Gopher Wrestlers Roll Over Purdue 32-8

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Mar 19

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The fourth-ranked Golden Gopher wrestlers made quick work of the unranked Purdue Boilermakers 32-8 Sunday afternoon in Lafayette, Ind. The first three Minnesota wrestlers earned bonus points as the Gophers won eight of 10 matches during the dual meet. The win was Minnesota's 10th over Purdue in their last 11 meetings.

The win improved Minnesota's record to 13-5 on the season and 4-1 in Big Ten competition. The Gophers also defeated Northwestern 33-12 on Friday night.

Once again, it was Jayson Ness that got things going for the defending national champions at 125 pounds. The top-ranked wrestler in the nation at 125 pounds, Ness earned his Division I-leading 18^th pin of the season Sunday over Akif Eren of the Boilermakers in 2:44. Ness improved to 30-0 on the season and has won 31 consecutive matches dating back to last season.

Ness is now just two pins away from tying the Gophers single-season record of 20, held by current head assistant coach Marty Morgan. He could tie the record next weekend when the Gophers take on Illinois and Wisconsin at Williams Arena.

Minnesota's other two lightweight stars also lived up to their billing on Sunday afternoon. Fifth-ranked Mack Reiter scored early and often in his match against Georg Petrove at 133 pounds, picking up a 15-0 tech fall win in just 3:20. Twelve of Reiter's 15 points were back points, as he notched five nearfalls to win his second match of the weekend.

Manny Rivera followed suite at 141 pounds by pinning Matt Redmond of Purdue in 2:32, giving the Gophers a commanding 17-0 lead in the dual meet. It was the second pin of the weekend 10^th of the season for Rivera, a new career high.

After Luke Mellmer lost at 149 pounds to No. 15 Jake Patacsil, Minnesota continued its dominance over the Boilers at 157 pounds. Seventh-ranked C.P. Schlatter was given a good match by Sam Patacsil, but the senior All-American pulled out a 10-4 decision to remain an undefeated 5-0 during the Big Ten season.

Tyler Safratowich also got into the action at 165 pounds. He scored a takedown just before the end of the second period to go up 5-1 on Justin Fraga and held on for his fourth victory of the Big Ten dual meet season.

Senior Gabe Dretsch, fresh off a big victory over No. 12 Nick Hayes of Northwestern Friday night, suffered a slight setback Sunday against Nick Corpe of Purdue. Corpe scored takedowns in the first and second periods and then fended off Dretsch's offensive attacks in the final period to emerge the 5-4 winner.

With the outcome of the meet long since decided, all three of Minnesota's heavier wrestlers picked up encouraging victories. Senior Roger Kish won his second straight match of the weekend by defeating A.J. Kissel 4-3 at 184 pounds, and fellow senior Justin Bronson put on a defensive display in his 3-0 win over Logan Brown at 197. At heavyweight, Ben Berhow was equally impressive as he scored a 3-1 overtime victory over Chris Kasten.

The weekend's two dual meet victories should give the defending national champions some confidence as they return home for dual meets with Illinois (Friday at 7 p.m.) and Wisconsin (Sunday at 2 p.m.). Both meets will be held in Williams Arena, and live webcasts will be available in the Gold Zone on Gophersports.com.

#4 Minnesota 32, Purdue 8
125 pounds - #1 Jayson Ness (MINN) pinned Akif Eren (PU), 2:44
133 pounds - #5 Mack Reiter (MINN) tech. fall George Petrov (PU), 15-0 (3:20)
141 pounds - #3 Manuel Rivera (MINN) pinned Matt Redmond (PU), 2:32
149 pounds - #15 Jake Patacsil (PU) tech. fall Luke Mellmer (MINN), 16-0 (3:00)
157 pounds - #7 C.P. Schlatter (MINN) dec. Sam Patacsil (PU), D 10-4
165 pounds - Tyler Safratowich (MINN) dec. Justin Fraga (PU), 5-2
174 pounds - Nick Corpe (PU) dec. #11 Gabe Dretsch (MINN), D 5-4
184 pounds - #10 Roger Kish (MINN) dec. A.J. Kissel (PU), 4-3
197 pounds - Justin Bronson (MINN) dec. Logan Brown (PU), 2-0
285 pounds - Ben Berhow (MINN) dec. Chris Kasten (PU), 3-1 (OT)

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Players Mentioned

Ben Berhow

Justin Bronson

Roger Kish

Luke Mellmer

Jayson Ness

Mack Reiter

Manuel Rivera

Tyler Safratowich

C.P. Schlatter

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