University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Open National Duals Against Bison
2/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
North Dakota State Match Notes 
Since its founding as part of the Virginia Duals in 1989, no team has claimed the NWCA National Duals championship four consecutive years. No. 4 Minnesota (11-2 overall, 7-2 Big Ten) will attempt to become the first this year and will start its journey this Sunday against No. 19 North Dakota State (8-3 overall, 4-0 WWC) at the Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse in Fargo, N.D.
The Gophers head into the National Duals after completing their Big Ten season last weekend with a record of 7-2. This season was the fourth straight in which Minnesota has won at least seven matches in conference competition, the second-longest streak under Head Coach J Robinson. In its last dual of the conference season, Minnesota crushed Maryland, 34-12, scoring bonus points in six matches, including three falls. The match last Sunday against the Terrapins was the first dual Minnesota had wrestled against an unranked opponent since its Big Ten opener against Michigan State on Nov. 21. In between the two, the Gophers battled through a challenging schedule that featured eight consecutive duals against ranked teams, five of which were in the top 10. Minnesota went 6-2 during the stretch.
After a 1-3 start to the season, during which the Bison fell to ranked opponents Virginia and Virginia Tech, as well as now-ranked Wisconsin, the Bison enter Sunday's dual on a seven-match winning streak. During that stretch, North Dakota State has defeated six of its opponents by at least nine points, the only exception being No. 18 Wyoming, which NDSU defeated by one. During this seven-match winning streak, the Bison's three nationally ranked wrestlers have helped fuel the team's success. Both No. 9 Hayden Zillmer (184) and No. 15 Evan Knutson (285) are undefeated in their last seven duals, while No. 13 Josh Rodiguez (125), along with Mitch Bengston (141) and Clay Ream (149), are 6-1 in that time.
Outside of dual competition, the Gophers and the Bison have been in the same field at two tournaments this year. The first was the season-opening Bison Open, where the Gophers claimed seven individual titles (125, 133, 141, 149, 157, 165 and 174) and the Bison earned one (184). The two teams also saw each other in Las Vegas in early December at the Cliff Keen Invitational. The Gophers won the team title and a pair of individual titles (Chris Dardanes at 133, No. 1 Dylan Ness at 157) at the event, while the Bison placed 13th.
This Sunday's match will be the 21st in the series between the Gophers and the Bison, one which began in 1966. Minnesota holds a 19-1 advantage all-time over NDSU, including an active, 17-match winning streak that dates back to 1969. The two teams have met in six of the past seven seasons. Their most recent dual was during last year's NWCA National Duals in Columbus, Ohio, where Minnesota knocked off North Dakota State, 35-3.
Looking ahead to this year's dual, six Gophers and three Bison who wrestled in last year's contest will be in the lineup on Sunday, though there are no rematches from last year's card, in part because both teams will have two of their returning wrestlers at different weights. Though there are no rematches from last year's dual, several of Sunday's pairing have match histories at the collegiate level. In the case of 141 and 184, Sunday's will be the third match this season between the two wrestlers. First, at 141, there is a potential match between No. 4 Nick Dardanes and Bengston. Dardanes defeated Bengston 8-4 in the finals of the Bison Open, then added an 8-7 decision during the Cliff Keen Invitational. At 184, No. 13 Brett Pfarr will looked to avenge a pair of defeats at the hands of Zillmer, first a 6-4 loss in sudden victory overtime in the Bison Open finals, then a 2-1 loss at the Cliff Keen Invitational. In addition to those matches, the bout at 285 will also pair familiar faces against each other, when No. 13 Michael Kroells and Knutson meet for the fourth time in their collegiate careers. Kroells is 3-0 against Knutson, winning decisions at the 2012 Cobber Open (5-3), the 2013 Bison Open (5-2) and at this year's Cliff Keen Invitational (6-4).
Beyond the regional connection between these two programs, there is also a strong connection between the coaching staffs. NDSU Head Coach Roger Kish and Assistant Coach Manny Rivera both wrestled at Minnesota. Kish was a two-time All-American (2006, 2007) and still sits in 15th on the Gophers' all-time career pins list. Rivera was an All-American in 2008 and joins Kish among the Gophers' top 25 in career wins. Both Kish and Rivera wrestled under Minnesota's Robinson, as well as current assistants Brandon Eggum and Luke Becker.
Fans that would like to see Sunday's dual live in Fargo can still purchase general admission tickets through the NDSU ticket office. For those who cannot attend in-person, the match will be available to stream live on NDSU All-Access, which requires a subscription, and updates throughout the dual will be available on the Gopher Wrestling Twitter feed. A full recap of the event will be shared right here on GopherSports.com Sunday evening.
Players Mentioned
