Minnesota Suffers 18-13 Loss in Home Finale Against No. 2 Iowa
MINNEAPOLIS – The No. 11 University of Minnesota wrestling program came up short in front of a sellout crowd on Friday night inside Maturi Pavilion, as they fell 18-13 to the second-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes in their regular-season home finale.
It was the Gophers’ first home loss in over a calendar year, as they were not able to close out an undefeated home record in a season for the first time since the 2013-14 season.
It was a dual of streaks for both teams, as Iowa would come out to secure each of the first six matches of the night to put the dual in their control, before the Gophers would storm back and claim the final four.
The dual kicked off at 125 pounds, where No. 6 Patrick McKee showcased a game effort against top-ranked Spencer Lee, but would ultimately fall 7-1. The story of the match was the first-period flurry from Lee, as he secured a takedown and a four-point turn to take a commanding early lead. McKee was looking to turn the tide late in the match with a couple of deep shot attempts, but wasn’t able to secure any points and would drop the bout.
At 133 pounds, Jake Gliva narrowly fell to ranked foe Brody Teske after surrendering the match-winning takedown in the closing seconds of the match. Trailing 1-0 going into the third period, Gliva escaped and dove right back in on a leg to get the leading takedown, but Teske would escape and find an ankle pick on the edge to steal the win late over the redshirt senior.
Iowa would continue to roll through 165 pounds, as they took the next four bouts to jump out to an 18-0 lead. However, 174-pounder Bailee O’Reilly would finally put the Gophers on the board as he claimed a 4-1 decision win, with an opening-period takedown giving him all the lead he would need.
Isaiah Salazar would follow that up with a 13-5 major decision over Iowa’s Drake Rhodes. Salazar took a commanding 10-1 lead early, as he secured the first score before rolling up Rhodes for two four-point turns. Rhodes stormed back in the third and looked to have eliminated the bonus-point win, but Salazar would find his escape just before the horn sounded to take back the major.
The match of the night came at 197 pounds, as No. 28 Michial Foy secured the match-winning takedown as time expired to knock off returning NCAA finalist Jacob Warner, 2-1. It was a scoreless affair for much of the bout, as neither guy could find a takedown in the first before Warner rode out Foy for the entirety of the second period. Going into the third, Foy managed to stay on top long enough to eliminate the advantage time and would elect to cut Warner and go for the takedown instead. After going out of bounds with ten seconds left, Foy attempted one last flurry off the restart, and ended up spinning behind Warner for two as time expired.
Garrett Joles would close out the show at heavyweight with a 5-0 win over Bradley Hill on the heels of two takedowns, but it would be too late for the Maroon & Gold as Iowa would take the dual.
Following the loss, the Gophers fall to 11-3 on the season with a 4-3 record in Big Ten play. Iowa jumped to a 13-1 mark, including 6-1 in conference duals.
The Gophers will now look to finish the season back in the win column, as they close out the regular season on the road against the Wisconsin Badgers next Saturday at 1:00 p.m. CST.
February 3, 2023 | Maturi Pavilion | Minneapolis, MN | Attendance: 5,250
#2 Iowa 18, #11 Minnesota 13
125: #1 Spencer Lee (IOWA) dec. #6 Patrick McKee (MINN), 7-1
133: #17 Brody Teske (IOWA) dec. Jake Gliva (MINN), 4-3
141: #2 Real Woods (IOWA) dec. #15 Jake Bergeland (MINN), 8-1
149: #6 Max Murin (IOWA) dec. #15 Michael Blockhus (MINN), 11-7
157: #15 Cobe Siebrecht (IOWA) dec. #17 Brayton Lee (MINN), 4-0
165: #7 Patrick Kennedy (IOWA) dec. Cael Carlson (MINN), 13-8
174: #15 Bailee O’Reilly (MINN) dec. Aiden Riggins (IOWA), 4-1
184: #10 Isaiah Salazar (MINN) maj. dec. Drake Rhodes (IOWA), 13-5
197: #28 Michial Foy (MINN) dec. #7 Jacob Warner (IOWA), 2-1
HWT: #32 Garrett Joles (MINN) dec. Bradley Hill (IOWA), 5-0
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