University of Minnesota Athletics
Golden Gopher Wrestlers to Begin Season this Weekend
11/12/2003 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
RANKED THIRD IN THE NATION: Coming off back-to-back national championships and a runner-up finish last season, the Golden Gophers are ranked third in the nation by TheWrestlingMall.com. Defending NCAA Champion Oklahoma State is rated number one, followed by Lehigh.
WHO'S BACK: Minnesota returns three All-Americans this season, led by defending NCAA Champion Damion Hahn. He is rated number one entering his senior year at 197 pounds. Fellow senior Jacob Volkmann captured his second All-American honor last season after finishing third at 165 last year. Junior Bobbe Lowe, a transfer from Iowa Central Community College, claimed his first All-American citation at 125.
Sophomore Matt Nagel is a returning starter and is the expected starter at 157 after wrestling at four difference weight classes a year ago. Nagel posted a 10-3 mark at 157 last season. Junior Josh McLay will compete with transfer Jon Duncombe for the starting nod at 174.
AT THE HELM: Golden Gopher Head Coach J Robinson is in his 18th season at Minnesota with a 253-87-3 (.742) overall record, including a mark of 91-41-2 (.687) in Big Ten dual meets. Robinson has led Minnesota to top-three conference finishes 11 times, including the 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2003 titles. He also has led Gold Country to top-three finishes at NCAAs in each of the past seven seasons, including the national team titles in 2001 and `02. During his tenure at Minnesota, 34 different wrestlers have earned 69 All-America honors and 18 Golden Gophers have won 27 Big Ten individual titles.
NATION'S NUMBER ONE CLASS: The Golden Gophers welcome the nation's top recruiting class to campus this season. It is the sixth time during J Robinson's tenure that Minnesota has claimed the nation's recruiting title. Leading the way is the country's top incoming recruit, Roger Kish from LaPeer, Mich. Kish is a four-time Michigan state champion. C.P. Schlatter is rated as the third-best recruit and is a four-time Ohio state champion. The class also features the first blue-chip recruit from the state of Iowa to sign with Minnesota. A native of Gilbertsville, Iowa, Mack Reiter is rated No. 11 among incoming freshmen.
DUAL SEASON APPROACHING: Minnesota will kick off the dual meet portion of their schedule on Dec. 12 vs. Iowa State at the Target Center. The match will begin at 7 p.m.
