University of Minnesota Athletics
Wrestlers Advance Seven to the Semifinals at Big Ten Championships
3/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
Led by Josh McLay's upset of top-seeded Brian Glynn of Illinois at 184 pounds (pictured right), the University of Minnesota wrestling team leads the Big Ten Championships with a score of 64.5 after Session I. The Golden Gophers and second-place Iowa each advanced seven wrestlers into tonight's semifinals.
"I thought we wrestled pretty well today and are right in the thick of things," head coach J Robinson said. "There are always going to be upsets and you just have to make sure that you're not the one getting upset. Josh (McLay) gave us a big boost and we didn't lose any matches that we were favored in."
Fourth-seeded Tommy Owen advanced into the semifinals at 141 pounds with an 8-6 overtime decision against fifth-seeded Tyler Laudon of Wisconsin. Owen got the deciding takedown just 13 seconds into overtime. In the first round, Owen advanced with a technical fall against Ohio State's Theo Dotson. Owen will meet top-seeded Cliff Moore of Iowa in the semifinals. Moore defeated Owen, 12-6, earlier this season.
Sixth-seeded Matt Nagel posted Minnesota's first significant upset with an 8-4 decision against third-seeded Tyler Turner of Wisconsin at 157 pounds. Nagel shut out Indiana's Matt Cooper, 6-0, in his first round match. Nagel will face defending NCAA Champion Ryan Bertin of Michigan in the semifinals. Bertin defeated Nagel twice this season, but only by a combined three points.
Following a first-round bye, senior Jacob Volkmann advanced into the semifinals for the fourth straight year with a 10-5 decision against sixth-seeded Nick Hayes of Northwestern. Volkmann finished second at last year's Big Ten Championship and will face second-seeded Pat Owen of Michigan in the next round.
Junior Jon Duncombe followed Volkmann's effort with a pin of sixth-seeded Brady Richardson. With the match tied at four, Duncombe got Richardson on his back and earned the fall with 1:01 to go in the match. The transfer from St. Cloud State will meet second-ranked Ryan Lange of Purdue in the semifinals. Lange defeated Duncombe, 2-1, earlier this season.
Following a first-round bye, McLay took to the mat against the top-seeded Glynn. Earlier this season, Glynn needed overtime to escape with a 3-1 decision. With the match tied at one in the third period, the eighth-seeded McLay got a hold of Glynn's legs and drove him to the ground with 17 seconds to go in the match. Glynn got the escape with time winding down, but McLay held on for the 3-2 upset. McLay will face fifth-seeded Paul Bradley of Iowa in the semifinals. McLay defeated Bradley earlier this year by the score of 2-1.
Defending NCAA Champion Damion Hahn cruised into the semifinal round with a pair of major decisions. In the first round, Hahn defeated Jeff Clemens of Michigan State, 11-3, and followed that with a 10-2 major against eighth-seeded Matt Delguyd of Northwestern. Hahn is the two-time defending Big Ten Champion and will meet fourth-seeded Pat DeGain of Indiana in the semifinals. Hahn defeated DeGain by injury default earlier this season.
Fourth-seeded Cole Konrad closed out Minnesota's run in the quarterfinals with a 5-4 decision against fifth-seeded Israel Blevins of Purdue. Konrad got the deciding takedown in the waning moments to avenge an earlier defeat to Blevins. Purdue coaches protested the match due to an inadvertent whistle, but Konrad's decision stood. Konrad will face top-ranked Tommy Rowlands of Ohio State in the semifinals.
"Advancing seven wrestlers is awesome," Hahn said. "I didn't think we wrestled our best today and I think we can do even better the rest of the way. McLay really needed that win. He's had so many close defeats and we all knew that he was due. No one doubted that he could win that match."
A pair of Golden Gophers advanced to the quarterfinals, but were defeated. Sixth-seeded Bobbe Lowe lost an 11-8 decision at 125 pounds against third-seeded Kyle Ott of Illinois. Lowe led 4-2 entering the third period, but Ott took control of the match. Seventh-seeded Quincy Osborn earned a 6-5 decision based on riding time against Iowa's Trent Goodale at 133 pounds, but was pinned by second-seeded Josh Moore of Penn State in the quarterfinals. Both will compete in the consolation brackets tonight.
True freshman Jeremy Anderson pushed seventh-seeded Josh Ballard of Northwestern to the limit at 149, but Ballard escaped with a 4-3 decision. Anderson will face eighth-seeded Darren McKnight of Michigan State in the consolation round.
Team Standings - Session I
1. Minnesota (7), 64.5
2. Iowa (7), 64.0
3. Michigan (5), 50.5
4. Penn State (4), 49.0
4. Illinois (5), 49.0
6. Purdue (4), 41.0
7. Ohio State (4), 36.5
8. Wisconsin (2), 27.0
9. Indiana (2), 20.0
10. Northwestern (0), 8.0
11. Michigan State (0), 3.0
(Wrestlers still alive in Championship bracket)
