-2
141 - #2 Manuel Rivera (MINN) maj. dec. Nick Bertucci (PUR), 13-4
149 - #1 Dustin Schlatter (MINN) dec. #11 Jake Patacsil (PUR), 3-2
157 - #3 C.P. Schlatter (MINN) maj. dec. Jake Murphy (PUR), 14-3
165 - Justin Fraga (PUR) dec. Jeremy Larson (MINN), 13-8
174 - #12 Gabriel Dretsch (MINN) pinned Jason Martin (PUR), 2:52
184 - #2 Roger Kish (MINN) vs. Nick Skinner (PUR)
197 - #14 Nathan Moore (PUR) dec. Brent Eidenschink (MINN), 5-1
Hwt - #1 Cole Konrad (MINN) won by forfeit