The Golden Gophers hit the road for two very important, early season dual matches. First up is a contest against No. 5 Cornell on Friday Nov. 18 at 5:30 p.m. CST, followed by a matchup with the No.1 and defending NCAA National Champion Penn State Nittany Lions.
Fans can access the Cornell match a couple different ways. One option is 1160espn.com, which will provide free audio for the dual. The second option is on Cornell's website where you can purchase a one-time event fee, which will provide a video feed of the dual. The dual may not be set up online until later in the week.
The match against the Nittany Lions will be broadcasted LIVE on the Big Ten Network. Tim Johnson will have the play-by-play, while Jim Gibbons will be the analyst. Free audio will also be provided by Theopenmat.com
WRAP UP FROM THE BISON
Minnesota opened the season at the 41st annual Bison Open in Fargo, N.D. The Gophers brought home nine titles from Zach Sanders (125), David Thorn (133), Nick Dardanes (141), Dylan Ness (149), Jake Deitchler (157), Cody Yohn (165), Kevin Steinhaus (184), Sonny Yohn (197) and Tony Nelson (Hwt).
A LOOK AT THE BIG RED
Cornell is coming off 2010-11 with a record of 13-1 and were crowned Ivy League Champions after a perfect 5-0 run. The Big Red finished second at the NCAA Championships and were the 2011 National Dual Champions. Cornell defeated the Gophers 20-16 at the National Duals.
FAMILIAR FACE AT CORNELL
Former Gopher and two-time NCAA champion Damion Hahn is entering his sixth season on the Cornell bench. Hahn finished his Gopher career a 118-21 record, which included a 33-1 mark during his senior season in 2003-04. Hahn became the third wrestler in school history to capture two NCAA titles when he won back-to-back crowns in 2003 and 2004.
A LOOK AT THE NITTANY LIONS
Penn State comes into the season as the returning National Champions from a year ago. Last season the Gophers and the Nittany Lions tied (18-18) at the Sports Pavilion.
DEITCHLER IS BACK
Redshirt Sophomore Jake Deitchler is back in the Gopher lineup for this season at 157 lbs. Last week at the Bison Open he finished 4-0. The former 2008 US Olympic Team member will square off with Cornell's Kyle Dake, who is ranked No. 1 by InterMat, while Deitchler is No. 8
SANDERS MOVING UP THE CHARTS
Senior All-American Zach Sanders currently sits at No. 30 on the all-time career wins list for the Gophers. Sanders has 106 wins in his career.
FOUR ALL-AMERICAN CAPTAINS
The four returning All-Americans from last season have been named as team captains for the 2011-12 season. Sanders is joined by fellow senior Sonny Yohn and sophomores Kevin Steinhaus and Tony Nelson to guide the team. At the NCAA Championships last season Sanders finished 5th (125 lbs.), Yohn 7th (197 lbs.), Steinhaus 8th (184 lbs.) and Nelson 7th (Hwt.)
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.
WITH ONE WIN ...
Head Coach J Robinson needs one win to bump his career record at Minnesota to 375 wins. Robinson's current record for the Gophers is 374-126-4, which is just 18 wins shy of tying the all-time record, which is currently held by Wally Johnson, whose record is 392-209-11.
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 and you can be a follower.
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