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    Dual Meet Preview: No. 7 Iowa State vs. No. 6 Minnesota

    Date: Friday, Dec. 9
    Time: 7 p.m. CST
    Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota (Williams Arena)

    On Friday night, seventh-ranked Iowa State travels to Minneapolis to face sixth-ranked Minnesota at Williams Arena. Last season, the Cyclones defeated the Gophers, 21-12, at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. Iowa State has won the past three meetings against Minnesota, and leads the all-time series 41-10.

    The Cyclones, who enter the dual with a 3-1 record, are coming off their lone loss of the season, 20-15, against in-state rival Iowa last Friday night. The Gophers finished 4-0 at the Northeast Duals in Albany, New York on Nov. 26, and then defeated Northern Iowa last Friday night to run their season record to 5-0.

    125: Ben Hanisch (Iowa State, Sophomore) vs. Andrew Domingues (Minnesota, Junior)

    Hanisch, a sophomore, enters this dual with a respectable 8-4 record, but has yet to face a ranked opponent. He is a scrappy wrestler who always wrestles hard, but doesn't have the talent or accolades of many of his teammates. He placed fourth at the Harold Nichols Open, but failed to place at the Kaufman-Brand Open. Domingues, who is 10-3 this season, reached the finals of the Kaufman-Brand Open, where he lost 4-2 to All-American Coleman Scott of Oklahoma State. Domingues is the more talented wrestler of the two and should win this match, but the question is whether or not he can get his offense going to pick up the major decision. There is also late speculation that freshman Travis Lang could be the starter tonight.

    RevWrestling.com Prediction: Domingues major decision over Hanisch (Minnesota +4)

    133: Jesse Sundell (Iowa State, Senior) vs. No. 4 Mack Reiter (Minnesota, Sophomore)

    Jesse Sundell (photo by Johnnie Johnson)
    Sundell, who was an NCAA qualifier last season, is off to a slow start this season. He failed to place at both the Harold Nichols and Kaufman-Brand Opens -- and then lost to Iowa true freshman Daniel Dennis on his home mat last Friday night. Reiter, who placed fourth at the NCAA Championships as a freshman last season, enters this match with a 9-0 record. He did, however, drop an early season exhibition match, 6-3, to Darrell Vasquez of Cal Poly at the NWCA All-Star Classic. Interestingly, Sundell and Reiter were both four-time state champions in Iowa -- a state that has produced 16 four-time state champions in its history. These two met twice last season, and Reiter won both meetings by five points, with one of those being a 5-0 shutout in the first round of the NCAA Championships. Both wrestlers feel most comfortable on the mat. Neither is afraid to scramble, which could make for an exciting match. Reiter, though, is better technically and will be looking for bonus points here. Sundell, who seems to be struggling a bit with his confidence, will be looking to slow the pace of the match in hopes of keeping it close.

    RevWrestling.com Prediction: Reiter major decision over Sundell (Minnesota +4)

    141: No. 1 Nate Gallick (Iowa State, Senior) vs. Manuel Rivera (Minnesota, Sophomore)

    There might not be a more technically polished wrestler in the country than Gallick. He very rarely gets out of position and is virtually impossible to take down. Earlier this season, Gallick defeated two-time NCAA champion Teyon Ware of Oklahoma at the NWCA All-Star Classic. He brings a perfect 9-0 record into this match. Gallick is also a very accomplished freestyle wrestler and is ranked 12th in the world at 60 kg, according to the latest TheMat.com International Wrestling Rankings. Rivera, who is 12-5 this season, has been a pleasant surprise for the Gophers in a weight class that seemed to be up for grabs before the season started. He had a solid showing at the Kaufman-Brand Open, placing fifth, which included a 5-3 win over All-American Daniel Frishkorn of Oklahoma State. With the exception of last Friday's night's dual against Northern Iowa (where Rivera lost 19-16), all of his losses have come to ranked wrestlers. Rivera seems to have improved greatly since the last time he wrestled Gallick, when he was thumped, 22-7, last January.

    RevWrestling.com Prediction: Gallick major decision over Rivera (Iowa State +4)

    149: Jason Knipp (Iowa State, Junior) or Aron Scott (Iowa State, Sophomore) vs. No. 6 Dustin Schlatter (Minnesota, Freshman)

    Knipp enters the match with a 13-3 mark, with two of his losses coming to All-American Ty Eustice of Iowa, and the other coming to teammate Aron Scott. Iowa State could send out Scott here, but that would be a bit of surprise since Knipp is wrestling well right now as the starter. Both of his losses to Eustice were within three points (10-8 and 6-3). This match will mark the anticipated home debut of Schlatter, who came to Minnesota with unbelievable high school credentials. The four-time Ohio state champion was beating collegiate standouts while still in high school. With the exception of a one-point loss to All-American Mark DiSalvo of Central Michigan at the Northeast Duals, Schlatter has dominated his competition thus far. He is 14-1 with five pins, five technical falls, and three major decisions. Knipp isn't a huge threat offensively, but is very good at slowing wrestlers down, which is what he'll be looking to do against Schlatter.

    RevWrestling.com Prediction: Schlatter decision over Knipp (Minnesota +3)

    157: No. 1 Trent Paulson (Iowa State, Junior) vs. No. 11 C.P. Schlatter (Minnesota, Sophomore)

    C.P. Schlatter
    Paulson is coming off his second straight victory this season over returning NCAA runner-up Joe Johnston of Iowa. He recently took over the No. 1 ranking after the previously top-ranked wrestler, Alex Tirapelle of Illinois, lost in the finals of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Paulson, who placed fourth at the NCAA Championships last season, is 13-0 and wrestling with a lot of confidence right now. Schlatter is 14-2 this season, with both of his losses coming to Kevin Ward of Oklahoma State at the Kaufman-Brand Open. Schlatter, though, has struggled at times this season with his offense. He seems to have lost some of the fire, and perhaps confidence, that once made him one of the top high school wrestlers in the country. Talent wise, these two are very evenly matched, but Paulson seems to be wrestling with more confidence and should win this match.

    RevWrestling.com Prediction: Paulson decision Schlatter (Iowa State +3)

    165: No. 6 Travis Paulson (Iowa State, Junior) vs. No. 7 Matt Nagel (Minnesota, Senior)

    Paulson, like twin brother Trent, is off to a 13-0 start. The 2004 All-American has won tournament titles at the Harold Nichols and Kaufman-Brand Opens. His toughest opponent thus far has been ninth-ranked Nick Baima of Northern Iowa, whom he defeated 5-2 in the Kaufman-Brand Open finals. Nagel, who placed sixth at the NCAA Championships last March, has had a rollercoaster start to his senior season. He started the season on fire -- winning two tournaments (Bison and Auggie Opens) and upsetting returning NCAA champion Johny Hendricks at the NWCA All-Star Classic in overtime. But since upsetting Hendricks, he has struggled a bit. He was completely dominated, 13-3, by Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov of American at the Northeast Duals. And then less than a week later, he lost to Baima, 6-3, at Northern Iowa. Paulson and Nagel split in their two meetings last season. Paulson won their dual meet match-up, 3-1, but Nagel avenged the loss at the NCAA Championships with a 2-1 victory that knocked Paulson out of the tournament. This match-up is a toss-up and could be decided by one takedown.

    RevWrestling.com Prediction: Paulson decision over Nagel (Iowa State +3)

    174: No. 15 David Bertolino (Iowa State, Sophomore) vs. Gabe Dretsch (Minnesota, Sophomore)

    Bertolino, a former Ohio state champion, is an immensely talented wrestler. But talent doesn't always translate into success -- and the verdict is still out on how successful Bertolino can be at the collegiate level. Last season as a freshman, Bertolino finished 19-7 as the backup 174-pounder. His off to a 7-4 start this season, with his most impressive win coming against highly touted freshman Brandon Mason of Oklahoma State at the Kaufman-Brand Open (Mason later avenged the loss in the tournament). Bertolino lost 13-3 to NCAA runner-up Mark Perry of Iowa last Friday night. But to Bertolino's credit, after falling behind 8-0 in the first period, Perry merely outscored him by two points in the finals two periods. Dretsch, who was an NCAA qualifier last season as a freshman, brings a 9-3 record into this match, and is coming off a victory over Northern Iowa's Alex Dolly. Interestingly, both Bertolino and Dretsch wrestled Mason at the Kaufman-Brand Open (Mason won 9-2 over Dretsch), but didn't wrestle each other. Dretsch did, however, defeat Iowa State's other potential 174-pound starter, Grant Turner, 13-3, who Bertolino lost to in a preseason wrestle-off.

    RevWrestling.com Prediction: Bertolino decision over Dretsch (Iowa State +3)

    184: No. 5 Kurt Backes (Iowa State, Junior) vs. No. 8 Roger Kish (Minnesota, Sophomore)

    This might be the marquee match-up of the night. Backes, a 2004 All-American, comes into the match with a 2-1 record. He has been held out much of the early part of the season. He was defeated last Friday night by two-time All-American Paul Bradley of Iowa, who seems to have Backes' number. Kish, a former top recruit, had a solid freshman campaign, posting a 28-11 record, but failed to reach the All-American podium at the NCAA Championships. He is off to an impressive 14-1 start, with his lone loss coming to 7th ranked Josh Glenn of American at the Northeast Duals. These two met once last season in the dual … and Backes won 8-3.

    RevWrestling.com Prediction: Backes decision over Kish (Iowa State +3)

    197: Joe Curran (Iowa State, Freshman) vs. Mitch Kuhlman (Minnesota, Sophomore) or Justin Bronson (Minnesota, Sophomore)

    Neither team is particularly strong here. Curran is a true freshman who brings a 4-4 record into this match. He's very strong, but not great technically. Last Friday night, Curran pinned Iowa's Adam Fellers, after trailing most of the match. That win should give him confidence going into this match. Minnesota has had to scramble a bit to make sure they have a serviceable starter since returning NCAA qualifier Matt Koz left the program last month. Bronson was a backup heavyweight last season, but dropped down to wrestle 197 this season. He brings a 5-8 record into this match. Kuhlman, who posted a 12-6 record last season, is drastically undersized at this weight class. Last season, he wrestled 157 and 165. It will be interesting to see who Minnesota sends out here. Kuhlman is the more skilled wrestler, but Bronson is the bigger, stronger wrestler.

    RevWrestling.com Prediction: Curran decision over Kuhlman or Bronson (Iowa State +3)

    Hwt: Richard Schopf (Iowa State, Junior) vs. No. 1 Cole Konrad (Minnesota, Junior)

    Cole Konrad
    Schopf brings a 2-6 record into this match, but is coming off his best performance of the season -- a 4-2 loss to Iowa's Ryan Fuller last Friday night. Konrad, a two-time All-American, won't be satisfied with anything but a national title this season. The returning NCAA runner-up toppled his nemesis, Steve Mocco of Oklahoma State, at the NWCA All-Star Classic. He brings a record of 11-0 into this match, with seven of his wins coming by pin or technical fall. Anything but a Konrad pin would be surprising here.

    RevWrestling.com Prediction: Konrad pin over Schopf (Minnesota +6)

    Final Prediction: Iowa State 19, Minnesota 17
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