University of Minnesota Athletics
Set To Scuffle
12/28/2009 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Set To Scuffle
The Golden Gophers return from break with their first action at the 2009 Southern Scuffle hosted by North Carolina Greensboro. The Southern Southern Scuffle will take place over Dec. 29 and 30 at the Greensboro Coliseum and Special Events Center. Minnesota is one of 30 total teams from across the nation set to square off.
The Records
In dual meets, the Golden Gophers boast a 3-1 record and have won two straight. Minnesota resumes dual meet action at home on Jan. 3 against Iowa State.
The Series
The last time the Gophers were at the Southern Scuffle, was exactly two years ago, on Dec. 29 and 30 of the 2007-08 season. Minnesota won four titles at the event on their way to the Southern Scuffle Championship.
Follow Along
Fans can catch all the action by purchasing one of four packages for the Spartan All Access coverage of the Southern Scuffle. Fans can purchase a complete tournament package for $19.95, which will include all three sessions. Session 1, featuring all of Friday's action, and Session 2, which features Saturday's action up to the championship round, can be purchased for $9.95 each. Session 3, featuring only the championship matches on Saturday evening, will be available for $7.95. All can be found at www.UNCGSpartans.com
Last Time Out
In their last meet, the Golden Gophers closed out the first half of the season is a big way, with a 41-3 victory over Northern Colorado. Minnesota won nine of the 10 weight classes, with six wins earning bonus points. Minnesota led 17-0 before Northern Colorado got on the board, and then won the final five matches by a combined 24-0 margin, capped by a Ben Berhow fall at heavyweight in the final match of the day.
Next Up
After the Southern Scuffle, the Golden Gophers open up the new year with one of their old rivals, welcoming Iowa State to the town. In a match-up of top-ranked teams, the No. 6 Gophers will host the No. 2 Cyclones on Jan. 3 at 2:00 p.m. in the Sports Pavilion.
Scouting The Southern Scuffle
- Will crown 10 individual champions, as well as a team champion
- 30 teams competing, including seven ranked in the NWCA Top-25
- Cal State Bakersfield, Indiana and Michigan are all also on the Gophers Schedule this season, with Minnesota already boasting a 31-9 win over Bakersfield
- No. 6 Minnesota is the highest ranked team competing
- At least two ranked individuals at each weight class
- No. 2 Jayson Ness (133) and No. 9 Mario Mason (149) are the highest ranked individuals in their respective weight classes
- No. 4 Zach Sanders (125), No. 4 Dustin Schlatter (165), Scott Glasser/Cody Yohn (174), and No. 11 Ben Berhow (HWT) each have the No. 1 ranked individual in their respective weight class at the event
- Jayson Ness won the 125-pound championship and Dustin Schlatter placed second at 149 pounds at the 2007 Southern Scuffle
- At the 2007 Southern Scuffle, Minnesota tallied 182 points to notch a 50-point victory over second place Edinboro with 130.5 points
- With seven total ranked individuals in their weight classes, Dustin Schlatter and Ben Berhow have the toughest road to the Championship
2009 Southern Scuffle Feild
- Air Force
- Appalachian State
- Army
- Bloomsburg
- Boston University
- Cal State Bakersfield
- Campbell
- The Citadel
- #7 Cornell
- Duke
- #16 Edinboro
- Gardner-Webb
- George Mason
- Hofstra
- #12 Indiana
- #13 Kent State
- Liberty
- Lock Haven
- Michigan
- #6 Minnesota
- Navy
- North Carolina
- North Carolina State
- Ohio
- #24 Old Dominion
- Penn
- Princeton
- Sacred Heart
- UNC Greensboro
- #23 Virginia
Get Score Updates on Your Phone
Fans can get scoring updates from all of Golden Gopher athletics through the Twitter page @GopherScores. Just find and follow @GopherScores, then set up your phone or mobile device to receive the text updates. If you are not already on Twitter, you will need to create an account.
Twitter
Follow the Golden Gophers on Twitter. Just search @GopherWrestling on Twitter to follow all the news updates.
Players Mentioned
