No. 3 Gophers Takedown No. 2 Hawkeyes, 19-15

Jan. 25, 2014

MINNEAPOLIS – The No. 3 University of Minnesota Golden Gopher wrestling team bounced back from their first Big Ten loss of the season to dethrone No. 2 Iowa on Saturday afternoon in Iowa City. The Gophers were able to overtake the Hawkeyes, 19-15, by winning five bouts on the afternoon.

The Gophers improve to 8-1 on the season and 5-1 in Big Ten competition.

The dual kicked off big for the Gophers as Sam Brancale was able to pick up his seventh win of the season in an upset of No. 3 Tom Gilman as Brancale bounced back from a loss at Michigan to Conor Youtsey. Brancale was able to pin his Iowa opponent at 2:03 and earn six important team points right off the bat for the Golden Gophers.

No. 9 David Thorn and No. 5 Chris Dardanes both fell to their ranked Iowa opponents in their respective weight classes to allow the Hawkeyes to catch up by the end of the third bout for an even score of 6-6.

No. 3 Nick Dardanes took to the mat at 149 and was able to come up with three more points for the Gophers as he won by decision over No. 13 Brody Grothus of Iowa. No. 14 Dylan Ness was able to follow suit and upset No. 2 Derek St. John by decision, 7-4, to allow the Gophers to sit at a 12-6 lead going into intermission.

Out of intermission, Brandon Kingsley stepped in for Danny Zilverberg at 165. Kingsley battled No. 7 Daniel Yates of Michigan. Kingsley was unable to grab any team points for the Gophers as he fell to Yates by decision, 7-5.

Danny Zilverberg returned to the line up at 165 but fell to No. 4 Nick Moore of Iowa in a close decision, 3-2. No. 5Logan Storley and No. 6 Mike Evans of Iowa fought an all out battle at 174 as Evans was able to grab the three points for the Hawkeyes as he won in tie breaker 1, 2-1.

No. 9 Kevin Steinhaus picked up a decision over Sam Brooks of Iowa to put the Gophers back in the race to the finish.

No. 1 Scott Schiller extended his undefeated record on the season, 23-0, as he was about to pick up the only major decision of the dual by defeating No. 16 Nathan Burak to put the Gophers up by seven and utimately seal the deal for a Minnesota victory.

No. 2 Tony Nelson looked to bounce back after a loss to Adam Coon of Michigan last weekend but was unable to come away with the victory as he fell in sudden victory overtime for the second dual in a row. Nelson falls to 21-3 on the season as he continues his quest for his third consecutive national championship title.

Minnesota will resume competition next Sunday as they host Indiana at the Sports Pavilion at noon CT.

RESULTS:

125: Sam Brancale (MINN) won by pin over No. 3 Tom Gilman (IOWA) 2:03. Minnesota leads, 6-0.

133: No. 3 Tony Ramos (IOWA) won by decision over No. 9 David Thorn (MINN) 6-2. Minnesota leads, 6-3.

141: No. 11 Josh Dziewa (IOWA) won by decision over No. 5 Chris Dardanes (MINN) 1-0. Score tied 6-6.

149: No. 3 Nick Dardanes (MINN) won by decision over No. 13 Brody Grothus (IOWA) 5-3. Minnesota leads 9-6.

157: No. 14 Dylan Ness (MINN) won by decision over No. 2 Derek St. John (IOWA) 7-4. Minnesota leads 12-6.

165: No. 4 Nick Moore (IOWA) won by decision over Danny Zilverberg (MINN) 3-2. Minnesota leads 12-9.

174: No. 6 Michael Evans (IOWA) won in tie breaker 1 over No. 5 Logan Storley (MINN) 2-1. Score tied at 12.

184: No. 9 Kevin Steinhaus (MINN) won by decision over Sam Brooks (IOWA) 8-6. Minnesota leads 15-12.

197: No. 1 Scott Schiller (MINN) won by major decision over No. 16 Nathan Burak (IOWA) 16-5. Minnesota leads 19-12.

HWT: No. 3 Bobby Telford (IOWA) won in sudden victory 1 over No. 2 Tony Nelson (MINN) 3-1. Minnesota wins dual 19-15.