The top-ranked University
of Minnesota wrestling team stormed into Carver-Hawkeye Arena on
Sunday night and rolled over the 10th-ranked Hawkeyes with a convincing
29-13 victory to finish the dual meet season 20-1 overall and 8-0 in
the Big Ten. Iowa fans were encouraged to wear all black in an attempt
to create a hostile environment, but the Gophers made the announced
crowd of 8,274 mostly a non-factor, winning seven of 10 matches on the
night.
With the victory, the Golden Gophers reached 20 dual meet wins for the
fifth time in Head Coach J Robinson’s tenure and finished the Big Ten
regular season with an unblemished record for the fourth time in his
career and the first time since their back-to-back national
championship runs in 2001 and ’02.
The dual meet started with a battle between two top five opponents at
125 pounds, as No. 4 Jayson Ness took on No. 5 Charlie Falck. Ness took
control of the match early with a takedown just over a minute in and
rode Falck out for the remainder of the first period. After starting
down in the second, Ness took a 3-0 lead with an escape and built his
advantage with a quick takedown and two-point near fall in the third,
adding the bonus point with 2:43 of riding time to get the 8-0 major
decision.
Iowa native Mack Reiter followed with a pin of Hawkeye senior Lucas
Magnani in 5:38. Reiter controlled the match throughout, building an
11-1 lead with four takedowns and a two-point near fall before working
Magnani onto his shoulders early in the third period.
The Hawkeyes got six points back with a pin at 141 pounds, as Minnesota
gave second-ranked Manuel Rivera a night off. No. 6 Alex Tsirtsis took
true freshman Mike Thorn down 17 seconds into the match and simply wore
him out on his back, getting the fall at 1:16. Thorn made his first
start at the weight class after spending much of the year at 133.
Top-ranked Dustin Schlatter got Minnesota back on track with a 5-2
decision over Alex Grunder at 149. Schlatter used a pair of first
period takedowns to build a 4-1 lead and held off Grunder the rest of
the way to earn the win.
No. 6 C.P. Schlatter followed with a 9-4 decision over No. 16 Ryan
Morningstar at 157. Schlatter controlled the match from the opening
whistle, scoring three takedowns in the first period to open up a 6-3
lead. Schlatter got another takedown in the second and added the bonus
point for riding time to make the final score 9-4, giving the Gophers a
16-6 advantage before intermission.
Tyler Safratowich suffered his first loss at 165 pounds, falling by
major decision to No. 4 Mark Perry, 10-2. Perry scored the first points
of the match with a takedown midway through the first and added two
back points at the end of the period to take a 4-0 lead. Down 8-0 in
the third, Safratowich scored his only points of the match with a
reversal, but Perry got an escape as time expired and added the bonus
point for riding time to get the major decision.
In a defensive battle at 174 pounds, No. 4 Eric Luedke escaped with a
3-1 overtime decision over No. 14 Gabriel Dretsch. The two wrestlers
traded escapes at the beginning of the second and third periods to send
the match into overtime tied at one apiece. Dretsch nearly scored the
winning takedown in the sudden victory period but could not find enough
room on the edge of the mat. Luedke got the win with a reversal in the
tiebreaker session to narrow the margin in the dual to 16-13.
It was as close as the Hawkeyes would get, however, as second-ranked
Roger Kish defeated Phillip Keddy in the next match with a 14-5 major
decision. Keddy kept the match close in the first period, but Kish went
to work in the second, scoring three takedowns in the period to build a
7-2 lead. Kish got three more takedowns in the third, the last coming
with under 20 seconds remaining to seal the major decision and extend
Minnesota’s lead to seven.
Yura Malamura then defeated Jordan McLaughlin, 4-3, at 197 to seal the
match for the Gophers. After a scoreless first period, Malamura got an
escape to take a 1-0 lead early in the second. Malamura added a
takedown after a scramble later in the period and led 3-1 after two.
McLaughlin tied the match with a reversal in the third period, but
Malamura quickly broke free to get the deciding escape.
With the outcome decided, Iowa forfeited at heavyweight to make the
final score 29-13, and top-ranked Cole Konrad extended his winning
streak to 67 consecutive matches.
Minnesota now has two weeks off before the Big Ten Championships, which
will be held March 3-4 in East Lansing, Mich.
#1 Minnesota 29, #10 Iowa 13
125: #4 Jayson Ness (MINN) maj. dec. #5 Charlie Falck (IOWA), 8-0
133: #9 Mack Reiter (MINN) pinned Lucas Magnani (IOWA), 5:38
141: #6 Alex Tsirtsis (IOWA) pinned Mike Thorn (MINN), 1:16
149: #1 Dustin Schlatter (MINN) dec. Alex Grunder (IOWA), 5-2
157: #6 C.P. Schlatter (MINN) dec. #16 Ryan Morningstar (IOWA), 9-4
165: #4 Mark Perry (IOWA) maj. dec. Tyler Safratowich (MINN), 10-2
174: #3 Eric Luedke (IOWA) dec. #14 Gabriel Dretsch (MINN), 3-1 TB1
184: #2 Roger Kish (MINN) maj. dec. Phillip Keddy (IOWA), 14-5
197: Yura Malamura (MINN) dec. Jordan McLaughlin (IOWA), 4-3
Hwt: #1 Cole Konrad (MINN) wins by forfeit