Northwestern
Minnesota
Fourth-Ranked Minnesota Tops No. 11 Northwestern, 33-12
2/8/2008 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Feb. 8, 2008
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Three pins and three major decision victories for fourth-ranked Minnesota proved to be too much for No. 11 Northwestern, as the defending NCAA champions topped the Wildcats Friday, 33-12. No. 2 Mike Tamillow (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick), No. 1 Dustin Fox (Galion, Ohio/Galion) and No. 5 Ryan Lang (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Edward) all picked up victories.
The loss leaves Northwestern still searching for its first Big Ten victory as its drops to 5-7 overall and 0-3 in conference. The win improves Minnesota's record to 13-4 overall, 3-1 in the Big Ten.
No. 12 Nick Hayes (Council Bluffs, Iowa/Lewis Central) started the dual off at 174 lbs against 11th-ranked Gabe Dretsch. The close rankings of these two wrestlers indicated that the match would be tight, and they did not disappoint.
Hayes led until the third period, where Dretsch managed to score an escape, takedown, and near fall to take a 7-3 lead. Hayes' escape in response was not enough as he dropped the match 7-4, giving Minnesota the early 0-3 lead.
Adil Kolovic (Chicago, Ill./Niles West) had his work cut out for him at 184 lbs. as he faced fifth-ranked and two-time All-American Roger Kish. Kish took the lead early with a takedown and never looked back, racking up another seven takedowns for a 17-6 major decision that catapulted Minnesota to a 7-0 lead.
Tamillow looked to keep his eight-match winning-streak alive as he faced Minnesota's Justin Bronson. Tamillow jumped out to an early 6-2 lead after a takedown and near fall in the first period. The Wildcat went on to score five more points for an 11-2 major decision, slicing the NU deficit to 7-4.
Fox continually put Minnesota's Joe Nord on his back in the first period, but was only able to amass two points. The points did come in the second for Fox, however, where he widened a 6-2 second period advantage into an eventual 9-3 win that pulled the Wildcats into a 7-7 dual tie.
The 125-pound match featured two top-five national contenders in Minnesota's No. 1 Jayson Ness and Northwestern's No. 5 Brandon Precin (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg). The Wildcat found himself in an early hole, entering the second period trailing 4-1. The All-American Ness cruised to a 12-4 victory to give Minnesota their second major decision of the dual and a 11-7 lead at the intermission.
Eric Metzler (Luxembourg, Wis./Luxembourg-Casco) opened things up for Northwestern on the other side of the break with an early takedown of fifth-ranked and two-time All-American Mack Reiter. Metzler continued to put the pressure on, amassing over a minute of riding time and continually denying Reiter's attempts to escape.
Reiter responded with his own takedown to end the first with a 3-2 advantage. Metzler put up a valiant fight, but the top-five grappler proved to be too much, gaining the pin at the 4:28 mark and giving Minnesota a 17-7 lead.
Bobby Joyce (Arlington Heights, Ill./St. Viator) filled in at 141 lbs. for the injured Keith Sulzer against Minnesota's No.3 Manuel Rivera. Rivera came out firing, however, giving Minnesota its second straight the pin (2:26) and increasing the lead to 23-7.
Lang looked to end Minnesota's 16-straight dual points, shooting out of the gate with an 8-1 lead after the first period. The trend continued in the second, as the Wildcat increased his lead to 13, and after accumulating over four minutes of riding time, Lang ended the match in the third with a 18-1 technical fall victory that made Minnesota's lead 23-12.
Andrew Nadhir (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central) opened up the bout at 157 lbs. with a quick take down of seventh-ranked and All-American C.P. Schlatter, but the Golden Gopher responded with a reversal and a near takedown that gave Minnesota a three-point lead at the end of the first period. Schlatter put together nine more points in the final two periods to give Minnesota a 15-6 victory, the team's third major decision that gave Minnesota a 27-12 advantage.
In the final match of the evening, 165-pound Dominic Marella (Rosella,Ill./Conant) scored an early takedown against Tyler Safratowich. Safratowich led entering the second period, however, 3-2, and ended the dual that same period with a pin at 3:15 to give Minnesota its third pin of the night, along with the 33-12 victory.
The Wildcats return to the mat at 1 p.m. Sunday against Michigan State in East Lansing.
174: #11 Dretsch (Minn) dec. #12 Hayes (NU), 7-4 (0-3)
184: #5 Kish (Minn) maj dec. Kolovic (NU), 17-6 (0-7)
197: #2 Tamillow (NU) maj dec. Bronson (Minn), 11-2 (4-7)
285: #1 Fox (NU) dec. Nord (Minn), (7-7)
125: #1 Ness (Minn) maj dec. #5 Precin, 12-4 (7-11)
133: #5 Reiter (Minn) pinned Metzler (NU), 4:28 (7-17)
141: #3 Rivera (Minn) pinned Joyce (NU), 2:26 (7-23)
149: #5 Lang (NU) tech fall Mellmer (Minn), 18-1 (12-23)
157: #7 C.P. Schlatter (Minn) maj dec. Nadhir (NU), 15-6 (12-27)
165: Safratowich (Minn) pinned Marella (NU), 3:15 (12-33)
Players Mentioned
