Minnesota Golden Gophers

Gophers Send Three To Quarters as Day One Wraps at NCAAs

TULSA, Okla. – The University of Minnesota wrestling program closed out a solid first day at the NCAA Championships as they currently sit in fourth place in the team race with 16.5 points.

Minnesota finished the opening two sessions with a total of three quarter-finalists and seven grapplers still alive in the tournament.

Aaron Nagao was the first Gopher to punch his ticket to the quarterfinals after an impressive showing in his first career NCAA tournament appearance. Nagao rolled to an 8-0 major decision over Bucknell’s Kurtis Phipps before pinning Pittsburgh’s Micky Phillippi in the first period of his second round match. Nagao now faces a Big Ten finals rematch against Penn State’s Roman Bravo-Young in tomorrow morning’s session.

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Gophers Ready for 2023 NCAA Championships

TULSA, Okla. – The University of Minnesota wrestling program will close the books on the 2022-23 season this weekend as the Gophers prepare to compete on the national stage at the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. The Gophers are one of nine teams to bring at least nine national qualifiers to Tulsa.

Competition begins Thursday morning at 11:00 a.m. CST and will continue through Saturday evening’s finals matches, with coverage being provided across ESPN’s family of networks and subscription-based service ESPN+ for all six sessions.

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NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships Return to ESPN, March 16-18, Live from Tulsa

The NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships return to ESPN networks with 19 hours of live coverage from the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma this weekend, March 16-18. ESPN will cover every mat and every single match from start to finish, including three nights of primetime wrestling action on ESPN’s flagship network. Coverage will also feature a live ‘MATCAST’ viewing option on ESPN+.

ESPN has presented the NCAA Wrestling Championships since 1980, making it one of the company’s longest-running events.

ESPNU will televise the early sessions over three straight days, beginning with three-and-a-half hours of first-round action on Thursday, March 16, at noon. The Quarterfinal (Friday) and Medal Round (Saturday) will also air on ESPNU. The three nights of primetime sessions on ESPN – including the Second Round (Thurs.) and Semifinals (Fri.) – will culminate Saturday, March 18, at 7 p.m. with the Championship matches in each weight class.

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NCAA releases latest RPI for 2023 Division I Wrestling Championships

INDIANAPOLIS — The NCAA has announced the fourth coaches ranking and third Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) for the 2023 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships.

The coaches’ rankings are determined by a vote of 14 coaches in each weight class with two head coaches from each of the seven conferences. For ranking purposes, coaches may only consider a wrestler that has been designated as a starter at a respective weight class. Wrestlers must have eight Division I matches in the weight class to be considered with at least one within the last 30 days.

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