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Gophers Close Out Dual Season at Home

February 18, 2009

After suffering a pair of dual meet losses on the road last weekend at No. 18 Wisconsin (19-15) and at No. 1 Iowa (25-9), Minnesota will travel to take on non-conference rival No. 4 Iowa State on Friday evening before wrapping up its dual season against 20th-ranked Indiana at the Sports Pavilion on Sunday afternoon.

The Gophers’ dual against the Cyclones in Ames on Friday night is part of ISU’s annual ‘Beauty and the Beast’ event where the dual will unfold concurrently with a women’s gymnastics meet between the Gophers and Cyclones.

Minnesota will wrap up its 2008-09 dual schedule on Sunday when it hosts Indiana in a 2:00 p.m. (CT) start at the Sports Pavilion. During the meet, the program will honor the 50th anniversary of its 1959 Big Ten Championship team and the 10th anniversary of the 1999 Big Ten Championship squad.

Safratowich, Bierschenk To Be Honored
Sunday’s dual will be the last home contest for Tyler Safratowich and Gordon Bierschenk. Safratowich, who is featured in this week’s issue of Takedown Magazine, became the 35th wrestler in school history to amass 100 career victories with a win over Wisconsin’s Ben Jordan last Friday. Although Bierschenk is competing this season as a redshirt junior, he is on track to graduate this spring with a physiology degree. Both wrestlers will be honored on Sunday for their careers and contributions to Minnesota wrestling.

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 put together another dominating campaign, racking up 15 pins this season.
Heading into the pair of duals this weekend, Ness needs just one more pin to tie former Golden Gopher legend Billy Pierce (1992-96) for most pins in the history of the program with 51. He is currently tied with former teammate and two-time NCAA heavyweight champion Cole Konrad for second on the all-time list with 50 career pins.

This weekend, Ness is projected to battle No. 7 Nick Fanthorpe on Friday night at Iowa State and Indiana redshirt freshman Matt Ortega on Sunday afternoon at the Sports Pavilion.

Last Time Out
The Gophers suffered a pair of Big Ten road defeats last weekend, falling to No. 18 Wisconsin by a 19-15 score in Madison before dropping a 25-9 dual decision to top-ranked Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday afternoon.

Although the Gophers fell short in the dual to the Badgers on Friday night, the team was able to notch a pair of milestones. Jayson Ness recorded his 15th pin of the season and 50th of his career when he stuck UW’s Erik Senescu in just 1:51 in the 133-pound bout. With the pin, Ness moved within a single stick of the all-time school record.

Tyler Safratowich captured a 7-5 win over Ben Jordan at 157 pounds to become the 35th wrestler in Minnesota history to amass 100 wins. The Gophers also got wins from Zach Sanders (125 pounds) and Ben Berhow (Hwt) against the Badgers.

Although Minnesota suffered its second dual loss of the season to top-ranked Iowa on Sunday afternoon, the meet featured some of the most hotly contested matches of the season to date. Sanders opened the dual with an impressive 5-4 decision win over No. 4 Charlie Falck at 125 pounds. The win for Sanders was his sixth of the season against a ranked foe, but his first against a top-five opponent.

Ness fell just short of his third win over a top-ranked opponent this season, dropping a 9-7 decision Daniel Dennis at 133 pounds. Ness has already defeated Michigan State’s Franklin Gomez and Ohio State’s Reece Humphrey when each was ranked first earlier in the Big Ten dual season. Currently, the Big Ten claims the nation’s top five 133-pounders in the latest InterMat/NWCA poll.

Big Tens Set for March 7-8 in State College
After wrapping up their dual season this weekend, the Gophers will not compete again until the Big Ten Championships scheduled for March 7-8 at the Bryce Jordan Center in State College, Pa. For more information on the championships, visit gopsusports.cstv.com.