The top-ranked Golden Gopher wrestling team (14-0, 2-0) defeated No. 7 Iowa (7-4, 1 -1), 25-9 in front of 6,695 fans on Sunday afternoon at Williams Arena. It is the biggest win for Minnesota over the Hawkeyes since a 23-6 victory in 1941. The Golden Gophers defeated four higher ranked wrestlers highlighted by true freshman Dustin Schlatter’s 4-1 win over top-ranked Ty Eustice at 149 pounds.
The Hawkeyes won their first of three matches at 125 pounds as Lucas Magnani defeated Travis Lang, 9-5. Magnani broke a scoreless tie with a takedown with seven seconds to go in the first period. Lang took a 4-2 lead in the second period, but Magnani countered with a reversal. He added two more third period takedowns in the win.
From there, it was all Minnesota. Sophomore All-American Mack Reiter earned a 10-2 major decision against Daniel Dennis at 133 pounds. Reiter dominated the senior from St. Paul, Minn. Dennis was penalized for stalling on three separate occasions. Reiter improved to 21-2 on the year.
141 pounds marked the first of four upsets as 19th-ranked Manuel Rivera defeated No. 12 Alex Tsirtsis, 4-3.With the match tied at two, Rivera scored the deciding takedown 39 seconds into the third period. Tsirtsis cut the lead to 4-3 with an escape, but Rivera held on for the win. He is now 20-9 on the year.
Schlatter followed with his second victory over a top-ranked wrestler in the past two weeks. Ranked second in the country, Schlatter dominated Eustice as he rode him the entire second period. In the third, Schlatter took a 1-0 lead with an escape and then scored a takedown moments later. He finished with nearly two minutes of riding time as he improved to 28-1 on the year.
Schlatter’s older brother, C.P., then defeated fifth-ranked Joe Johnston, 12-7, at 157 pounds. Johnston defeated Schlatter twice last season. With Johnston leading 7-6, Schlatter took the lead for a good with a takedown near the edge of the mat. He also earned a three-point near fall as time expired. Schlatter is now 25-4 on the season.
Following intermission, Minnesota extended its lead to 19-3 as 10th-ranked Matt Nagel defeated Eric Luedke, 8-3, at 165 pounds. Nagel was never threatened as he took a 4-1 first-period lead. He finished with 2:16 in riding time. Nagel is now 21-6 on the year.
Iowa cut the lead to 19-6 as fourth-ranked Mark Perry returned from injury to defeat No. 8 Gabriel Dretsch, 6-2, at 174 pounds. Following a takedown by Perry, the pair traded reversals. After Dretsch rode Perry the entire second period, Perry put the match away with a takedown 45 seconds into the third period.
Minnesota got back on track as ninth-ranked Roger Kish upset No. 6 Paul Bradley, 4-1, at 184 pounds. Bradley had won the previous two meetings between the duo. Kish led throughout as he took a 2-0 lead with a takedown just seven seconds into the match. The pair traded escapes in the second and third periods. Kish finished with 1:14 in riding time as he improved to 24-3 on the year.
After Iowa’s Dan Erekson defeated Mitch Kuhlman, 6-3, at 197 pounds, top-ranked heavyweight Cole Konrad dominated sixth-ranked Matt Fields at heavyweight. Konrad led 10-1 in the third period, but on a takedown, Fields injured his knee and was unable to finish the match. Minnesota was awarded six points for the injury default. Konrad remains unbeaten with a 26-0 record.
“We told our guys they had to wrestle with more emotion than did on Friday (against Northwestern), “head coach J Robinson. “To their credit, they showed up ready to go today. I thought Manuel’s win gave us a spark. That gave Dustin a lift and then Dustin gave C.P. a lift. We weren’t favored to win a lot of these matches. ”
The Golden Gophers will hit the road next weekend for a pair of Big Ten dual meets. Minnesota will face Ohio State on Friday night and then meet No. 12 Penn State on Sunday afternoon.
Minnesota 25, Iowa 9
Williams Arena
Jan. 22, 2006
Attendance: 6,695
125 — Lucas Magnani (Iowa) dec. Travis Lang (MN), 9-5
133 — #3 Mack Reiter (MN) maj. dec. Daniel Dennis (Iowa), 10-2
141 — #19 Manuel Rivera (MN) dec. #12 Alex Tsirtsis (Iowa), 4-3
149 — #2 Dustin Schlatter (MN) dec. #1 Ty Eustice (Iowa), 4-1
157 — #6 C.P. Schlatter (MN) dec. #5 Joe Johnston (Iowa), 12-7
165 — #10 Matt Nagel dec. Eric Luedke (Iowa), 8-3
174 — #4 Mark Perry (Iowa) dec. #8 Gabriel Dretsch (MN), 6-2
184 — #9 Roger Kish (MN) dec. #6 Paul Bradley (Iowa), 4 -1
197 — Dan Erekson (Iowa) dec. Mitch Kuhlman (MN), 6-3
HWT — #1 Cole Konrad (MN) over #6 Matt Fields (Iowa), injury default
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