Gophers Drop Another at Williams, Lose Border Battle with Wisconsin
February 17, 2008
Minneapolis, MN -- Another chapter of the Minnesota – Wisconsin “Border
Battle” is in the books, and the defending national champion Golden Gopher wrestling team
came out on the short end Sunday afternoon at Williams Arena, losing
20-17. The Gophers won five of 10 matches on the afternoon, but a pin
by Wisconsin’s Dallas Herbst at 197 pounds proved to be the difference
as Minnesota (13-7, 4-3) lost its second dual meet of the weekend.
The Gophers got wins from Jayson Ness, Dustin Schlatter, Tyler
Safratowich, Gabe Dretsch and Roger Kish, but Badger wins at 133, 141,
157, 197 and Heavyweight were too much to overcome. Upsets of seniors
Mack Reiter and Manuel Rivera put the Gophers in an early hole, and the
continued absence of 157-pound All-American C.P. Schlatter at 157
pounds gave Minnesota an even smaller margin for error.
Minnesota’s three Big Ten dual meet losses is their highest total since
2004-05. The Gophers have lost three or more conference duals three
times in the last 12 years.
The Gophers are now 0-4 this season in Williams Arena following their
two weekend losses (Illinois won 19-17 Friday night in Minneapolis. The
win for the Badgers (13-4-1, 4-3 Big Ten) was their second upset of the
weekend. They also beat No. 10 Michigan 20-18 Friday night in Madison.
Top-ranked sophomore Ness continued his undefeated season (32-0) at 125
pounds, winning an 8-0 major decision over No. 19 Collin Cudd. Ness,
who has a Division I-leading 18 pins on the season (still just two shy
of the Gophers’ single-season mark) has picked up bonus points in a
whopping 26 matches already this year. Sunday, the Bloomington, Minn.
native gave Cudd little opportunity to score, spending the vast
majority of the match (4:09) on top and scoring three takedowns.
Ness has won 33 matches dating back to last season, the second-longest streak in the nation.
Seniors Mack Reiter and Manny Rivera rounded out a disappointing
weekend for Minnesota with losses at 133 and 141 pounds. Reiter, who
entered the meet ranked fifth nationally, lost a tough 5-1 to No. 11
Zach Tanelli at 133. Down 2-0 after the first three minutes, Reiter was
nearly turned on his back partway through the second but rebounded,
only to suffer another takedown at the end of the period. The loss
drops his record to 18-6, including 3-4 in the Big Ten.
Rivera had his hands full with No. 6 Kyle Ruschel at 141. The
third-ranked Gopher senior and Ruschel wrestled through a scoreless
first, only to find himself down 3-0 after a big takedown in the waning
seconds of the second period. Ruschel ended the match with a nearfall
to win 6-1 (including the riding time point).
At 149, Dustin Schlatter flashed the aggressive form that made him an
NCAA champion as a freshman in 2006. He went to work early and often on
unranked Kendall Vogel, rarely surrendering his position on top and
winning handily with a 13-3 decision. Schlatter is now 15-1 on the year
and 2-0 on the weekend after not wrestling since Dec. 30 due to a
hamstring injury.
Freshman Luke Mellmer filled in for sixth-ranked C.P. Schlatter at 157
pounds, this time drawing another tough opponent in No. 5 Craig
Henning. Mellmer, who was pinned by No. 3 Mike Poeta of Illinois on
Friday night, fared a little better Sunday, losing a 15-0 technical
fall. The Gophers still entered the locker room at intermission down
11-8.
No. 20 Tyler Safratowich got Minnesota back onto the winning side of
things at 165 pounds, picking up a 5-3 decision over Jake Donar.
Safratowich jumped in front 4-2 in the second frame, but Donar cut his
lead in half with a reversal halfway through the period. Safratowich
started the third on top and kept his position nearly the entire way,
winning 5-3. The junior won both his matches on the weekend (improving
to 24-7) and appears poised to jump up in the national rankings.
With the team score now tied at 11, Minnesota turned to another senior,
11th-ranked Gabe Dretsch at 174 pounds. With multiple busloads of his
friends and family watching from the stands (it was “Gabe
Dretsch/Frazee Community Day” at Williams Arena), Dretsch sent his fans
home happy with an impressive 12-6 win. Dretsch led 6-0 early, although
Clum climbed back to within four (10-6) before Dretsch put the match
with a late reversal.
Up by three, Minnesota needed a big performance from senior Roger Kish
at 184 pounds as they sought to avoid their second weekend loss. The
two-time defending All-American and 10th-ranked senior took on No. 17
Trevor Brandvold, winning a big 4-3 decision. After a scoreless first,
Kish jumped on the board in the second period with a reversal. Two
escapes later, Brandvold tied the score at two apiece. It was a battle
for positioning in the third period, with Kish winning the scrum on the
mat and taking down Brandvold with 40 seconds left. Brandvold tried to
score a takedown in the final 15 seconds, but Kish held on for the win.
Sunday was the first action on the mat for Brandvold since Feb. 1, as
he had been out with a knee injury. It was the first match of the week
for Kish (11-6), who was held out of Friday night’s dual with Illinois.
But Kish and Dretsch’s big wins were nullified in quick fashion by
Wisconsin’s Herbst, the Badgers’ leading pinner. The Winneconne, Wis.
native needed just 1:03 to pin Yura Malamura and tie the team score at
17.
Redshirt freshman Ben Berhow put up a good fight against No. 4 Kyle
Massey (a native of Champlin, Minn.) at heavyweight but lost 6-2.
Berhow didn’t manage a takedown for the second consecutive night,
giving the Badgers their third victory over Minnesota in the last 12
meetings between the two.
The Gophers will round out the 2007-08 dual meet season Sunday when
they host No. 6 Ohio State at the Sports Pavilion. That meet will get
underway at 2:00 p.m.
