The No. 2/4 Minnesota Gopher wrestling team will hit the road for a pair of Big Ten dual matches. On Friday Jan. 13, Minnesota will travel to Illinois to take on the Fighting Illini. The Gophers and Illini will hit the mat at 7 p.m. CST. Minnesota will turn around and head over to the Hoosier state to take on Purdue University on Sunday Jan 15. The Gophers and Boilermakers will square off at 1 p.m. CST.
DUAL INFORMATION
Illinois
Date: Friday, January 13, 2012
Time: 7:00 p.m. CT
Location: Champaign, Ill.
Arena: Huff Hall (4,500)
Purdue
Date: Sunday, January 15, 2012
Time: 1:00 p.m. CT
Location: West Lafayette, Ind.
Arena: Holloway Gymnasium (2,288)
GOPHER ALL-ACCESS
Fans who can’t make it to the dual against Illinois or Purdue, Gopher All-Access is your place to be to watch all the action. You can join Gopher All-Access for $9.95 per month or $79.95 per year. Also, this winter you can watch several Gopher men’s basketball and women’s basketball games, along with select Gopher men’s hockey and women’s hockey games. Gopher All-Access is also part of the Big Ten Digital Network. If you upgrade to the Big Ten package, you can access hundreds of live events featuring all 12 conference schools.
UP IN THE POLLS
In the latest InterMat Wrestling poll, the Gophers sit at No. 2 in the nation. Minnesota is No. 4 in the NWCA Coaches Poll.
FACEBOOK-TWITTER UPDATES
If you don’t have Gopher All-Access make sure to follow along on facebook and twitter with live updates throughout this weekend’s match up.
LAST TIME OUT
Minnesota defeated Ohio State on Sunday 24-13. It was the first home dual since Dec. 9 when the defeated Iowa State 34-6.
WE ARE BACK HERE AGAIN
For the second year in a row, the Gophers have a road trip weekend at Illinois and Purdue. Last season the Gophers defeated the Boilermakers 26-15 and Illinois 21-16.
A LOOK AT THE FIGHTING ILLINI
Illinois is currently 10-1 overall and 2-1 in Big Ten action. Last weekend they defeated Michigan 31-9 in Ann Arbor and early in the season only lost to Iowa by seven (20-13) at Iowa.
ILLINOIS PROJECTED LINEUP
Wt. Wrestler
125 Jesse Delgado
133 B.J. Futrell
141 Daryl Thomas
149 Eric Terrazas
157 Jackson Morse
165 Conrad Polz
174 Jordan Blanton
OR Dan Stelter
184 Tony Dallago
197 Mario Gonzalez
HWT Pat Walker
ALL-TIME AGAINST ILLINOIS
Minnesota leads the all-time series against Illinois 29-22-2. The last time these two faced was in Champaign and the Gophers were victorious with a 21-16 win.
A LOOK AT THE BOILERMAKERS
Purdue is currently 6-5 overall and 1-1 in Big Ten action. The Boilermakers take on Ohio State on Thursday in Columbus before hosting the Gophers on Sunday.
PURDUE LINEUP
Wt. Wrestler
125 Camden Eppert
133 Cashé Quiroga
141 Brandon Nelsen
149 Ivan Lopouchanski
157 Tommy Churchard
165 Kyle Mosier
174 Drake Stein
184 Braden Atwood
197 Justin Dinius
(or) A.J. Kissel
285 Roger Vukobratovich
ALL-TIME AGAINST PURDUE
Minnesota leads the all-time 45-17-2, which has dated back to 1926.The Gophers defeated Purdue 26-15 last season in West Lafayette.
I AM No. 1
Senior Zach Sanders the No. 1 ranked wrestler at 125 lbs. Sanders currently is 17-0 on the season and has won the Bison Open and Southern Scuffle titles.
13th ALL-TIME
Sanders is currently tied for 13th all-time on the Gophers wins list. His overall record is 119-13-0 and he is tied with Dan Zilverberg.
DEITCHLER CAREER OVER
As of Jan. 4 redshirt sophomore and former US Olympian Jake Deitchler will no longer be competing for the Gopher wrestling program due to his history with concussions that have dated back since he was 7-years old. Deitchler will still be a member of the team and will continue his education at the University of Minnesota.
GOPHER COACHING STAFF
Minnesota’s coaching staff is led by the legend J Robinson, who enters his 26th season at the helm. Longtime assistant Joe Russell left over the summer to take the head coaching job at George Mason University. Now, Brandon Eggum has moved up to Head Assistant Coach, while Luke Becker is a full-time assistant. Former National Champion Jayson Ness has also joined the staff as an assistant for the Gophers.
GOPHERS INNER CIRCLE
Make sure to check out the Minnesota Wrestling Blog (Gophers Inner Circle) for news, features, videos etc.
LIKE US AND FOLLOW US
Find Gopher Wrestling on Facebook at Golden Gopher Wrestling and make sure to follow the Golden Gophers on Twitter. Just search @GopherWrestling on Twitter to follow all the news updates.