Gopher wrestlers wrap up regular season on Sunday

The Gophers got a forfeit victory at 133 pounds, but those six points were all they would get in a 29-6 dual meet loss to Iowa State on Friday evening in Ames. The meet, which took place concurrently with a women’s gymnastics meet between Minnesota and Iowa State as a part of ISU’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’ event at the Hilton Coliseum, featured seven decision wins by Iowa State.

Just one pin away from tying Minnesota’s all-time school record with 51, Jayson Ness was not afforded the chance to wrestle on Friday night. Ness’ win by forfeit was his second such win of the season, having earned six points for his team in a 26-12 win at Arizona State earlier this winter. Ness will now have the opportunity to tie the record owned by Billy Pierce (1992-96) in Minneapolis when the Gophers host No. 18 Indiana to close the dual season on Sunday afternoon.

In the opening match of the meet, Iowa State was able to set the tone when 10th-ranked Tyler Clark edged the Gophers’ Zach Sanders with a 3-2 decision at 125 pounds. The win by Clark dealt Sanders just his fourth loss of the season and foiled Sanders’ attempt at consecutive wins over an opponent ranked in the top 10 nationally.

Mike Thorn suffered his third consecutive close defeat to a top-five opponent with a 7-5 loss to fourth-ranked Nick Gallick at 141 pounds. Thorn lost to Wisconsin’s No. 1 Zach Tanelli (2-1) and Iowa’s No. 2 Alex Tsirtsis (7-5) last weekend.

Minnesota heavyweight Ben Berhow had his career-long nine-match winning streak snapped by top-ranked David Zabriske in the final bout of the dual. Berhow will still have an opportunity to finish the Big Ten dual season with a perfect 8-0 record on Sunday at the Sports Pavilion, where he is projected to meet the Hoosiers’ Nate Everhart.

The team will also celebrate the anniversaries of its 1959 and 1999 Big Ten championships on Sunday at the Sports Pavilion. Tickets for the dual with Indiana are still available and can be obtained by calling 1-800-U-GOPHER or by contacting the Gopher Ticket Office at 612-624-8080.