Gophers Travel to Meet Border Rivals
February 11, 2009
Following a weekend at the Sports Pavilion, the Gophers are on the road this weekend to take on two of their biggest rivals. Minnesota,
ranked 11th in this week’s InterMat/NWCA poll, will travel to Madison
to take on No. 18 Wisconsin on Friday night before heading to Iowa City
to meet top-ranked Iowa on Sunday afternoon.
Both duals this weekend will mark the second time this season the
Gophers have squared off with the Badgers and the Hawkeyes. Minnesota
fell to Iowa by a 27-7 score and defeated Wisconsin by a 22-15 tally at
last month’s National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Minnesota sophomore Mike Thorn should have his work cut out for him
this weekend. Thorn is slated to face the nation’s top two 141-pounders
in Wisconsin’s Zach Tanelli and Iowa’s Alex Tsirtsis. Sunday’s
anticipated match between Jayson Ness and Iowa’s top-ranked Daniel
Dennis at 133 pounds will also draw significant national attention.
Gophers on Big Ten Network
Minnesota fans can watch Sunday’s dual with archrival Iowa on the Big
Ten Network. The meet, which begins at 2:00 p.m. (CT) will be broadcast
tape-delayed at 7:00 p.m.. The meet is the first and only Minnesota
dual this season to appear on BTN. The network is also set to broadcast
the Big Ten Championships from State College, Pa. on March 8.
King Pin
Two-time All-American Jayson Ness has lived up to his reputation for
piling up pins again this season. A year after tying former head
assistant coach Marty Morgan’s school record with 20 pins, the
Bloomington, Minn. native has picked up right where he left off,
recording 14 pins in his first 19 matches of the season.
Heading into the pair of duals this weekend, Ness needs only two more
pins to tie former Golden Gopher legend Billy Pierce (1992-96) for most
pins in the history of the program with 51.
Last Time Out
The Gophers split a pair of Big Ten duals last weekend at the Sports
Pavilion. Minnesota dropped a 17-16 decision to No. 18 Michigan on
Friday night before securing the program’s seventh consecutive dual win
over Northwestern on Sunday afternoon, besting the No. 16 Wildcats by
an 18-16 score.
On Friday night, the Gophers got wins in five of the dual’s 10 bouts,
but Jayson Ness’ major decision at 133 pounds was the only match where
Minnesota was able to collect bonus points. Wins by major decision from
the Wolverines’ top-ranked Steve Luke at 174 pounds and No. 6 Tyrel
Todd at 197 pounds proved to be the difference in the dual. The loss
was Minnesota’s first of the Big Ten dual season.
On Sunday, Scott Glasser (165 pounds), Ben Berhow (Hwt) and Ness (133
pounds) each completed perfect weekends with big wins over their
Northwestern counterparts to spark the 18-16 victory. The dual also
featured a showdown between Northwestern’s No. 3 Brandon Precin and the
Gophers’ seventh-ranked Zach Sanders at 125 pounds, with Precin holding
on for an 8-7 win. Sanders took down the 2008 All-American in the
closing seconds and recorded a three-point nearfall, but Precin was
able to avoid the pin and secure the victory.
Berhow’s pair of wins over the weekend improved his season mark to
21-6, and improved his record in Big Ten duals to 5-0. The Hayward,
Minn. native also currently owns a seven-match winning streak, matching
a career-best.
'Saf' Closes in on Century Mark
Minnesota senior Tyler Safratowich has been a steady force for
Minnesota this season at 157 pounds, piecing together a 23-10 record
with seven pins. He has started each of the Gophers’ 19 duals this
season and is ranked 17th nationally by the Amateur Wrestling News this
week.
With a 99-43 career record, the Park Rapids, Minn. native needs just
one more victory to become the 35th wrestler in school history to earn
100 career wins.
