University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, November 15
Tulsa, OK
11:00 AM
University of Minnesota
vs
Virginia Tech
Players Mentioned
133 lbs.
/ Wrestling
285 lbs.
/ Wrestling
184 lbs.
/ Wrestling
157 lbs.
/ Wrestling
197 lbs.
/ Wrestling
174 lbs.
/ Wrestling
149 lbs.
/ Wrestling
165 lbs.
/ Wrestling
125 lbs.
/ Wrestling
141 lbs.
/ Wrestling
Photo by: Jamie Bergeland
Gophers Headed to Highly-Anticipated National Duals Invitational
11/14/2025 1:11:00 PM | Wrestling
MINNEAPOLIS -- No. 10/9 (InterMat Tournament/Dual rankings) Minnesota wrestling takes part in its first dual matches of the season this weekend as it heads to Tulsa, Okla., for the highly-anticipated National Duals Invitational at the BOK Center. All matches will be streamed on FloWrestling, while the finals will air Sunday on ESPN2.
The Golden Gophers will open Saturday morning at 11 a.m. against No. 11/18 Virginia Tech. A win will have Minnesota back on the mat Saturday at 5 p.m., while a loss will result in their next match coming at 3 p.m. followed by a 7 p.m. match with another win. If the team makes it to Sunday, the Gophers would wrestle twice with the times based on their place in the brackets.
The Gophers would face No. 6/7 Ohio State or No. 29/24 Wyoming in their second match depending on outcomes. They are also on the same side of the bracket as No. 2/3 Nebraska, No. 7/8 Lehigh, No. 8/11 Michigan and Arizona State.
The 16-team event will feature a record-setting $1 million prize purse — the first of its kind in collegiate wrestling. The champion will claim $200,000, with $150,000 awarded to both the runner-up and third-place teams, and prize money extending through eighth place. Every participating program will receive a $20,000 stipend.
Minnesota, Cornell, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina State, Nebraska, Northern Iowa, Ohio State, Oklahoma State and Virginia Tech all received automatic entry by finishing in the top 12 of the previous NCAA Championships. The field is rounded out by Arizona State, Lehigh, Little Rock, Missouri and Wyoming, who were randomly selected from teams that finished the season ranked 13 through 24 in the NCAA standings.
Tournament organizers also announced $50,000 in team takedown bonuses. Teams will compete for five separate $10,000 bonuses, awarded during each first-day session to the squad with the fastest average takedown time. Each team's five fastest takedowns, recorded by five different wrestlers, will be averaged to determine each session's winner. Takedown times will only be measured from the beginning of the first period.
The Golden Gophers are looking to win their season opener for the fourth straight year after topping Binghamton, 19-15, to open 2022-23, and then defeating Bucknell to open both the 2023-24 (37-3) and 2024-25 (35-3) seasons.
The Gophers have won 16 of their last 18 duals dating back to the 2023-24 season. During the stretch, Minnesota has outscored opponents, 529-155, and has given up more than 12 points in a dual just three. Within the run, Minnesota had a 10-match win streak, the team's longest since claiming 17 straight duals over the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons.
IN THE RANKINGS
The Golden Gophers will open Saturday morning at 11 a.m. against No. 11/18 Virginia Tech. A win will have Minnesota back on the mat Saturday at 5 p.m., while a loss will result in their next match coming at 3 p.m. followed by a 7 p.m. match with another win. If the team makes it to Sunday, the Gophers would wrestle twice with the times based on their place in the brackets.
The Gophers would face No. 6/7 Ohio State or No. 29/24 Wyoming in their second match depending on outcomes. They are also on the same side of the bracket as No. 2/3 Nebraska, No. 7/8 Lehigh, No. 8/11 Michigan and Arizona State.
The 16-team event will feature a record-setting $1 million prize purse — the first of its kind in collegiate wrestling. The champion will claim $200,000, with $150,000 awarded to both the runner-up and third-place teams, and prize money extending through eighth place. Every participating program will receive a $20,000 stipend.
Minnesota, Cornell, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina State, Nebraska, Northern Iowa, Ohio State, Oklahoma State and Virginia Tech all received automatic entry by finishing in the top 12 of the previous NCAA Championships. The field is rounded out by Arizona State, Lehigh, Little Rock, Missouri and Wyoming, who were randomly selected from teams that finished the season ranked 13 through 24 in the NCAA standings.
Tournament organizers also announced $50,000 in team takedown bonuses. Teams will compete for five separate $10,000 bonuses, awarded during each first-day session to the squad with the fastest average takedown time. Each team's five fastest takedowns, recorded by five different wrestlers, will be averaged to determine each session's winner. Takedown times will only be measured from the beginning of the first period.
The Golden Gophers are looking to win their season opener for the fourth straight year after topping Binghamton, 19-15, to open 2022-23, and then defeating Bucknell to open both the 2023-24 (37-3) and 2024-25 (35-3) seasons.
The Gophers have won 16 of their last 18 duals dating back to the 2023-24 season. During the stretch, Minnesota has outscored opponents, 529-155, and has given up more than 12 points in a dual just three. Within the run, Minnesota had a 10-match win streak, the team's longest since claiming 17 straight duals over the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons.
IN THE RANKINGS
The Golden Gophers enter the weekend ranked 10th in InterMat's dual team rankings, and ninth in the InterMat tournament rankings and NWCA Coaches Poll.
Eight Gopher wrestlers are ranked in at least two of the major polls with seven appearing in all three: InterMat, Flo and OpenMat. All-American Max McEnelly is the top-ranked wrestler at 184 pounds in all three polls, while fellow All-American Vance VomBaur (141) and Wyoming transfer Jore Volk (125) appear in the top-8 of each publication. VomBaur peaks at No. 5 in Flo's and OpenMat's rankings, while Volk's top mark comes from OpenMat at No. 7.
Sixth-year senior Andrew Sparks (165) is 11th or better in all three polls with Flo giving him his highest rank at No. 10, while redshirt freshman Charlie Millard (157) is top-20 in all three, highlighted by a No. 14 ranking from InterMat. In addition, redshirt freshman heavyweight Koy Hopke is 18th or better with InterMat's No. 15 ranking marking his highest spot. Redshirt sophomore Ethan Riddle is 20th by OpenMat and 22nd from both InterMat and Flo.
Redshirt sophomore Gavin Nelson (197) is ranked by both InterMat (17) and Flo (22), while redshirt senior Drew Roberts (149) is 31st in Flo's rankings. A complete list of rankings can be found on Page 7 of the notes.
FACING VIRGINIA TECH
Eight Gopher wrestlers are ranked in at least two of the major polls with seven appearing in all three: InterMat, Flo and OpenMat. All-American Max McEnelly is the top-ranked wrestler at 184 pounds in all three polls, while fellow All-American Vance VomBaur (141) and Wyoming transfer Jore Volk (125) appear in the top-8 of each publication. VomBaur peaks at No. 5 in Flo's and OpenMat's rankings, while Volk's top mark comes from OpenMat at No. 7.
Sixth-year senior Andrew Sparks (165) is 11th or better in all three polls with Flo giving him his highest rank at No. 10, while redshirt freshman Charlie Millard (157) is top-20 in all three, highlighted by a No. 14 ranking from InterMat. In addition, redshirt freshman heavyweight Koy Hopke is 18th or better with InterMat's No. 15 ranking marking his highest spot. Redshirt sophomore Ethan Riddle is 20th by OpenMat and 22nd from both InterMat and Flo.
Redshirt sophomore Gavin Nelson (197) is ranked by both InterMat (17) and Flo (22), while redshirt senior Drew Roberts (149) is 31st in Flo's rankings. A complete list of rankings can be found on Page 7 of the notes.
FACING VIRGINIA TECH
Saturday's opening match will be the fifth all-time meeting between Minnesota and Virginia Tech. Minnesota has won all four of the previous meetings, but the teams haven't met since 2013. Minnesota has outscored Virginia Tech 157-28 in the four prior meetings, an average score of 39-7.
The Hokies are one of seven teams that Minnesota has faced at least four times in a dual and won each match. The Gophers' best undefeated dual record against a current DI program is a 12-0 mark against Central Michigan.
Saturday will be the second meeting a neutral site between the Gophers and Hokies. Previously, Minnesota won 41-7 in the 2005-06 season opener at the Northeast Duals in Albany, N.Y.
Virginia Tech enters Saturday with a 1-0 dual record on the season, defeating Bucknell, 19-12, on Nov. 7.
Minnesota's Chris Cannon and Virgina Tech's Jaden Bullock were teammates at Michigan during the 2023-24 season.
RANKED MATCHUPS
The Hokies are one of seven teams that Minnesota has faced at least four times in a dual and won each match. The Gophers' best undefeated dual record against a current DI program is a 12-0 mark against Central Michigan.
Saturday will be the second meeting a neutral site between the Gophers and Hokies. Previously, Minnesota won 41-7 in the 2005-06 season opener at the Northeast Duals in Albany, N.Y.
Virginia Tech enters Saturday with a 1-0 dual record on the season, defeating Bucknell, 19-12, on Nov. 7.
Minnesota's Chris Cannon and Virgina Tech's Jaden Bullock were teammates at Michigan during the 2023-24 season.
RANKED MATCHUPS
Based on probable lineups and the latest rankings from InterMat, eight of the 10 weights Saturday could feature ranked matchups with Minnesota having the higher ranked wrestler in six of the eight bouts.
At 125 pounds, No. 8 Jore Volk has not faced No. 4 Eddie Ventresca in his career. The two have no common opponents this season, but in their careers Volk is 18-9 against such opponents while Ventresca is 16-12. Volk is 1-0 this year against ranked foes, beating No. 6 Jett Strickenberger of West Virginia by injury default in the finals of the Southeast Open on Nov. 2.
The matchup at 141 between No. 8 Vance VomBaur and No. 17 Tom Crook would be the first between the two. Both have faced Luke Simcox of North Carolina this year with VomBaur winning by MD 12-3, while Crook lost 5-3. Lifetime, VomBaur is 11-3 versus common opponents, while Crook is 12-11.
At 157, No. 14 Charlie Millard has not faced No. 13 Ethen Miller before and the pair of no common opponents in their careers. Last season, Milllard was 3-1 versus ranked opponents, all of whom were ranked 19th or higher at the time of the match.
At 165, No. 11 Andrew Sparks has faced No. 28 Mac Church once before, earning a 9-3 decision last year at the Mountaineer Invitational. This season, both Sparks and Church have faced App State's Anthony Conetta and Ohio's Jack Lledo, and both were 2-0 in those matches.
At 174 pounds, No. 22 Ethan Riddle is 1-0 lifetime against No. 23 Sergio DeSiante. The pair met in the semifinals this year at the Southeast Open with Riddle prevailing 16-10.
At 184, No. 1 Max McEnelly faced No. 22 Jaden Bullock last year when Bullock wrestled for Michigan. The match went to overtime but McEnelly emerged with a 4-1 win.
At 197, No. 17 Gavin Nelson could face No. 23 Sonny Sasso for the second time this season. They already met in the third-place match at the season-opening Southeast Open with Nelson shutting out Sasso, 7-0.
Like at 174 and 197, the heavyweight matchup could feature a rematch from the Southeast Open. There, No. 15 Koy Hopke majored No. 18 Jimmy Mullen, 12-1, in the semifinals. The two also have a common opponent in Appalachian State's Stephan Monchery with Hopke winning by major decision and Mullen posting a tech fall.
LAST MEETING WITH VIRGINIA TECH
Minnesota blazed past Virginia Tech on Feb. 22, 2013, winning 28-8 to advance to the semifinals of the 2013 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Dual Meet Championship. The Gophers won eight of ten bouts on the night.
Virginia Tech scored first with a win at 125 lbs. Jarrod Garnett bested David Thorn by a 10-7 decision. Then Minnesota started rolling. Chris Dardanes came out strong at 133 lbs. against Erik Spjut and earned a 14-4 major. Nick Dardanes followed and ran away with the 9-2 win over Zach Neibert. At 149 lbs., Dylan Ness ignited the crowd by edging Nick Brascetta, 7-6. Then, in the the bout of the night, Danny Zilverberg pulled a major upset at 157 as he used a takedown and a reversal to shut out No. 6 Jesse Dong, 5-0. The Hokies improved their score to eight with help from Pete Yates at 165 in an 18-2 tech fall over Cody Yohn.
Minnesota's the top four heavyweights won out the remainder of the dual. First, Logan Storley scored an 8-2 decision over Austin Gabel at 174. Then 184-pounder Kevin Steinhaus pinned Nick Vetterlein at 4:33. Scott Schiller and Tony Nelson brought the night to a close, each notching decision victories over their respective opponents. Schiller pulled out a 9-7 win over Derrick Borlie, while Nelson bested David Marone with a 4-0 mark.
At 125 pounds, No. 8 Jore Volk has not faced No. 4 Eddie Ventresca in his career. The two have no common opponents this season, but in their careers Volk is 18-9 against such opponents while Ventresca is 16-12. Volk is 1-0 this year against ranked foes, beating No. 6 Jett Strickenberger of West Virginia by injury default in the finals of the Southeast Open on Nov. 2.
The matchup at 141 between No. 8 Vance VomBaur and No. 17 Tom Crook would be the first between the two. Both have faced Luke Simcox of North Carolina this year with VomBaur winning by MD 12-3, while Crook lost 5-3. Lifetime, VomBaur is 11-3 versus common opponents, while Crook is 12-11.
At 157, No. 14 Charlie Millard has not faced No. 13 Ethen Miller before and the pair of no common opponents in their careers. Last season, Milllard was 3-1 versus ranked opponents, all of whom were ranked 19th or higher at the time of the match.
At 165, No. 11 Andrew Sparks has faced No. 28 Mac Church once before, earning a 9-3 decision last year at the Mountaineer Invitational. This season, both Sparks and Church have faced App State's Anthony Conetta and Ohio's Jack Lledo, and both were 2-0 in those matches.
At 174 pounds, No. 22 Ethan Riddle is 1-0 lifetime against No. 23 Sergio DeSiante. The pair met in the semifinals this year at the Southeast Open with Riddle prevailing 16-10.
At 184, No. 1 Max McEnelly faced No. 22 Jaden Bullock last year when Bullock wrestled for Michigan. The match went to overtime but McEnelly emerged with a 4-1 win.
At 197, No. 17 Gavin Nelson could face No. 23 Sonny Sasso for the second time this season. They already met in the third-place match at the season-opening Southeast Open with Nelson shutting out Sasso, 7-0.
Like at 174 and 197, the heavyweight matchup could feature a rematch from the Southeast Open. There, No. 15 Koy Hopke majored No. 18 Jimmy Mullen, 12-1, in the semifinals. The two also have a common opponent in Appalachian State's Stephan Monchery with Hopke winning by major decision and Mullen posting a tech fall.
LAST MEETING WITH VIRGINIA TECH
Minnesota blazed past Virginia Tech on Feb. 22, 2013, winning 28-8 to advance to the semifinals of the 2013 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Dual Meet Championship. The Gophers won eight of ten bouts on the night.
Virginia Tech scored first with a win at 125 lbs. Jarrod Garnett bested David Thorn by a 10-7 decision. Then Minnesota started rolling. Chris Dardanes came out strong at 133 lbs. against Erik Spjut and earned a 14-4 major. Nick Dardanes followed and ran away with the 9-2 win over Zach Neibert. At 149 lbs., Dylan Ness ignited the crowd by edging Nick Brascetta, 7-6. Then, in the the bout of the night, Danny Zilverberg pulled a major upset at 157 as he used a takedown and a reversal to shut out No. 6 Jesse Dong, 5-0. The Hokies improved their score to eight with help from Pete Yates at 165 in an 18-2 tech fall over Cody Yohn.
Minnesota's the top four heavyweights won out the remainder of the dual. First, Logan Storley scored an 8-2 decision over Austin Gabel at 174. Then 184-pounder Kevin Steinhaus pinned Nick Vetterlein at 4:33. Scott Schiller and Tony Nelson brought the night to a close, each notching decision victories over their respective opponents. Schiller pulled out a 9-7 win over Derrick Borlie, while Nelson bested David Marone with a 4-0 mark.
Highlights: Gophers 25, Virginia Tech 10
Sunday, November 16
Highlights: Gophers 15, Missouri 14
Sunday, November 16
Highlights: Gophers 19, Virginia Tech 17
Saturday, November 15
Coach's Corner with Brandon Eggum
Friday, November 14