The Gophers wrestling team will return to action at home Sunday to face Wisconsin in a battle between two teams that had nearly equal and opposite results last Sunday.
Isaac Newton, hold onto your hat.
Minnesota shut out Purdue 40-0 on the road last Sunday in a merciless display of dominance.
The Badgers, on the other hand, were steamrolled 43-0 by defending national champions Penn State.
âÄúSunday [at Purdue] I thought we definitely wrestled as a team,âÄù junior Cody Yohn (165 pounds) said. âÄúWe had a lot of fun, and I think our score definitely reflected that in getting a shutout.âÄù
The No. 4 Gophers (7-2, 4-0 Big Ten), who also defeated No. 15 Illinois last weekend, lead the all-time series with Wisconsin 57-33-1.
The two teams split two contests last season. The Badgers beat the Gophers 19-17 at the National Duals but the Gophers rebounded three weeks later at the Sports Pavilion and won 25-15.
Gophers head assistant coach Brandon Eggum said he expects a performance similar to the lopsided win from a week prior Sunday.
âÄúWe want to dominate,âÄù Eggum said. âÄúThat would be our goal, to come out and try to dominate and win all 10 matches.âÄù
The Badgers (5-5, 0-3 Big Ten) will host Purdue on Friday before traveling to play the Gophers on Sunday.
Even though Wisconsin was shutout by Penn State on Sunday, Yohn said he is not taking the Badgers lightly.
âÄúFor Wisconsin, itâÄôs a team that got shutout, but people have got to realize they got shutout by a really good team,âÄù Yohn said. âÄúThe individual I have to wrestle for Wisconsin, IâÄôve wrestled before, and I know that the kidâÄôs tough. I think weâÄôre maybe one or two [spots] apart in rankings, so itâÄôs going to be one of the better matches [of the dual] in my opinion.âÄù
No. 11 Yohn will face off against No. 14 Ben Jordan in one of the two weight classes in the dual that features two individually ranked wrestlers. The other match will be at 149, where No. 11 Dylan Ness wrestles for Minnesota against No. 14 Cole Schmitt.
Logan Storley (174) will wrestle in his fifth dual since returning more than a month ago from an ankle injury suffered near the beginning of the season. The injury caused him to miss most of the first month of his freshman season, but he says heâÄôs now completely healthy.
âÄúI feel good, my ankle has been healing up really well, and IâÄôm back to 100 percent,âÄù Storley said. âÄúItâÄôs a big difference compared to high school obviously, but itâÄôs starting to all come together now.âÄù
Storley is currently ranked No. 7 at 174 pounds and has won eight matches in a row after losing his first two coming off the injury.
