University of Minnesota Athletics
WRESTLERS PREPARE FOR BIG TEN OPENER
1/12/2000 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
Saturday morning Minnesota was in the air en route to Stillwater, Okla., to face the unbeaten Cowboys. Oklahoma State entered the match riding a 73-dual match win streak dating back to 1996. With the score 15-13 Oklahoma State heading into the heavyweight match, it was once again senior All-American Brock Lesnar who pinned No. 8- ranked Dave Anderton for six team points and the 19-15 victory. This week Minnesota will prepare for No. 21 Penn State (1-4) and Ohio State (0-2) on the road to open the Big Ten season.
MEET THE NITTANY LIONS: Minnesota and Penn State are very similar in the fact that both teams are in a year of rebuilding. Minnesota lost three All- Americans from last year's team as well as losing five starting seniors overall. Penn State lost three of their four All-Americans from last year's team that placed third at Big Tens and tied for fourth at the NCAA Championships. Returning for Penn State at 125 pounds is the 1999 NCAA runner-up Jeremy Hunter.
Hunter is currently ranked No. 1 in the nation at 125 pounds and has an overall record of 14-0 with a 5-0 dual meet record and eight falls on the year. Two other Penn State wrestlers returning from last year include Ross Thatcher at 197 pounds. Thatcher is currently ranked 11th according to Amateur Wrestling News and is 10-2 on the year. Thatcher placed second at Big Tens last year to Brandon Eggum at 184 pounds. Heavyweight Mark Janus is ranked 18th according to AWN and is currently 7-3 overall.
THE PENN STATE SERIES: Penn State holds a 6-3 advantage over Minnesota dating back to 1986. Minnesota has never won a dual match at Penn State. Penn State has beaten the Golden Gophers several times at National Duals and at Virginia Duals. The last time the two teams met, Minnesota lost 21-13, Feb. 6, 1998, at University Park, Pa. The last time the Golden Gophers won was 19-15, Jan. 19, 1997, at National Duals in Lincoln, Neb.
THE OHIO STATE BUCKEYES: The Ohio State Buckeyes are currently 0-2 in dual meets so far this season. They are coming off four dual meet victories at the Ohio State Buckeye Duals this past weekend. The Buckeyes lost 25-16 at Northern Iowa and then 30-6 at Iowa State. Ohio State returns three NCAA qualifiers from last year's squad, including 133-pound junior Robert Sessley, who placed eight at the 1999 NCAA Championships, to earn All-America honors. The other two NCAA qualifiers are senior Peter Rogers at 165 pounds and sophomore Nick Preston at 184 pounds.
THE OHIO STATE SERIES: Minnesota leads the Ohio State series 29-10-3 dating back to 1927. Last year the Golden Gophers defeated the Buckeyes 23-6 at the Sports Pavilion. The last time Ohio State beat Minnesota was in 1993, with a 22-14 win at Williams Arena.
NO. 1 VS. NO. 2 FRIDAY NIGHT: The big match Friday night will occur at 125 pounds with sophomore All-American Leroy Vega, ranked second in the nation, and two-time All-American senior Jeremy Hunter, ranked No. 1 in the nation. Both individuals are undefeated this season. Hunter is 14-0 overall and 5-0 in dual meets with eight pins, two technical falls and three major decisions. Vega is 18-0 overall and 7-0 in dual meets with three pins, five technical falls and four major decisions.
ALL-TIME DUAL MEET RECORDS: Minnesota and Penn State are now tied with 697 dual meet victories in all-time history. Penn State's all-time record is 697-207-33, while Minnesota is 697-396-19. The winner of this weekend's match will move up into fifth place on the all-time list. Iowa State holds the all-time dual meet record with 838-217-19 heading into the 1999-2000 season.
NO. 4 GOLDEN GOPHER WRESTLERS END NO. 3 OKLAHOMA STATE'S 73-DUAL MATCH WIN STREAK: The No. 4- ranked Golden Gophers ended No. 3-ranked Oklahoma State's 73- match unbeaten streak in Stillwater, Okla., with a 19-15 victory in Stillwater, Okla. The last time Minnesota defeated Oklahoma State was in 1994, when the Golden Gophers came away with a 23-16 victory at the Sports Pavilion. Oklahoma State's win streak started in 1996. Minnesota is now 7-0 in dual meets this season.
Head Coach J Robinson said the victory really made a statement about Minnesota's philosophy and attitude surrounding Golden Gopher wrestling.
"This was really a great win for our whole team," Robinson said. "It reinforced everything that we believe in. From Friday to Sunday this team really changed their whole attitude and really made a statement with their wrestling whether they were going to win or lose."
Leading off the match was sophomore All-American Leroy Vega at 125 pounds, who defeated Jeff Ragan 7-6 to improve his record to a perfect 18-0 on the season. At 133 was a big upset with junior Brett Lawrence, ranked 13th in the nation, defeating No. 7-ranked Charles Walker 2-1. Lawrence was awarded a penalty point and received one point on an escape for the victory.
" Brett Lawrence really stepped up to the plate tonight," Robinson said. "We really had been talking alot about what we had to do and I told the team that we had to stop talking and just go out and do it."
Minnesota dropped the next four matches, but junior Brad Pike put Minnesota back on the board with an 8-3 victory over Tony Gansen at 174 pounds. Following him at 184 pounds was senior Brandon Eggum, ranked second in the nation, who defeated Billy Gabel with the only major decision of the night 20-9. After a 13-6 victory for Oklahoma State's Mark Munoz over Owen Elzen at 197 pounds, the match was up for grabs.
Once again at heavyweight, senior Brock Lesnar came up with a big pin that gave Minnesota six team points and the victory. Lesnar, ranked No. 1 in the nation, pinned No. 8-ranked Dave Anderton in 3:48.
MINNESOTA DEFEATS NEBRASKA 29-13: Minnesota started last weekend off with a 29-13 victory over No. 8-ranked Nebraska at the Sports Pavilion Friday night. The night started off at 197 pounds where No. 3- ranked Brad Vering defeated sophomore Owen Elzen with a 17- 7 major decision. Minnesota fought right back when senior All-Ameircan heavyweight Brock Lesnar pinned Matt Zutavern in 39 seconds.
Sophomore All-American Leroy Vega defeated Joe Malia with an 18-4 major decision to improve his undefeated record to 17-0. At 133 pounds, junior Brett Lawrence lost a tight match 8-2 to Todd Beckerman. Just before halftime, sophomore Chad Erikson recorded his ninth pin of the season in 3:20 over Adam Kastl of Nebraska. At 149 pounds, redshirt freshman Jared Lawrence collected a 12-4 major decision over Joe Henson. The other redshirt freshman Luke Becker dropped a close match to No. 3-ranked Bryan Snyder 11-4.
After a forfeit at 165 pounds, junior Brad Pike battled a tight match with No. 19-ranked Ati Conner. Conner pulled out a 7-6 victory in the final seconds. Ending the meet was senior Brandon Eggum, who defeated Charles McTorry 8-6.
RADUNZ AND VOLKMAN WIN PAT "FLASH" FLANGAN OPEN TITLES: Freshman Dave Radunz and Jacob Volkman won individual titles at the Pat "Flash" Flanagan Open at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, this past weekend. Radunz defeated Tom Bottoms of UW-La Crosse 4-2 and Jason Miller of Upper Iowa University 5-3 in overtime to win the 125-pound title. Volkman defeated Paul Cleary of Loras College 5-3. He then beat Mitch Peyton of Iowa 11-6 and defeated Ryan Lewis of Wisconsin with a pin in 5:08 to win the 165-pound title.
