University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Wrestlers Upset Third-ranked Illinois 19-16
2/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
Trailing 16-15 heading into the final match, ninth-ranked Cole Konrad silenced the Illinois faithful with a 10-2 major decision against 15th-ranked Mike Behnke at heavyweight. The redshirt freshman improved to a team-best 25-7 on the year.
Illinois jumped out to an early 7-0 lead as eighth-ranked Kyle Ott defeated Andrew Domingues, 10-5, at 125 pounds, and sixth-ranked Mark Jayne earned a 14-2 major decision against Quincy Osborn at 133. Domingues was filling in for All-American Bobbe Lowe.
Minnesota got on the board as 16th-ranked Tommy Owen improved to 3-0 in the Big Ten with a 6-5 decision against 20th-ranked Michael Martin at 141 pounds.
Illinois claimed the next two matches to take a 13-3 lead. Anton Dietzen defeated Minnesota true freshman Jeremy Anderson at 149 pounds by the score of 13-6. 15th-ranked Matt Nagel nearly upset the nation's top-ranked wrestler at 157, but fell in double overtime against Illinois' Alex Tirapelle, 3-1.
The Golden Gophers were bolstered by the return of two-time All-American Jacob Volkmann at 165 pounds. Volkmann had missed the last nine matches for the Golden Gophers with a broken eye socket. He earned three team points with a 10-6 decision against Ben Hay.
Duncombe pulled off the upset of the night at 174 pounds. Ranked 15th in the nation, he brought Minnesota to within 13-12 with a pin in the final minute of the match at 6:18 against seventh-ranked Pete Friedl.
Illinois got back on track with another double overtime victory. Josh McLay's upset bid fell short against fifth-ranked Brian Glynn at 184 pounds as Glynn escaped with a 3-1 win.
Top-ranked Damion Hahn kept the Golden Gophers in the match with a 6-2 decision against 17th-ranked Jason Potter at 197 pounds. Hahn avenged a loss to Potter in their last meeting two years ago and also earned his 14th win in a row. Hahn's decision brought Minnesota to within one point at 16-15 to set up the heavyweight showdown which was won by Konrad.
"Having Jacob (Volkmann) back in the lineup was a big boost for us tonight," head coach J Robinson said. "To get a pin in the final minute of a match like Jon (Duncombe) did against a great opponent was the key to the victory. We've lost some close matches this year because of bonus points, so it was nice to get one of those for ourselves."
"To come back like this after losing two at home last week says a lot about what this team is capable of," Han said. "People say we're young or this is a rebuilding year, but we don't look at it like that. We expect to go out and compete with the top teams in the country and we did that tonight."
The Golden Gophers will travel to Bloomington, Ind., for a matchup with Indiana on Saturday night. Minnesota will host rival Iowa next Sunday at Williams Arena.
#15 Minnesota 19, #3 Illinois 16
125 - #8 Kyle Ott (ILL) dec. Andrew Domingues (MINN), 10-5
133 - #6 Mark Jayne (ILL) dec. Quincy Osborn (MINN), 14-2
141 - #16 Tommy Owen (MINN) dec. #20 Michael Martin (ILL), 6-5
149 - Anton Dietzen (ILL) dec. Jeremy Anderson (MINN), 13-6
157 - #1 Alex Tirapelle (ILL) dec. #15 Matt Nagel (MINN), 3-1 (2ot)
165 - #7 Jacob Volkmann (MINN) dec. Ben Hay (ILL), 10-6
174 - #15 Jon Duncombe (MINN) pinned #7 Pete Friedl (ILL), 6:18
184 - #5 Brian Glynn (ILL) dec. Josh McLay (MINN), 3-1 (2ot)
197 - #1 Damion Hahn (MINN) dec. #17 Jason Potter (ILL), 6-2
HWT - #9 Cole Konrad (MINN) maj. dec. #15 Mike Behnke (ILL), 10-2
