Zach Sanders picked up a technical fall at 125 pounds to start the GophersâÄô 37-3 victory against Wisconsin on Sunday, and his teammates followed suit.
âÄúI knew the kid wasnâÄôt that highly ranked. I just wanted to go out there and set the tone for the rest of the team and the rest of the dual meet,âÄù Sanders said.
Minnesota (8-2 overall, 5-0 Big Ten) won the first four matches of the dual by technical fall, two major decisions and a pin by Dylan Ness (149 pounds).
âÄúIf we look at each individual match we can break some things down and see where our improvement is going and thatâÄôs what we want to do,âÄù head coach J Robinson said.
No. 11 Ness pinned No. 14 Cole Schmitt with 35 seconds left in the first period.
âÄúOnce I got a reversal and had the half nelson in, I heard the crowd going crazy and it just got me going,âÄù Ness said. âÄúI knew I wasnâÄôt going to let that go.âÄù
Alec Ortiz (157) followed NessâÄô pin with an entertaining 11-9 victory.
âÄúAlec Ortiz is making some progress, heâÄôs getting some confidence and thatâÄôs super positive,âÄù Robinson said.
The Gophers took a 22-0 lead into the intermission âÄî a lead that wasnâÄôt relinquished.
Cody Yohn (165) started the second half of the dual with the GophersâÄô only loss of the day. No. 11 Yohn fell to No. 14 Ben Jordan 3-5 in the final 165 pound weight class of the day that featured two ranked wrestlers.
âÄú[YohnâÄôs] actually wrestling better and doing some things good, but heâÄôs just got to keep his head in the game and not let it get to him,âÄù Robinson said. âÄúJust keep improving a little bit each week.âÄù
Minnesota won the last four matches to close out the dual, including a 15-0 technical fall by freshman Logan Storley (174).
âÄúStorley is learning what college wrestling is all about,âÄù Robinson said. âÄúHeâÄôs learning how to go forward and put pressure on people. When he learns that and gets a really hard shot heâÄôs going to be really hard to beat.âÄù
Tony Nelson (heavyweight) closed out the match with a 6-1 victory.
âÄúTony Nelson wrestled a good match,âÄù Robinson said. âÄúHe shot a lot, something that weâÄôre trying to get him to do, be more aggressive.âÄù
Wisconsin had a rough go on the weekend, scoring only six points in two duals. The Badgers fell 41-3 to Purdue on Friday.
Minnesota returns to a two-match slate next weekend when it takes on Michigan at home and then travels to Iowa.
âÄúThe last couple teams weâÄôve wrestled havenâÄôt been the toughest,âÄù Sanders said. âÄúI think itâÄôs good for our confidence and setting the tone for other guys when they go out there and compete that theyâÄôre scoring more points and going after guys.âÄù
With two top-10 opponents looming next weekend, Robinson said there is work to be done if the Gophers want to have success.
âÄúWe just have to keep working on the same things,âÄù Robinson said. âÄúWeâÄôre aggressive, but we still can be more aggressive. We need to ride people better. WeâÄôve got to be more dominant when we get on top. WeâÄôve got to keep them down and make sure we keep pressure on them.âÄù
