Minnesota Falls in First B1G Road Dual of Season
Minnesota took three of the final four matches against No. 9 Nebraska on Sunday afternoon, but an early deficit proved too much to overcome as the Huskers knocked off the Gophers, 24-10.
The Gophers picked up their first points of the dual at 174 pounds, when Nick Wanzek earned a major decision over Dustin Williams, 10-1. Wanzek controlled the match from its outset, taking down Williams twice in the first period and adding a two-point tilt during the opening frame. The win is the second consecutive bonus point win for Wanzek, the first time in his career he’s earned bonus points for the Gophers in back-to-back duals.
No. 4 Brett Pfarr added a decision at 197, defeating Derek White, 5-2. Pfarr was the match’s aggressor throughout, earning a point for stalling when White was hit with multiple warnings for moving away from the action. Now 24-2 on the season, Pfarr has already matched his season win total from last season, his first as a full-time starter for the Gophers.
Following Pfarr, No. 7 Michael Kroells finished the dual with a thrilling comeback victory over No. 17 Collin Jensen. Trailing 5-3 in the match’s final minute, Kroells took down Jensen and rode him out for the rest of the third period, forcing sudden victory overtime. In the overtime session, Kroells defended a shot from Jensen and scored the takedown on a go-behind to take the match, 7-5. The win preserves Kroells’ undefeated career record against Jensen, which now sits at 4-0.
While a late flourish provided some highlights for Minnesota near the dual’s conclusion, early struggles put the Gophers too far behind the Huskers to catch up. Nebraska took the first six matches of the dual, starting with a major decision at 125 pounds and a five-point win at 133. The next four wins were all tight, with each match within two points heading into the final seconds. The last three of those matches – 149, 157 and 165 pounds – ended 5-3, 3-2 and 3-1, respectively. Those wins built the 19-point lead that the Gophers were unable to erase.
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The Gophers will have seven days off before returning to action at the Sports Pavilion next Sunday at 1 p.m. Central, when Minnesota hosts No. 8 Rutgers. The dual will be streamed live on BTN Plus and live, mat-side updates will be provided by Gopher Wrestling on Twitter.
Prior to that day’s dual, the Gophers will host the first of two youth clinics this season. Click here for more information on youth clinics.
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Nebraska 24, Minnesota 10
125: No. 10 Tim Lambert (Neb) maj dec Steve Polakowski (Minn), 10-1 / Minnesota 0 — Nebraska 4
133: No. 13 Eric Montoya (Neb) dec Sam Brancale (Minn), 8-3 / Minnesota 0 — Nebraska 7
141: Anthony Abidin (Neb) dec No. 10 Tommy Thorn (Minn), 10-6 / Minnesota 0 — Nebraska 10
149: No. 5 Jake Sueflohn (Neb) dec No. 9 Jake Short (Minn), 5-3 / Minnesota 0 — Nebraska 13
157: No. 17 Tyler Berger (Neb) dec Brandon Kingsley (Minn), 3-2 / Minnesota 0 — Nebraska 16
165: No. 15 Austin Wilson (Neb) dec Brandon Krone (Minn), 3-1 / Minnesota 0 — Nebraska 19
174: Nick Wanzek (Minn) maj dec Dustin Williams (Neb), 10-1 / Minnesota 4 — Nebraska 19
184: No. 5 TJ Dudley (Neb) tech fall Chris Pfarr (Minn), 17-2 / Minnesota 4 — Nebraska 24
197: No. 4 Brett Pfarr (Minn) dec Derek White (Neb), 5-2 / Minnesota 7 — Nebraska 24
285: No. 7 Michael Kroells (Minn) dec (SV-1) No. 17 Collin Jensen (Neb), 7-5 / Minnesota 7 — Nebraska 24
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