CEDAR FALLS, IOWA — Minnesota’s road to the 2011 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals title came to an end on Sunday morning when the No. 5 Gophers fell to top-ranked Cornell 20-16 at the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Minnesota closes out the event with another battle of elite teams against No. 4 Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m.
The Gophers (8-2 overall, 0-0 Big Ten) started off against the nation’s top team with three wins from Zach Sanders and the Thorn brothers, David and Mike. Sanders, ranked sixth at 125 lbs., scored a 4-3 decision over No. 14 Frank Perrelli before David Thorn added an 8-6 decision over Cornell’s Joe Stanzione at 133 lbs.
Mike Thorn then came on with Minnesota’s largest win of the day, scoring a 9-1 major decision over unranked Mike Nevinger and giving the Gophers a 10-0 lead. Thorn’s win netted Minnesota’s only bonus points of the dual, but it would prove to be inadequate as Cornell rattled off five-straight wins to take a 20-10 lead into the upper weight classes. Danny Zilverberg dropped a 10-0 major decision to No. 2 Kyle Dake at 149 lbs. before Joe Grygelko had to take a medical default against No. 3 D.J. Meaghere in the 157 lbs. matchup. Grygelko briefly lost consciousness while Meghere was attempting a pin and was pulled from the contest. Cornell followed up with wins at 165, 174 and 184 before Minnesota managed to take the final two matches.
At 197 lbs., Joe Nord took down Maciej Jochym via 11-6 decision for his second dual win of the weekend before No. 9 Tony Nelson scored an 11-4 decision over unranked Stryke Lane at 285 lbs.
Continue checking Gophersports.com for coverage of the 2011 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals.
No. 5 Minnesota vs. No. 1 Cornell
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Cedar Falls, Iowa (National Duals Semifinals)
Cornell 20 Minnesota 16
125: No. 6 Zach Sanders (MINN) dec. No. 14 Frank Perrelli (CU) 4-3
133: David Thorn (MINN) dec. Joe Stanzione (CU) 8-6
141: No. 2 Mike Thorn (MINN) maj. Mike Nevinger (CU) 9-1
149: No. 2 Kyle Dake (CU) maj. Danny Zilverberg (MINN) 10-0
157: No. 3 D.J. Meaghere (CU) med. def. Joe Grygelko (MINN)
165: No. 3 Justin Kerber (CU) dec. No. 7 Cody Yohn (MINN) 9-5
174: No. 2 Mack Lewnes (CU) maj. No. 8 Scott Glasser (MINN) 12-4
184: No. 4 Steve Bosak (CU) dec. No. 7 Kevin Steinhaus (MINN) 4-0
197: Joe Nord (MINN) dec. Maciej Jochym (CU) 11-6
285: No. 9 Tony Nelson (MINN) dec. Stryker Lane (CU) 11-4