University of Minnesota Athletics
WRESTLERS PREPARE FOR NORTHWESTERN AND IOWA
2/16/2000 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
MEET THE WILDCATS: The Northwestern Wildcats are 6-10- 1 on the year and are 1-5 in the Big Ten having lost several close matches to ranked teams along the way. Northwestern has three athletes ranked in the top 20 according to the latest Intermat poll. Senior Scott Schatzman is ranked first at 141 pounds and senior Mark Bybee is ranked 12th at 174 pounds. Schatzman and Bybee are both returning All- Americans. This past weekend Northwestern dropped a 29-14 loss to Indiana in Evanston, Ill., and lost to Illinois Sunday with a score of 36-3.
THE SERIES: Minnesota leads the series between the two teams 32-17-1 dating back to 1929. Last year Minnesota beat Northwestern 25-15 in Evanston, Ill. The last time Northwestern defeated Minnesota was January 20, 1996, 25-9 in Evanston.
MEET THE IOWA HAWKEYES: The No. 1-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes enter Williams Arena this weekend with an undefeated mark of 16-0, 6-0 in the Big Ten. Iowa has two wrestlers ranked No. 1 in the nation according to Intermat's latest poll. At 133 pounds, junior Eric Juergens is ranked No. 1 and at 157 pounds, junior T.J. Williams is ranked No. 1. Seven of the other starters for Iowa are also ranked in the top 20 poll. At 125 pounds, junior Jody Strittmatter is ranked second, at 141 pounds junior Doug Schwab is ranked second, at 149 pounds sophomore Mike Zadick is ranked third, junior Gabe McMahan is ranked 16th at 174 pounds, freshman Jessman Smith is ranked 11th at 184 pounds, at 197 pounds senior Lee Weber is ranked 11th and at heavyweight senior Wes Hand is ranked third overall. Iowa wrestled at Wisconsin Friday night, results were not available at the time of publication.
THE SERIES: Iowa leads the series with Minnesota 52-19-1 overall dating back to 1926. The two teams have a recent history much closer than in the past. Last year Minnesota defeated Iowa twice, once in the semifinals of National Duals and then again in a dual meet at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. At the Big Ten Championships, it was Minnesota, who ended Iowa's 25-year conference title win streak taking the Big Ten title for the first time in 40 years. Last year the semifinal match was decided with a pin by Brock Lesnar at heavyweight over Wes Hand to win the match 21-14. Then at Iowa again for the dual, Minnesota squeaked out a 19-17 victory. Iowa beat Minnesota out by one point at the NCAA Championships to earn the program's 19th NCAA title. The last time Iowa beat Minnesota in a dual match was January 23, 1998 20-14 in front of 11,284 fans at Williams Arena.
LAST YEAR AT IOWA: Minnesota defeated Iowa 19-17 in Carver- Hawkeye Arena last year. The results of that meet are as follows:
141 - Doug Schwab (IOWA) maj. dec.Chad Erikson (MINN) 21-8 149 - T.J.Williams (IOWA) dec. Troy Marr (MINN) 7-2 157 - Chad Kraft (MINN) dec. Jamie Heidt (IOWA) 7-4 165 - Josh Holiday (MINN) maj. dec. Ben Uker (IOWA) 12-4 174 - Gabe McMahan (IOWA) pinned Delaney Berger (MINN) 2:55 184 - Brandon Eggum (MINN) dec. Paul Jenn (IOWA) 10-3 197 - Tim Hartung (MINN) dec. Lee Fullhart (IOWA) 4-2 OT HWT - Brock Lesnar (MINN) dec. Wes Hand (IOWA) 6-0 125 - Leroy Vega (MINN) dec. Ben Kritsonis (IOWA) 12-10 133 - Eric Juergens (IOWA) maj. dec. Pat Conners (MINN) 20-10
LESNAR REMAINS UNDEFEATED: Minnesota senior All-American heavyweight Brock Lesnar is still undefeated heading into this weekend at 21-0 with nine pins on the year. Lesnar is currently ranked No. 1 in the nation and is also 18-0 in dual meets and 6-0 in the Big Ten so far. He has won three matches by major decision and one by technical fall. In 21 matches, Lesnar has scored 87 points. Tim Hartung was the last Golden Gopher to finish the season undefeated last year with a 39-0 mark in 1998-99.
A TALE OF TWO BROTHERS: Minnesota like several other wrestling programs, has several sets of brothers on the team. This year, two of them are both starters for the Golden Gophers. Junior Brett Lawrence starts at 133 pounds, while redshirt freshman Jared Lawrence is the starter at 149 pounds. Both are from Sandpoint, Idaho. Brett is ranked 11th nationally with an overall record of 23-9 and is 10- 7 in dual meets with four pins. Jared, ranked fifth, is 25-5 overall and 13-4 in dual meets with seven pins. Both are undefeated in Big Ten duals.
ROBINSON REACHES WIN NO. 200: The Golden Gophers and head coach J Robinson reached win No. 200 with a 32-6 victory over No. 9 Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich. Robinson's career mark 201-79- 3 overall.
BECKER IS ON THE RISE: Redshirt freshman Luke Becker is making a name for himself in his first season as a member of the starting lineup. Becker, ranked ninth nationally at 157 pounds, recorded two outstanding victories this past weekend at Michigan and Michigan State. Friday night Becker pinned Tony Holified in 6:12 and then pinned No. 8-ranked Gray Maynard of Michigan State in 6:49. Becker has won four consecutive matches since losing to Iowa State's Cole Sanderson in the championship match of the National Duals.
EMERGING ELZEN: Sophomore Owen Elzen has also made his name become well-known over the past month. Elzen, ranked ninth at 197 pounds, also beat two ranked opponents two weeks ago. Friday night Elzen defeated No. 14 Steve Alf with a 4-0 decision and Saturday he snuck away with an 8-6 decision over No. 11-ranked Viktor Sveda.
LAWRENCE CONTINUES TO DOMINATE: Redshirt freshman Jared Lawrence is having a very successful season with a 25-5 overall mark, including a 13-4 dual meet mark and a flawless 6- 0 mark in the Big Ten. Lawrence pinned Wisconsin's P.J. Dowling in 5:45 two weeks ago and defeated Dan Cysewski of Indiana with a 22-6 technical fall decision in 6:29 the following day.
STREAK ENDS: The Golden Gophers started the year with a 12-0 dual match undefeated streak before losing to Iowa State Sunday at the National Duals Tournament. Before the match, Minnesota was riding a 23-dual match win streak dating back to last season. The 23-dual match win streak was the longest in Golden Gopher history. Previously, Minnesota had put together two 18-dual match win streaks.
WRESTLERS REMAIN UNDEFEATED IN BIG TEN; TOP MICHIGAN STATE 25-9: The No. 2-ranked University of Minnesota wrestling team remained undefeated in the Big Ten Conference with a victory over No. 11 Michigan State 25-9 in East Lansing, Mich., Sunday afternoon. Minnesota is now 16-1 overall and 6-0 in the Big Ten.
The match started at 133 pounds with No. 3-ranked Pat McNamara of Michigan State handing junior Brett Lawrence a 3-0 loss, only one of three losses the Golden Gophers had on the afternoon. At 141 pounds, sophmore Chad Erikson decisioned Mike Castillo 15-10 to tie the score at three.
Redshirt freshman Jared Lawrence, ranked fifth, defeated Cory Posey with an 8-3 decision at 149 pounds. At 157 pounds, redshirt freshman Luke Becker, ranked ninth, defeated No. 8- ranked Gray Maynard with a pin in 6:49. With the pin Minnesota went ahead 12-3.
Junior Brad Pike squeaked out a win at 165 pounds over No. 13- ranked Greg DeGrand with a 2-1 overtime decision. At 174 pounds, senior Delaney Berger dropped his match to No. 14- ranked Will Hill with a 6-2 decision. Senior All-American Brandon Eggum, ranked third overall, had no problem with Joe Colant defeating him with a 24-9 technical fall decision.
Sophomore Owen Elzen dropped his match at 197 pounds to No. 4- ranked Nick Muzashvilli with a 12-5 decision. At heavyweight, senior Brock Lesnar kept his undefeated streak alive with a 6- 4 decision over Matt Lamb. Finishing the match was sophomore Leroy Vega, who defeated Chris Williams with a 6- 3 decision at 125 pounds.
NO. 2 GOLDEN GOPHER WRESTLERS DOWN NO. 9 MICHIGAN 32-6: The No. 2- ranked University of Minnesota wrestling team remained undefeated in the Big Ten Conference with a 32-6 victory over No. 9 Michigan Friday night in Ann Arbor, Mich. The victory improves Minnesota's overall record to 15-1 and marks the 200th career victory for head coach J Robinson in his tenure at Minnesota.
"It's quite a milestone to make," Robinson said. "I never really thought about it. It is good for a lot of people."
The match started at heavyweight with senior All- American Brock Lesnar, ranked No. 1 nationally, who pinned No. 15 Matt Brink in 3:26, his 10th pin of the season. At 125 pounds, sophomore Leroy Vega defeated A.J. Grant with a 15-7 major decision increasing the Golden Gopher lead to 10-0.
Next up was junior Brett Lawrence, ranked 11th nationally. Lawrence lost No. 4- ranked Joe Warren with a 9-4 decision in overtime. The loss put three team points on the board for Michigan. At 141 pounds, sophomore Chad Erikson decisioned No. 6-ranked Damion Logan with a 13-11 score. Erikson was ranked 13th.
Redshirt freshman Jared Lawrence continues to succeed defeating his opponent with a 10- 3 decision at 149 pounds. At 157 pounds redshirt freshman Luke Becker pinned Tony Holifield in 6:12.
Minnesota won three of the last four matches. Junior Brad Pike, ranked 11th at 165 pounds, defeated Jason Rawls 3-2. At 174 pounds senior Delaney Berger came away with a 6-5 decision over Charles Martelli. Senior All-American Brandon Eggum topped ninth-ranked Any Hrovat with a 15-5 major decision at 184 pounds. Sophomore Owen Elzen ran out of time with a 14-11 overtime loss to No. 18-ranked Joe Degain at 197 pounds.
"I think overall our guys really wrestled well," Robinson said. "The two matches that we lost we should have won. We lost them both in overtime. I think it shows you how close we were to blanking another team."
NO. 3 MINNESOTA WRESTLERS SHUTOUT NO. 23 INDIANA 38-0: The No. 3-ranked University of Minnesota wrestling team shutout No. 23 Indiana 38-0 at the Sports Pavilion Saturday afternoon. This marks the first time Minnesota has shutout a Big Ten team in a dual meet since the Golden Gophers shutout Purdue 51-0 February 9, 1979 at Williams Arena. It was marks the first ever Big Ten shutout for Minnesota Head Coach J Robinson.
The afternoon started at 149 pounds. Redshirt freshman Jared Lawrence, ranked fifth nationally, recorded another impressive win with a 22-6 technical fall decision in 6:29 over Dan Cysewski of Indiana. Lawrence's record improves to 24-4 overall with a 12-3 dual meet record. At 157 pounds, redshirt freshman Luke Becker, ranked 14th, faced junior Kevin Stanley, ranked 10th. After two periods, Becker led the match 8- 4 after scoring three points on the nearfall. Becker held on to win the match with a 14-5 major decision.
Junior Brad Pike, ranked 11th nationally, increased the Golden Gopher lead to 14-0 with a victory over Matt Nischwitz at 165 pounds. Pike led the match 9- 1 at the end of two periods. Pike finished the match with a 19-4 technical fall decision over Nischwitz. Following Pike's victory, senior Delaney Berger defeated Indiana's Mingo Morrison with a 6-4 decision to give Minnesota three more team points. Senior two-time All- American Brandon Eggum added three team points to give the Golden Gophers a 20-0 halftime lead. Eggum, ranked third nationally, defeated Ty Matthews at 184 pounds with a 14-7 decision.
At 197 pounds junior Owen Elzen, ranked 10th nationally, had one of the toughest matches of the night against No. 11-ranked Viktor Sveda. Sveda and Elzen wrestled to a 2-2 tie at the end of the first period. In the second, both wrestlers scored takedowns to even the score up at four each. Elzen scored three points on the nearfall in the third period to lead 7-4. With 30 seconds left, Elzen led the match 8-6. Elzen held on to win the match with an 8-6 decision.
Senior All-American Brock Lesnar, ranked No. 1 in the nation, increased his undefeated record to 18-0 with a 7-1 decision over Michael Dixon at heavyweight. Lesnar controlled the match with over two minutes of riding time as Dixon was flat on the mat most of the match.
The 125-pound match was the biggest match of the afternoon with No. 5-ranked Pat Cassidy and No. 3-ranked sophomore Leroy Vega. After one period, the match remained scoreless. Vega was the first to score with an escape early in the second period. At the end of the second period, Vega led the match with a 1-0 score. With just a little over a minute left in the third period, Vega scored a takedown to increase his lead to 3-1. Cassidy scored a point on an escape, but Vega held on to win the match 4- 2.
At 133 pounds, junior Brett Lawrence defeated Gabe Cook with a 7-2 decision. Lawrence, ranked 12th in the nation, is now 24-6 on the year with an 11-4 dual meet mark. The afternoon ended with a forfeit at 141 pounds by Indiana. Sophomore Chad Erikson earned the victory and six team points for the Golden Gophers.
NO. 3 GOLDEN GOPHER WRESTLERS BEAT NO. 18 WISCONSIN 32-6: The No. 3- ranked University of Minnesota wrestling team defeated No. 18 Wisconsin 32-6 at the Sports Pavilion Friday evening.
The evening started at 141 pounds where sophomore Chad Erikson, ranked 13th nationally defeated Grant Hoerr with an 8-6 decision. Following his match was redshirt fresman Jared Lawrence, now ranked fifth in the nation, against P.J. Dowling of Wisconsin at 149 pounds. Lawrence was leading 11-4 when he placed Dowling on his back and pinned him with a time of 5:45 to give the Golden Gophers six team points and an early 9-0 lead.
Next up was redshirt freshman Luke Becker, ranked 14th nationally at 157 pounds, against No. 12-ranked Cory Wallman. Wallman and Becker finished the second period tied at one. In the third period, it was Becker who scored a takedown with 30 seconds remaining. The final score was Becker winning with a 3-2 decision. Junior Brad Pike had the toughest match of the night facing No. 2-ranked Don Pritzlaff. The match remained close until the last second of the second period when Pritzlaff scored a takedown to lead 7-3. The score did not move in the third period with Pritzlaff winning 7-3.
At 174 pounds, senior Delaney Berger faced No. 11 Kole Clauson. At the end of two periods, Berger led the match 4-3. At the end of regulation the score was tied at four. In the overtime session, Clauson scored on a takedown to win the match with a 6-4 decision. Senior All-American Brandon Eggum was up next at 184 pounds. Eggum, ranked No. 2 in the country, defeated Brad Marten with a 15-5 major decision.
Sophomore Owen Elzen, ranked 10th at 197 pounds scored three more team points for the Golden Gophers to increase the lead to 19-6. Elzen defeated No. 14- ranked Steve Alf with a 4-0 decision. At heavyweight senior All-American Brock Lesnar, ranked No. 1 in the nation, defeated Wisconsin's Justin Staebler with a pin in 2:02. Lesnar is still undefeated at 17-0 this season with nine pins.
Finishing out the match was the lightweights. At 125 pounds, sophomore All-American Leroy Vega won his match over true freshman Tony Black with a major decision of 23-9. Junior Brett Lawrence ranked 12th at 133 pounds finished out the match with a 6-4 decision over Brad Owens.
OH SO CLOSE: The Golden Gophers edged Oklahoma State 16-15 in the semifinals of the NWCA National Duals Tournament Friday and then lost 17-16 to Iowa State in the title match. In both matches, each team won five matches a piece. It doesn't get much close than that. Also in each match, five matches were decided by one point and in each match one of the matches went into double overtime before a winner was declared. Each match also went into the heavyweight match before the outcome was decided. Friday night Lesnar won the match with a major decision giving the Golden Gophers a one point edge and the victory. Saturday night he also won by major decision, but ended up two points short of victory.
TWO FRESHMEN MAKE THEIR MARK: Redshirt freshmen Jared Lawrence (149) and Luke Becker (157) are coming into their own especially after a successful weekend for the pair at the NWCA National Duals. Lawrence won all four matches at Penn State, including a 4-3 victory over Oklahoma State's Reggie Wright, ranked third nationally. He also beat No. 12-ranked Billy Maldonado of Iowa State Saturday 5-2. Becker also had his shining moments. He defeated Lyle Cronk of Montana State Northern with a pin in just 36 seconds. He then went on to beat No. 18 Shane Roller of Oklahoma State with a 7-6 decision. Becker lost to eighth-ranked Cole Sanderson of Iowa State, by just one point 4-3. Collectively the two have an overall record of 48-11 and a dual meet record of 25-7 and a Big Ten record of 8-0.
IOWA STATE BEATS GOLDEN GOPHER WRESTLERS 17-16 FOR THE NWCA NATIONAL DUALS CHAMPIONSHIP: The No. 3-ranked University of Minnesota wrestling team lost to No. 2- ranked Iowa State 17-16 in the championship match of the Cliff/ Keen NWCA National Duals Tournament in University Park, Pa. Five matches were decided by one point, with one match going into two overtimes.
The afternoon started off with No. 2-ranked sophomore All- American Leroy Vega defeating Matt Azevedo 9-8 at 125 pounds. Iowa State went on to win the next two matches with No. 2- ranked Cody Sanderson topping No. 12 Brett Lawrence 9-0 at 133 pounds. At 141 pounds, 12th-ranked Sonny Marchette decisioned 14th-ranked Chad Erikson 6-4.
At 149 pounds, redshirt freshman Jared Lawrence came up with a big 5-2 decision over 12th-ranked Billy Maldonado. The other redshirt freshman Luke Becker was defeated by No. 8- ranked Cole Sanderson 4-3 at 157 pounds.
Junior Brad Pike faced No. 1- ranked Joe Heskett at 165 pounds. Pike, unranked, wrestled a close match, but lost 5-4 in the end. At 174 pounds senior Delaney Berger, ranked 15th, decisioned Perry Parks by just one point 3-2. Another No. 1- ranked wrestler for Iowa State, Cael Sanderson defeated No. 2- ranked senior All-American Brandon Eggum with an 8-0 major decision. Sanderson defeated Eggum for the NCAA title last year at 184 pounds.
Sophomore Owen Elzen, ranked 10th, came up with a huge win at 197 pounds. He defeated seventh- ranked Zach Thompson 4-3 in two overtimes. Once again the match came down to heavyweight. With the Golden Gophers trailing Iowa State 17-12 heading into the heavyweight match, Minnesota needed a pin from Brock Lesnar to win the match. Lesnar won his match over Mark Knauer, but with an 11-3 major decision.
The loss ends Minnesota's 23- dual match win streak, which will remain the Golden Gophers' longest win streak to date. In the consolation match, Oklahoma State defeated Oklahoma 19-13. In the fifth place match, Nebraska edged Arizona State 23-20 and in the seventh place match, Cal- State Bakersfield defeated Cornell University 15-12.
NO. 3 GOLDEN GOPHER WRESTLERS BEAT OKLAHOMA STATE 16-15 AT NWCA NATIONAL DUALS: The No. 3- ranked University of Minnesota wrestling team defeated No. 4- ranked Oklahoma State 16-15 in the semifinals of the Cliff/Keen National Duals Tournament in University Park, Pa., Saturday night.
The Golden Gophers were down 15-12 heading into the final match at heavyweight. Once again senior Brock Lesnar came through in the clutch to record a major decision over David Anderton 13- 3 to give Minnesota four team points to win the match.
Four matches were decided by one point, while two of them went into overtime periods. Sophomore Leroy Vega lost to Jeff Ragan at 125 in two overtimes, while senior All-American Brandon Eggum also lost with a close 3-1 overtime decision at 184 pounds.
Redshirt freshmen Jared Lawrence and Luke Becker both won their matches by one point over ranked Oklahoma State wrestlers. Lawrence defeated Reggie Wright at 149 pounds with a 4-3 decision, while Becker defeated Shane Roller 7-6 at 157 pounds.
In the first match, Minnesota shutout Montana State Northern 41-0. The Golden Gophers recorded two pins and five major decisions in the victory. Redshirt freshman Luke Becker pinned Lyle Cronk in just 36 seconds at 157 pounds. At heavyweight, Lesnar pinned Damion Martindale in just 31 seconds.
In second round action, Minnesota faced seventh-seeded Cornell University from New York. The Golden Gophers defeated them 28-6, winning eight of the 10 matches. At 149 pounds, redshirt freshman Jared Lawrence pinned Gabe Webster in 6:02 to give Minnesota six team points. Winning by major decision was sophomore Matt Kraft at 184 pounds with a 13-4 score over Rost Aizenberg. Remaining undefeated on the season was Lesnar with a 4-1 score over Seth Charles of Cornell at heavyweight.
EGGUM NAMED BIG TEN WRESTLER OF THE WEEK: University of Minnesota senior wrestler Brandon Eggum was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week last week for his performances against Penn State and Ohio State last weekend. Eggum is a two-time All- American and is currently ranked No. 2 in the nation at 184 pounds.
Eggum won two matches last week to remain undefeated in dual matches with a 7-0 record and a 17-1 overall record. Eggum defeated Penn State's Jeff Knupp 20-7 Friday night helping the team to a 29-9 victory at Penn State. Saturday night he defeated Donovan True with a pin in 4:40 to lead Minnesota to their ninth consecutive victory of the season, 31-12 over Ohio State.
