University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers to Grapple With Jackrabbits Sunday
1/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
#5/4 MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS (8-3, 0-0)
vs.
South Dakota State (0-3)
Location: Minneapolis, Minn.
Arena: Sports Pavilion
Time/Date: 2:00 p.m, Sunday, January 20, 2008
Webcast: The Gold Zone on gophersports.com will carry a live webcast, complete with play-by-play and color commentary from Brett Lawrence and Delaney Berger.
NOTES TO KNOW:
The fifth-ranked Golden Gopher wrestling team (8-3) will compete just one time this week, taking on the South Dakota State Jackrabbits Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Sports Pavilion. A live webcast will be available in the Gold Zone, and live match-by-match updates will also be available via gophersports.com
Head coach J Robinson and the Golden Gopher coaching staff will likely send out a somewhat different starting lineup Sunday against SDSU. Normal starters Dustin Schlatter, Scott Glasser, Tyler Safratowich, Gabe Dretsch and Roger Kish will most likely not be wrestling due to various injuries and ailments, giving Luke Mellmer (freshman, 149 pounds), Jeremy Larson (senior, 165 pounds), Brandon Sitch (redshirt fresman, 174 pounds) and Mitch Kuhlman (senior, 184 pounds) a chance to fill in.
Seven of Minnesota’s 10 normal starters are ranked nationally in their respective weight classes currently. Jayson Ness (No. 1 at 125 pounds), Mack Reiter (No. 2 at 133 pounds), Manny Rivera (No. 4 at 141), Dustin Schlatter (No. 1 at 149 pounds), C.P. Schlatter (No. 7 at 157), Gabe Dretsch (No. 11 at 174) and Roger Kish (No. 5 at 184) all rank among the nation’s best.
Seven of Minnesota’s 10 normal starters are ranked nationally in their respective weight classes currently. Jayson Ness (No. 1 at 125 pounds), Mack Reiter (No. 2 at 133 pounds), Manny Rivera (No. 4 at 141), Dustin Schlatter (No. 1 at 149 pounds), C.P. Schlatter (No. 7 at 157), Gabe Dretsch (No. 11 at 174) and Roger Kish (No. 5 at 184) all rank among the nation’s best.
SERIES VS. SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
Sunday’s dual with the Jackrabbits will mark the first meeting between Minnesota and SDSU in nearly 30 years the Gophers lead the all-time series 23-5 and have not lost a match-up since the 1974-75 season.
In 1978, the Gophers defeated the Jackrabbits 30-14 in Minneapolis, the last meeting between the two programs. Gopher great Dan Zilverberg (the uncle of current Gopher freshman David Zilverberg) wrestled in that meet, defeating opponent Kent Lang 16-0. Zilverberg went 43-3 that season (the 3rd-most wins ever by a Gopher in a single season) and went on to finish second (158 pounds) at the 1979 NCAA Championships.
THEIR CHANCE TO SHINE
Head coach J Robinson and the Golden Gopher coaching staff will send out a somewhat different starting lineup Sunday against SDSU. Normal starters Dustin Schlatter, Scott Glasser, Tyler Safratowich, Gabe Dretsch and Roger Kish will most likely not be wrestling due to various injuries and ailments, giving Luke Mellmer (freshman, 149 pounds), Jeremy Larson (senior, 165 pounds), Brandon Sitch (redshirt fresman, 174 pounds) and Mitch Kuhlman (senior, 184 pounds) a chance to fill in.
NESS IS NUMBER ONE
In the latest USA Today/InterMat/NWCA individual rankings, sophomore Jayson Ness (Bloomington, Minn.) gained the No. 1 spot at 125 pounds with a stellar 4-0 weekend performance at the National Duals. Ness topped previously top-ranked Paul Donahue of Nebraska by a 6-4 overtime decision on Sunday. The No. 1 ranking is the first of Ness’ career, as he had previously been ranked as third this season.
NATIONAL DUALS STREAK ENDS
Before their loss to Nebraska in the semifinals, Minnesota had won 10 consecutive meets from 2006 through 2008 (including two straight team titles) at the National Duals. It was the longest National Duals win streak for the Gophers since they began participating in the event in 1997. The previous mark had been eight straight, which the Gophers won during the 2001 and 2002 events.
TOP MOMENTS AT THE NATIONAL DUALS
Although the Gophers didn’t end up on top at the 2008 National Duals, there were still a number of memorable moments at the tournament. 82 teams and over 1,400 wrestlers from Divisions I through III, NAIA and the junior college ranks participated in the annual event, which featured 18 mats of continuous action on the floor of the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
1. Ness beats Donahue: The Minnesota faithful in attendance erupted into cheers when Ness topped Nebraska’s Donahue in this much-anticipated rematch between two top-three wrestlers at 125 pounds. Donahue, the defending national champion, beat Ness earlier this season at the NWCA All-Star Classic but the Gopher took the reigns as the title favorite with a 6-4 overtime win.
2. Mack is Back: After suffering a serious knee injury early last season, two-time All-American Mack Reiter never seemed to regain his form during the 2006-07 season, finishing out of the All-American running for the first time in his collegiate career. After some early scuffles, Reiter truly appears to have regained his former form. He went 4-0 this weekend and outscored his opponents 47-8, moving up to No. 2 in the national rankings.
3. Gabe’s Big Win: The Gopher coaching staff has always known that senior Gabe Dretsch is capable of beating the best competition in the country. On Saturday, Dretsch proved it by topping third-ranked Brandon Sinnott of Central Michigan by a 6-3 decision. It was the highest-ranked opponent Dretsch had beaten in 122 career matches.
4. The Answer at Heavyweight? Minnesota has been searching for someone to fill the shoes of departed four-time All-American Cole Konrad at heavyweight, as Minnesota’s heavyweights had gone 2-5 in dual meets before this weekend’s National Duals. But sophomore transfer Yura Malamura, who usually competes at 197 pounds, gave the Gopher faithful some hope by upsetting No. 13 Dustin Rogers of West Virginia in the Minnesota’s 32-9 win over the Mountaineers.
5. Larson Nearly Pulls Off Upset: Although the outcome of the meet had already been decided, one Gopher nearly scored a big personal victory during Minnesota’s 23-16 loss in the third place meet against Michigan. Jeremy Larson, competing in his first dual meet of the year at 165 pounds (he started 13 meets there last year), nearly beat top-ranked Eric Tannenbaum of Michigan, losing a hard-fought 6-3 decision. Larson very nearly scored a go-ahead takedown late in the third period, but could not corral the three-time All-American. The performance did earn Larson another dual meet appearance against South Dakota State.
NESS TAKES ROUND FOUR WITH DONAHUE IN OT
One of the most high-profile matches of Minnesota’s National Duals match-up with Nebraska was also its first, when No. 3 Jayson Ness took on top-ranked and defending national champion Paul Donahue of Nebraska. Ness had won the first two matches between the two, earning an 11-5 decision at the Kaufman-Brand Open 11/11/06 and an 8-6 dual meet win Feb. 11 of last season. However, it was Donahue that prevailed in the duo’s All-Star Classic match-up in November, using two third-period takedowns to emerge a 5-2 victor. Donahue upset Sam Hazewinkel of Oklahoma to win the 2007 national championship at 125 pounds.
Sunday morning, however, Ness got the better of his rival. After jumping ahead 4-1 with a takedown with one minute remaining, Donahue sent the match into overtime with a takedown of his own at the 20-second mark. In OT, Ness quickly went to work and scored a dramatic takedown just 29 seconds into the period.
Ness-Donahue Matches:
11/6/06 Ness dec. Donahue 11-6 (@ Kaufman-Brand Open)
2/11/07 Ness dec. Donahue 8-6 (@ Lincoln, Neb.)
11/19/07 Donahue dec. Ness 5-2 (@ All-Star Classic in Eugene, Ore.)
1/13/08 Ness. dec. Donahue 6-4 in OT (at National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa)
The duo was also scheduled to meet on Dec. 6 in Minneapolis, but Donahue missed the meet due to an injury.
BIG WIN FOR GABE
Gabe Dretsch’s upset victory over Central Michigan’s Brandon Sinnott (ranked third nationally) was the highest-ranked opponent the Gopher senior had defeated in 144 career matches. Dretsch also defeated Sinnott (then ranked No. 5) in a dual meet during last year’s National Duals.
A HEAVYWEIGHT SOLUTION?
After the graduation of two-time national champion Cole Konrad last season, the Gophers have struggled to fill the heavyweight position with redshirt freshmen Ben Berhow and Joe Nord (the duo were a combined 2-5 in dual meets before Saturday). Yura Malamura, who defeated in the pair in practice room wrestle-offs last week, got a chance to start at heavyweight Saturday and pulled off a dramatic 7-5 upset win over No. 13 Dustin Rogers of West Virginia.
NESS' STREAK ENDS
Before his win by injury default against WVU, Ness had been on track to set another Gopher record. At the Dec. 29-30 Southern Scuffle in Greensboro, N.C., Ness pinned six straight opponents en route to the 125-pound title, the second-longest consecutive pin streak in Minnesota history. Chad Erickson (11/11/00-11/24/00) and Morgan (11/11/89-11/17/89) also pinned six opponents in a row. Current Iowa State assistant coach (and former two-time national champion) Tim Hartung pinned eight straight opponents from 11/15-12/14 in 1997.
Players Mentioned
