The No. 10-ranked University of Minnesota wrestling team will host Fresno State on Sunday, Dec. 10 at the Maturi Pavilion in their fourth dual of the 2017-18 season. This will be the final dual before the Gophers take off for the end of the semester and finals week.
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Minnesota Notes – December 7, 2017
Ness vs Abidin and More
During the halftime of the dual, Jayson Ness, a four-time All-American, will wrestle Anthony Abidin in his preparation for his run at making an Olympic team. The team will also be honoring the current freestyle and Greco senior level wrestlers who have come through the University of Minnesota. On top of all of that, the Gophers will also honor past Olympians in the area that have wrestled for the Minnesota Storm.
Backpack Lizak
No. 5 Ethan Lizak may have been tripped up in Las Vegas with his first loss of the season to eventually Cliff Keen Champion, Taylor LaMont, but he still was impressive in his five victories. Lizak was 3-1 against ranked opponents in Vegas. In those four matches, Lizak outscored his opponents 28-4, and that did not include the 8-0 score before Lizak pinned No. 19 Jay Schwarm of Northern Iowa in the consolation semifinals. In total, Lizak outscored his six opponents 49-9 at the Cliff Keen Invitational.
Ski-U-Mah Life: Jake Short
It may be a well-known fact on the Minnesota wrestling team that Jake Short can dance, but GopherSports.com sat down with the senior to discuss his family dancing history. You can find the full story here.
Last Time Out – Cliff Keen
Click Here: gws giants guernsey 2019 The University of Minnesota only brought about half of their regular starting lineup to one of the most competitive regular season tournaments last week. The Gophers had three wrestlers that finished on the podium, including No. 5 Ethan Lizak who finished third after ripping off four straight wins after his first loss of the season. Along with Lizak, Nick Wanzek and Tommy Thorn stood on the podium on the second day of action. The Gophers also had some strong performances from some young guys. Dylan Anderson picked up three wins, while Jose Champagne reached the round of 16 before losing his first match.
Back into the Fray
Fresno State has returned to Division I wrestling after 11 years in the dark. The Bulldogs competed in Division II for seven seasons before making the move to Division I in 1969 where they competed for 38 seasons. Fresno State holds an all-time dual meet record of 445-339-7 and have won 11 conference titles and finished in the Top 25 of the NCAA Tournament 14 times.
Thorn in the Side
Tommy Thorn did not have the tournament he would have liked to have in Las Vegas, but the junior did perform at a high level in his victories. Combined he pinned four opponents in seven matches and added an 18-2 tech fall for his highest scoring match of the young season. His final match impressed the Gophers coaching staff enough to also award him the Match of the Week honor. You can watch and hear about Thorn’s match as well as past Matches of the Week here.
Through the Fire
Nick Wanzek may have had the toughest road during the Cliff Keen Invite last weekend. The senior ended the tournament with an injury which put him down to sixth place, but while healthy Wanzek picked up two ranked victories, including an overtime win over No. 17 Jake Wentzel of Pittsburgh. He also rode out Anthony Valencia, the No. 8 ranked wrestler at 165, in the final period to earn the quarterfinal victory.
Extra Wrestling
Open Tournaments are in full swing, and the Gophers will send a combined 20 wrestlers to participate in two different tournaments on Dec. 9. Faris Karaborni and Tijani Karaborni along with Miles Patton will head to St. Cloud to wrestle in the St. Cloud Open. The other 17 wrestlers will head to Northern Iowa to wrestle in the UNI Open. Six of the 17 will wrestle attached including Dylan Anderson, Ben Brancale, Carson Brolsma, Jose Champagne, Brandon Krone and Skyler Petry. You can follow updates on the Twitter page throughout the day for both Open Tournaments.
A Breather, Sort Of
Minnesota will be able to take some time off to focus on finals that will take place after Fresno State. The Gophers will not wrestle for 19 days after their Dec. 10 dual at Maturi Pavilion. The next test will come in the form of the South Beach Duals in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. where they will take on North Carolina and Cornell.
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Dec. 5 Coach’s Corner // Match of the Week // Ski-U-Mah Weekly with Eggum/Schlatter
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