Top-Ranked Gophers Open Big Ten Season with 31-12 Drubbing of No. 10 Penn State

The top-ranked University of Minnesota wrestling team downed No. 10
Penn State, 31-12, in its Big Ten opener on Sunday at the Sports
Pavilion. The Golden Gophers earned bonus points in four of the first
five matches, including a pin by fifth-ranked Jayson Ness over No. 2
Mark McKnight in the marquee match of the day. Ness pulled off the
upset in exciting fashion with the fall in 4:55.

Senior heavyweight Cole Konrad capped off the dual with a 5-1 victory
over No. 11 Aaron Anspach. With the win, Konrad now holds the record
for the longest winning streak in school history at 59 matches,
surpassing Tim Hartung, who set the previous record in 1999.

With the win, the Gophers improved to 12-1 on the season overall,
while the Nittany Lions have dropped their first two conference dual
meets and sit at 9-4 overall on the year.

Ness was forced to come from behind a couple of times against McKnight
but took control of the match with a takedown 30 seconds into the
second period. Ness rode McKnight the rest of the way before rolling
him to his back to earn the dramatic pin with just five seconds
remaining in the period and put the Gophers up 6-0. With the win, Ness
improved to 25-3 on the season.

The Nittany Lions got three points back with fourth-ranked Jake
Strayer's 14-7 decision over Mike Thorn, but the middle of Minnesota's
lineup followed with a typically dominating performance, earning bonus
points in each of the next three matches.

Manuel Rivera, who moved up to No. 2 in the rankings this week,
started the rally with a 16-1 tech fall over unranked Bryan Heller.
Rivera held a 4-1 lead after the first period before piling it on in
the second, scoring an escape, a takedown and a pair of three-point
near falls to extend his lead to 13-1. After starting down in the
third, Rivera got the escape midway through the period and scored the
decisive takedown with 27 seconds remaining. With the win, Rivera
remained unbeaten on the season at 27-0.

Top-ranked Dustin Schlatter also kept his unblemished record intact
with a 15-4 major decision over Dan Vallimont. Schlatter went to work
right away in the first period, scoring a takedown just over a minute
into the match. A pair of near falls gave him a 7-1 lead after one.
Vallimont went on the defensive in the second period, allowing just
one takedown, but Schlatter added to his lead in the third with a pair
of takedowns and got the bonus point for riding time.

C.P. Schlatter, who re-entered the rankings at No. 3 this week after
an impressive performance in his return last weekend at the National
Duals, put the Gophers ahead 19-3 with a 14-4 major decision over
Bubba Jenkins at 157. Leading just 5-3 entering the third period,
Schlatter used a pair of takedowns and a two-point near fall in the
third to earn the bonus points.

Jeremy Larson extended Minnesota's lead to 22-3 with a 9-5 victory
over Penn State's Dave Rella at 165. Larson trailed 2-1 after the
opening period but took the lead in the second with a pair of
takedowns, the last one coming as the horn sounded. Rella made things
interesting with a takedown 23 seconds into the third, but Larson got
the escape and held on for the victory to even his dual meet record at
6-6 this season.

In a match-up between two ranked wrestlers at 174, Penn State's No. 7
James Yonushonis narrowly defeated No. 12 Gabriel Dretsch, 3-2. The
match went scoreless in the first period and was tied 2-2 after the
second, but after starting down in the third, Yonushonis scored the
decisive point with an escape 27 seconds into the period.

Second-ranked Roger Kish put the match away for the Gophers with a pin
of Philip Bomberger at 184 pounds. Kish started down in the second
period and quickly scored a reversal to put Bomberger on his back,
earning the fall in 3:20. With the win, Kish improved to 21-1 on the
season.

True freshman Brent Eidenschink faced a tough test in third-ranked
Phil Davis at 197 pounds, and the PSU wrestler put his talent and
experience on display with a pin in 1:36. Davis scored a takedown 50
seconds into the match and worked Eidenchink to his back to earn the
fall.

In the final match of the day, No. 11 Aaron Anspach gave Konrad a
fight, but nothing was going to prevent the senior from Freedom, Wis.,
from leaving his mark in the record books. The bout was scoreless
after the first period, but Konrad took a 3-0 lead with an escape and
takedown in the second. Anspach nearly took Konrad down in the third,
but the big man countered to prevent any damage and added a takedown
with under 30 seconds remaining to clinch the win. With the win,
Konrad took sole possession of the longest winning streak in school
history and has now won 88 of his last 89 matches.

The Golden Gophers return to action next weekend by hosting a pair of
dual meets at the Sports Pavilion, first with No. 15 Michigan on
Friday night at 7 p.m. Purdue comes to town to face Minnesota on
Sunday at 2 p.m. CSTV will air Friday night's match against the
Wolverines on tape delay on Monday, Jan. 29 at 9 p.m. Sunday's match
against the Boilermakers will be available live in the Gold Zone.