University of Minnesota Athletics
Wrestling Set to Begin Big Ten Tournament
3/5/2010 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Tournament Time
The postseason is upon us, beginning with the 2010 Big Ten Tournament Mar. 6 and 7 in Ann Arbor, Mich. Hosted by the University of Michigan, the tournament begins on Saturday Mar. 6 with session one at 11:00 a.m.
The Records
The Gopher finished the 2009-2010 season with a 12-5 overall record and a 7-1 mark in Big Ten duals. The Gopher lone Big Ten loss was to unbeaten Iowa and all five of their losses came to the teams ranked 1-4 in the national polls.
The Series
The Gopher have won 10 total Big Ten Tournaments, including six under J Robinson. Most recently they won by a 55.5 point margin in 2007, scoring 156.0 points to distance themselves from second place Wisconsin with 100.5.
Last Match-Up
Last season at the Big Ten Tournament, the Gophers placed fifth with 86.0 points, just behind fourth place Michigan who finished with 88.0. Iowa claimed the 2009 Big Ten Championship with 141 points on the strength of six top-three place winners.The Gopher were led by Tyler Safratowich who placed third at 157. Fourth place Jayson Ness (133) and Ben Berhow (HWT), fifth place Zach Sanders (125) and Mike Thorn (141) and seventh place Sonny Yohn (184) all return to the Big Ten Tournament looking to improve on last years finishes.
Follow Along
Follow along on the web and on TV from the 2010 Big Ten Wrestling Championships. GopherSports.com will be running the usual Live Match Blog throughout the tournament for fans to log on and discuss all things wrestling. In addition, tournament host Michigan, will be providing constant updates on the tournament website which can be accessed at MGoBlue.com. Finally on Sunday for the championship session Big Ten Network will be broadcasting the Championships live, beginning at 1:00 p.m.
Last Time Out
Two weeks ago the Gophers wrapped up a 7-1 Big Ten dual season with a 26-16 win over Penn State. The win gave the Gopher a share of a second place finish in the final dual meet standings, tied with Ohio State. Against PSU, Minnesota won six matches, with one of their losses coming by forfeit at 125. Jayson Ness, Mike Thorn, Dustin Schlatter, Scott Glasser, Sonny Yohn and Ben Berhow all won en route to the victory.
Next Up
After a week off, qualifying individuals will head to the NCAA Wrestling Championships Mar. 18-20 in Omaha, Neb. The 2010 NCAA Tournament will be held in the Quest Center, and will be co-hosted by the University of Nebraska and the Omaha Sports Commission.
Scouting The Big Ten Championships
- Saturday, March 6, 2010
10:00 a.m. Doors open to the public
11:00 a.m. Session 1
(First Round, Quarterfinals)
4:30 p.m. Doors open to the public
6:00 p.m. Session 2
(Semifinals, Wrestlebacks)
- Sunday, March 7, 2010
11:00 a.m. Doors open to the public
Noon Session 3
(Consolation Semifinals, Seventh-place matches)
2:05 p.m. Championship Round
(First-, Third-, Fifth-place matches)
- J Robinson has led the Gophers to Big Ten Titles six times ('99, '01, '02, '03, '06, '07)
- Minnesota has won 10 Big Ten titles overall
- Iowa leads with 32 all-time titles including the last two
- 12 times Minnesota has finished second at the Big Ten Tournament, including seven under Robinson
- Eight Big Ten teams are currently ranked in the NWCA Top-25
- Four weight classes (125, 133, 149, 165) boast the nations top-ranked individual, while only 197 does not have an individual ranked in the top two
- Angel Escobedo (125), Franklin Gomez (133), Brent Metcalf (149), Andrew Howe (165) and Daniel Erekson (HWT) all return to defend their 2009 titles.
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
