The top-ranked Minnesota wrestling team met its match against No. 2 Oklahoma State on Jan. 7, losing 25-12 in front of just under 10,000 fans at Williams Arena.
Minnesota was shorthanded, with 197-pound Owen Elzen injured and heavyweight Garrett Lowney ineligible. The 12 points are the lowest total since a 26-10 loss to the Cowboys in 1996-97.
The Gophers’ Chad Erikson won his match at 141 pounds and Luke Becker won 7-4 at 157 pounds, but No. 3 Joey Lawerence had his 16-match winning streak stopped at 149 pounds to No. 2 Reggie Wright, sealing the win.
Oklahoma State posted a major upset at 125 pounds, where No. 17 Matt Brown beat No. 3 Leroy Vega 4-3. Vega led 3-1 after two periods, but Brown had an escape and a takedown in the third.
Minnesota also lost at 174 and 195 pounds. Freshman Eli Ross was pinned by No. 2 Mark Munoz of OSU in under six minutes. Ross filled in for Elzen, and competed in his first dual meet for the Gophers.
The following week, the Gophers bounced back with a 26-12 win over No. 8 Nebraska and 22-14 win over No. 11 Boise State in Boise.
Matt Kraft and Damion Hahn won their matches to give Minnesota a four-point lead, but Nebraska won three in a row at 197, heavyweight and 125 pounds.
But the Gophers won all of their final five matches, including a thrilling upset at 157 pounds, where Becker upset No. 2 Bryan Snyder 4-3 after trailing 3-0 heading into the final stanza.
Trailing 14-9, the Gophers reeled off four-straight wins to avoid the upset.
After dropping to No. 4, Leroy Vega broke his three-match losing streak with a 7-2 win.
Minnesota heads to the NWCA duals this weekend in State College, PA.
Women’s basketball
The Gophers began their Big Ten season, but lost their first four games.
In a 92-64 thrashing by Indiana, the Hoosiers shot 57 percent. It was the fifth-straight loss for Minnesota, which drops to 7-8 overall.
Kim Prince scored 13 points and Lindsay Whalen added 11 for the Gophers, who shot 42 percent from the field and just 57 percent from the free throw line.
On Jan. 7 the Gophers dropped a heartbreaker to Michigan State at the Pavilion. Two free throws by Donita Johnson with 15 seconds left were the difference, as they gave the Spartans a four-point lead.
Minnesota committed just nine turnovers, but shot 39 percent while the Spartans shot 52 percent.
Tanisha Gilbert led Minnesota with 16 points and Whalen added 14 points.
The Gophers jumped on then-No. 10 Penn State early, taking a seven-point lead at halftime. But the Lady Lions scored five points before Minnesota got a shot off to open the second half, then went on a 12-0 run over 3 1/2 minutes for a 14-point lead.
Prince and Gilbert led Minnesota with 19 points each, and Whalen had 17.
The Gophers head to Madison on Thursday for a tilt with Wisconsin.
Track and field
The men’s track team took top honors in six events at the Fieldhouse to open their season with the Northwest Open.
Senior Bob Quade finished first in the 400-meter, freshman Adam Steele won the 600-meter and senior Jeremy Polson won the mile with a career-best 4:15.51.
In the field events, Mike Ehlers and Jesse Madsen took fifth and seventh in the shot put. Marc Johannsen tied for third in the high jump.
The women’s team was led by Aubrey Schmitt won a pair of events at the Open. Schmitt won the shot put and weight throw.
Beth Howard finished second to Schmitt in both events, and Shannaine Osbourne was second in the 60-meter dash, and Jessica Shuster was runner-up in the 600-meter run.