Minnesota looks to pick up third-consecutive National Duals title
The No. 1 University of Minnesota Golden Gophers wrestling team will travel to Columbus, Ohio in hopes of capturing their third consecutive National Duals title. The Gophers, who boast a 10-1 overall and a 7-1 Big Ten record, were able to dethrone the Penn State Nittany Lions last weekend and look to continue their three dual winning streak.
EAS SPORTS NUTRITION/NWCA NATIONAL DUALS
The Golden Gophers will travel to Columbus, Ohio to compete in the EAS Sports Nutrition/NWCA National Duals hosted by the Ohio State University Buckeyes. The event will be held Feb. 16-17 and will feature ten top 25 ranked teams as well as 24 All-Americans and 5 NCAA Champions.
Minnesota is seeded No. 1 and will have a bye in the first round of competition. Minnesota will face the winner of the No. 20 NDSU and No. 19 Chattanooga dual on Sunday afternoon. For full information regarding the National Duals, please visit the host website.
REWIND – PENN STATE
Minnesota hosted then top-ranked Penn State on Sunday, Feb. 9 at the Sports Pavilion. The Gophers were able to top the Nittany Lions, 18-17 in a hard fought battle that included five Minnesota bout victories and an exciting fall by then No. 8 Dylan Ness over No. 4 Dylan Alton of Penn State.
Then No. 1 Scott Schiller’s 24 straight win streak and undefeated season was broken as he was defeated by No. 5 Morgan McIntosh. No. 5 Tony Nelson was able to snap a three bout losing streak and ultimately won the dual for the Gophers with a 6-0 decision over Jon Gingrich of Penn State.
With the victory over the Nittany Lions, the Gophers claimed a share of the Big Ten Dual Meet Championship and handed Penn State its first loss of the season.
GOPHERS IN THE RANKINGS
The Golden Gophers sit in the top 5 in three major team rankings including the USA Today/NWCA/AWN Division I Coaches Poll (1), the InterMat rankings (3) and WIN’s Feb. 3, 2014 Tournament Power Index (1).
Eight Gophers made their way into the InterMat rankings in their respective weight classes including No. 8 David Thorn (133), No. 5 Chris Dardanes (141), No. 3 Nick Dardanes (149), No. 5 Dylan Ness (157), No. 6 Logan Storley (174), No. 8 Kevin Steinhaus (184), No. 4 Scott Schiller (197) and No. 5 Tony Nelson (HWT).
A CHANCE TO BE DIFFERENT: Tony Nelson
Two-time heavyweight national champion, Tony Nelson, has started his season on track with his goal to become Minnesota’s first ever three-time national champion. His quest for a third national championship was featured in this month’s edition of Ski-U-Mah Magazine.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Gophers will finish up their dual meet schedule with a visit to Iowa State next Sunday, Feb. 23 at 2 p.m. CT. The Gophers are undefeated in non-conference competition and look to continue that streak against the Cyclones next weekend.
ON THE ROAD
The Gophers will be on the road for the rest of the season as the compete in Columbus, Ames and then travel to Madison for the Big Ten Championships and to Oklahoma City, Okla. for the NCAA Championships in mid-March.
BE PART OF THE ACTION
You can be part of the action by liking Gopher Wrestling on Facebook or by following @GopherWrestling and using the hashtag #GopherTough. News about the program, live bout updates and other information can be at your finger tips by following our social media accounts.
For live dual results, please follow along via trackwrestling.com. Results will be posted on Twitter.
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LIVE ON THE BIG TEN NETWORK
If the Gophers advance to the semi-final and final rounds of the National Duals this weekend, you will be able to view their duals on the Big Ten Network.