Location: Minneapolis, Minn.
Arena: Williams Arena
Dates: Saturday-Sunday, March 8-9
Television: The Big Ten Network will televise Sunday's championship matches live, beginning at 2:06 p.m. Tim Johnson, Jim Gibbons and Ken Chertow will be on the call.
Live Updates: Periodic bracket updates will be posted on the Gopher wrestling homepage, located at www.gophersports.com. Match-by-match play-by-play from Sunday's championship round (starting at approximately 2 p.m.) will also be available.
Schedule of Events:
Saturday, March 8:
11 a.m. - Session I (through Quarterfinals)
6 p.m. - Session II (through Semifinals)
Sunday, March 9:
12 p.m. - Session III (7th, 3rd, 5th place)
2:06 p.m. - Championship Finals (1st and 2nd place)
Big Ten Notes to Know:
• The eighth-ranked and defending national champion Golden Gopher wrestling team will seek to defend its 2007 Big Ten title this weekend at Williams Arena (the Gophers also won the ‘06 conference title in Bloomington, Ind.). The 2008 Big Ten Championships kick off 11 a.m. (CST) on Saturday, March 8 and will wrap up with the championship finals on Sunday, March 9 at approximately 4 p.m.
• Williams Arena and the Golden Gophers will play host to the Big Ten Championships for the first time since 1997.
• Since snapping Iowa's run of 25 consecutive conference titles at the 1999 Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor, Mich., the Golden Gophers have claimed six of the last nine conference crowns while taking second the other three times. Minnesota has finished in the top three at Big Tens each of the last 10 years. Minnesota has crowned a Big Ten-best 29 individual conference champions since 1997.
• The Gophers have three wrestlers looking to defend their 2007 Big Ten individual crowns. Last season, Jayson Ness (125 pounds), Dustin Schlatter (149) and C.P. Schlatter (157) won their respective weight classes in East Lansing, Mich. Departed heavyweight Cole Konrad was also a three-time Big Ten champion.
• This weekend's event will be the final home competition for Minnesota's six partcipating seniors. Gabe Dretsch, Roger Kish, Mack Reiter, Manuel Rivera, C.P. Schlatter and Justin Bronson have wrestled in a combined 14 Big Ten Championships, winning four Big Ten individual titles (Reiter in ‘05, Kish in ‘06 and Schlatter in ‘05 and ‘06) in addition to two team titles.
• Top-ranked sophomore Ness will continue his march to history this weekend as he takes on the best the Big Ten has to offer. Ness is a perfect 33-0 this season (8-0 in Big Ten competition) and is just two pins shy (18) of the Gophers' single-season pins record of 20, set by current assistant head coach Marty Morgan in 1989-90. Ness is 15-1 lifetime with five pins against this year's Big Ten field.
• Ness is riding a 34-match winning streak dating back to last season and is one of only five undefeated wrestlers at the Division I level. His streak is the seventh-longest in Minnesota history at the second-longest active streak in the NCAA.
• Minnesota currently boasts eight wrestlers ranked in the latest USA Today/InterMat/NWCA poll. Jayson Ness (No. 1 at 125 pounds), Mack Reiter (No. 9 at 133 pounds), Manny Rivera (No. 8 at 141), Dustin Schlatter (No. 3 at 149 pounds), C.P. Schlatter (No. 6 at 157), Tyler Safratowich (No. 11 at 165), Gabe Dretsch (No. 11 at 174) and Roger Kish (No. 9 at 184) all rank among the nation's finest.
• Despite an up-and-down dual meet season, the Golden Gophers are still a favorite in a championship-style tournament. Minnesota is fifth in InterMat's Tournament Strength Rankings (56 points) and second in W.I.N. Magazine's Tournament Power Index (75 points).
‘RENOVATED' WILLIAMS ARENA PLAYS HOST TO BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS
Minnesota's Williams Arena will play host to the Big Ten Wrestling Championships for the first time in 11 years this weekend. The last time the Golden Gophers hosted the annual conference tournament, Minnesota (led by two-time national champion Tim Hartung) finished runner-up to Iowa with 116.5 team points.
Due to rule changes enacted several years ago (regarding when wrestlers are considered "in bounds" or not), four regulation-size wrestling mats no longer fit on the normal Williams Arena court. This weekend, the floor has been raised 13 additional inches and extended approximately 20 feet on the north and south ends to accommodate a four-mat competition floor set-up.
BIG TEN SUPREMACY
Since snapping Iowa's run of 25 consecutive conference titles at the 1999 Big Ten Championships in Ann Arbor, Mich., the Golden Gophers have claimed six of the last nine Big Ten Conference crowns to overtake the Hawkeyes as the class of the conference.
Minnesota added its 10th Big Ten title to the trophy case by claiming its second straight championship in 2007 in East Lansing, Mich. It was just the second time in school history the Gophers had won consecutive conference titles, with the only other occurrence coming when they won three straight from 2001-03. Minnesota has finished either first or second at the Big Ten Championships nine straight seasons and has placed in the top three each of the past 11 years.
The Golphers have had a Big Ten-best 27 individual Big Ten Champions since 1999, including four last season. Cole Konrad captured his third individual title, while brothers Dustin Schlatter and C.P. Schlatter each won their second. Jayson Ness won his first individual Big Ten crown in his first conference tournament appearance.
With their 2007 title, the Golden Gophers stayed in fifth place all-time with 10 team titles. Iowa leads the way with 31, followed by Illinois with 17, Indiana with 13 and Michigan with 11.
The Golden Gophers have had multiple champions in each of the past nine years. Prior to this stretch, Minnesota had multiple champions just 12 times in the previous 73 years. Compared to the 27 titles in the last nine years, the Gophers had 19 Big Ten Champions in the previous 19 years.
Golden Gopher Big Ten Championships:
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2007 BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS IN REVIEW
The Golden Gopher wrestling team crowned four individual champions en route to their second straight Big Ten Championship in East Lansing, Mich last season. Minnesota finished with 156 points, 55.5 ahead of second-place Wisconsin, the largest gap between the champion and its nearest competitor since 1996.
Minnesota qualified nine wrestlers for the NCAA Championships, with all nine finishing in the top five in their respective weight classes. Cole Konrad became just the fourth wrestler in school history to win three individual Big Ten crowns, while brothers Dustin and C.P. Schlatter also successfully defended their 2006 Big Ten titles. Jayson Ness dominated the competition with two pins and a major decision on his way to his first conference title.
Roger Kish was unable to defend his 2006 conference title, as he ran into top-ranked Jake Herbert in the finals. Manuel Rivera had a disappointing conference tournament while wrestling with a sore knee. The top seed at 141 pounds, Rivera had his 35-match winning streak snapped with back-to-back losses before rebounding to pin Illinois' Cassio Pero in the fifth-place match. Mack Reiter also got off to an unexpected start when he lost to Andrae Hernandez in the quarterfinals but took out his frustration by pinning three straight opponents in the consolation bracket to claim third place.
Gabriel Dretsch matched his fourth-place showing at 2006 Big Ten Championships with a solid performance in 2007. Dretsch took fourth place with a 2-2 record, with his only two losses coming in overtime.
Tyler Safratowich won his final four matches of the tournament to take third at 165 pounds. He avenged his only loss of the tournament, a narrow 6-4 overtime decision to Purdue's Justin Fraga in the quarterfinals, by defeating Fraga, 7-5, in the third-place match.
WHOLE AT LAST
Minnesota entered the 2007-08 season as the heavy favorites to repeat as both national and Big Ten champions on the strength of their nine returning starters and four returning All-Americans. But things have not gone according to plan at various points this year – the Gophers lost seven dual meets during the regular season (their highest total since 2004-05 and second-highest since ‘95-'96), including three conference duals. Injuries were the main culprit for the team's struggles. Former All-Americans Dustin Schlatter, C.P. Schlatter and Roger Kish all missed regular season time with various maladies, with Dustin Schlatter and Kish each missing significant action.
In fact, the Gophers sent out their ‘A' lineup (one consisting of generally agreed-upon starters) just four times in 21 dual meets this season, with the last instance coming on Dec. 6.
TOURNAMENT-READY
While Minnesota's dual meet inconsistencies have dropped them to No. 8 in the latest national poll, experts generally agree the Golden Gophers will again be a force come tournament time. W.I.N. Magazine's weekly Tournament Power Index (TPI) projects the Gophers would finish second at NCAAs with 76 team points based upon individual performances, and InterMat puts them fifth with 56 points in its Tournament Strength Rankings.
BIG TEN DOMINATES RANKINGS
The Big Ten Chamionships are generally considered to be the most competitive conference championships in the nation, and this year is no exception. Nine of the conference's 11 teams are ranked in the top-25 of the latest USA Today/InterMat/NWCA poll, with a whopping 65 individual wrestlers also ranked in their respective weight classes.
TOP EIGHT A FORCE
Team depth hurt Minnesota during the regular season, but with all ten starters healthy at the most important junction of the year, the Gophers appear poised to make an impact during the postseason. The Gophers boast six wrestlers ranked in the top ten nationally, with two more ranked just outside that group. With tournament success based soley upon individual performance, Minnesota should be a force to be reckoned with in March.
Minnesota's ranked wrestlers:
#1/1 – Jayson Ness (125 pounds)
#3/3 – Dustin Schlatter (149 pounds)
#6/1 – C.P. Schlatter (157 pounds)
#8/7 -– Manuel Rivera (141 pounds)
#9/8 – Mack Reiter (133 pounds)
#9/8 – Roger Kish (184 pounds)
#11/11 – Gabriel Dretsch (174 pounds)
#11/11 – Tyler Safratowich (165 pounds)
PRE-SEEDS ANNOUNCED
Although final seeding won't be decided until the coaches meeting Friday afternoon, the Big Ten released pre-seeds for the 2008 Big Ten Championships Monday. All 10 Gopher participants were pre-seeded:
Minnesota's Pre-Seeds:
1. Jayson Ness (125)
3. Dustin Schlatter (149)
3. Tyler Safratowich (165)
3. Gabriel Dretsch (174)
4. C.P. Schlatter (157)
4. Roger Kish (184)
5. Mack Reiter (133)
6. Manuel Rivera (141)
6. Justin Bronson (197)
8. Ben Berhow (Hwt.)
GOPHER SENIORS BY THE NUMBERS
This weekend's event will be the final home competition for Minnesota's six partcipating seniors. Gabe Dretsch, Roger Kish, Mack Reiter, Manuel Rivera, C.P. Schlatter, and Justin Bronson comprise the remaining members of Minnesota's 2003 recruiting class, which was ranked first in the nation at the time.:
A few facts about the 2008 senior class:
• 1 – NCAA team titles (2007)
• 2 – Big Ten team titles (2006, 2007)
• 5 – All-American awards (Kish in '06 and '07, Reiter in '05 and '06, C.P. Schlatter in '07)
• 4 – Big Ten individual champions (Reiter in '05, Kish in '06, C.P. Schlatter in '06 and '07)
• 18 – Big Ten Championships appearances
• 14 – NCAA appearances (Dretsch has three, Reiter three, Kish three, Rivera two, Schlatter two)
• .758 – Dual meet winning percentage (75-24 overall record)
• .700 – Big Ten dual meet winning percentage (28-12)
• 676 – Individual match wins in collegiate competition (no redshirt matches counted)
• .677 – Individual match winning percentage (676-323 record overall)
NO BIG TEN SURPRISES FOR NESS
Gopher sophomore Jayson Ness enters the Big Ten Championships as the favorite at 125 pounds, on the strength of his 33-0 regular season and No. 1 national ranking. But Ness also happens to be the only Golden Gopher to have previous collegiate experience against all 10 Big Ten wrestlers in his weight class. The Bloomington, Minn. native is 15-1 lifetime against the rest of this year's Big Ten field with five career pins, including an 8-0 record this year.
NESS DOMINATES EN ROUTE TO RECORD
Ness burst onto the wrestling scene as a redshirt freshman last year, storming to a 40-5 record and taking fifth at the 2007 NCAA Championships. This year, Ness has taken another step forward and established himself as one of the country's most dominant athletes. Ness is one of five remaining undefeated wrestlers in the country at 33-0 and has pinned a whopping 18 opponents, already the seventh-highest total in program history. Ness is just two pins shy of the Gophers' single-season mark of 20, set by current head assistant coach (and fellow Bloomington-Kennedy alumn) Marty Morgan in 1989-90.
In addition to being just two pins shy of the Gophers' single-season mark (a record he could tie or break this weekend), Ness has scored bonus points in an amazing 76 percent of his matches this weekend (26 of 34).
Ness has beaten nine ranked wrestlers already this season, including two top-five opponents (then-No. 3 Charlie Falck of Iowa and then-No. 1 Paul Donahoe of Nebraska).
NESS HOLDS SECOND-LONGEST ACTIVE D1 WIN STREAK
As he approaches the Gophers' single-season pins mark, Jayson Ness has quietly been approaching another historic distinction. The sophomore has won 34 consecutive matches dating back to his pin of Lock Haven's Obenson Blanc at the 2007 NCAAs. That is the second-longest active winning streak in Division I college wrestling behind 2007 197-pound national champion Josh Glenn of American University. Below is a list of the five longest active win streaks in college wrestling:
Longest Active Winning Streaks in D1 Wrestling
1. 35, Josh Glenn, American (12/30/06-pres.)
2. 34, Jayson Ness, Minnesota (11/10/07-pres.)
3. 26, Keith Gavin, Pittsburgh (11/11/07-pres.), Chad Mendes, Cal Poly (11/11/07-pres.)
4. 23, Jake Varner, Iowa State (11/10/07-pres.)
C.P. ON A ROLL
Two-time Big Ten champion C.P. Schlatter will be counted up on heavily this weekend if the Golden Gophers are to win their third straight conference title. Despite missing a weekend of dual meet action due to injury (Feb. 15-17 vs. Illinois and Wisconsin), the senior captain has been on a roll of late, winning his previous 18 matches. That's a career-long winning streak; Schlatter has not lost since falling in overtime to then-No. 19 Chase Pami of Cal Poly Dec. 8.
FIRST-TIMERS
Minnesota will feature one of the conference's most experienced squads this weekend, with six seniors and a total of eight upperclassmen. But two Gophers – senior Justin Bronson (197 pounds) and redshirt freshman Ben Berhow (heavyweight) will be participating in their first-ever conference tournament. Bronson is a veteran of 102 career matches, while Berhow has wrestled only 30 times (he's 14-16 this year) at the varsity level.
‘MATCH OF THE CENTURY' LOOMS
While the 2008 Big Ten Championships will undoubtedly feature a number highly-memorable matches, few contain the possibilities or generate the excitement that a Dustin Schlatter – Brent Metcalf (Iowa) 149-pound match-up does. These two former four-time high school state champions (Schlatter in Ohio and Metcalf in Michigan) met twice during their prep careers but have never faced off at the collegiate level. Schlatter and Metcalf last met when Schlatter beat Metcalf in the finals of the Senior High School Nationals in 2005
The pair are currently ranked No. 1 and No. 3 nationally in what is generally considered to be the country's deepest weight class.
DRETSCH'S TOUGH STRETCH
Gopher senior Gabe Dretsch has put together a fine career at Minnesota, going 106-51 and qualifying for nationals three times. This season, the Frazee, Minn. native has gone 26-9 and is currently ranked 11th nationally at 174 pounds. While Dretsch was a solid 13-6 in dual meets this season, the caliber of competition he has wrestled against is second to none in the entire nation. Dretsch has faced a whopping 13 ranked wrestlers since Dec. 29, including six from the top 10; he has won four of his last five against ranked opponents. Below is a rundown of Dretsch's recent matches against ranked wrestlers:
Date Opponent (School)
Result
12/29
#14 Alton Lucas (Hofstra)
L, 3-4
12/30
#18 Eric Decker (Virginia Tech)
W, 5-2
12/30
#11 Steve Anceravage (Cornell)
L, 4-7
12/30
#12 Phil Moricone (Edinboro)
W, 5-3
1/12
#3 Brandon Sinnott (C. Michigan)
W, 6-3
1/13
#5 Brandon Browne (Nebraska)
L, 2-3
1/13
#2 Steve Luke (Michigan)
L, 3-5
1/25
#2 Steve Luke (Michigan)
L, 3-9
1/26
#19 John Murphy (Michigan State)
W, P (0:46)
2/1
#2 Jay Borschel (Iowa)
L, 3-8
2/3
#7 Brandon Mason (Okla. State)
W, 5-3
2/10
#15 Nick Hayes (Northwestern)
W, 7-4
2/15
#15 John Dergo (Illinois)
W, 7-2
ALWAYS CUTTING IT CLOSE
Gabe Dretsch, along with fellow senior Manny Rivera, will be relied upon heavily to score points for the Golden Gophers as they seek to defend their Big Ten and NCAA titles. While Dretsch has posted a 26-9 record this year, he has also participated in a team-high 11 matches that were decided by two points or less. Dretsch is 5-6 in those matches.
THE GIANT KILLER RETURNS
Last season, Tyler Safratowich earned the reputation of being a "Giant Killer" after being inserted into the starting lineup at 165 pounds at Indiana on Feb. 2, 2007. Safratowich picked up the first two Big Ten wins of his career with a pair of impressive upsets over ranked opponents, knocking off No. 16 Max Dean of Indiana and No. 13 Roger Smith-Bergsrud of Illinois in his first two starts at 165.
While wrestling at 157 pounds earlier that year, Safratowich also upset No. 2 Brian Stith of Arizona State on Jan. 2. Safratowich eventually earned the first NCAA qualification of his career and was just one win shy of earning All-American status, going 2-2 at nationals.
This season, Safratowich began the season platooning with redshirt freshman Scott Glasser at 165 pounds, but took over the job in January due to a Glasser injury. Since that time, the junior has been one of the most consistent wrestlers in the Gopher lineup and broke through with a big win over No. 5 Jake Dieffenbach of Oklahoma State Feb. 3. He followed that with a dramatic 4-2 win over Ohio State freshman (and eighth-ranked) Colt Sponseller Feb. 24, propelling the Gophers to a 23-18 dual meet win. Safratowich is 9-9 over the last two seasons against ranked wrestlers and has two wins over top-five opponents. He climbed nine spots in the most recent USA Today/NWCA/Intermat rankings, going from No. 20 to No. 11.
Safratowich's career victories over ranked opponents:
Date Opponent (School)
Result
11/18/06
#2 Trent Paulson (Iowa State)
Med. For
1/2/07
#2 Brian Stith (Arizona State)
D, 4-3
2/2/07
#16 Max Dean (Indiana)
D, 10-4
2/4/07
#13 Roger Smith-Bergstrund (Ill.)
D, 4-0
3/3/07
#17 Chris Vondruska (Ohio State)
D, 6-3
3/15/07
#15 Steve Anceravage (Cornell)
D, 8-4
12/30/07
#17 Chris Brown (Old Dominion)
Med. For.
2/3/08
#5 Jake Dieffenbach (Okl. State)
D, 5-1 OT
2/24/08
#8 Colt Sponseller (Ohio State) D, 4-2
GOPHERS END DUAL MEET SEASON ON HIGH NOTE
It was senior day at the Sports Pavilion Feb. 24, and despite enduring a trying regular season, the Golden Gopher wrestling team did not disappoint in their final dual meet of 2007-08. Four of the six Minnesota seniors that started picked up individual wins, as the Gophers (14-7, 5-3 Big Ten) rounded out the regular season with a 23-18 victory over Ohio State (19-4, 6-2).
The win snapped a two-meet losing streak for the Gophers, who welcomed back senior C.P. Schlatter after he missed the previous weekend due to an injury. Schlatter picked up his 26th win of the year over John Johnstone. Senior Justin Bronson (also held out the previous weekend) won the last dual meet match of his career as well, beating OSU's John Weakley 2-1.
The highlight of the meet, however, came from Tyler Safratowich. The Minnesota junior held on to an early 4-0 lead to beat No. 8 Colt Sponseller's 4-2. It was Safratowich's third victory of the season over a ranked opponent and the second top-10 foe he has toppled.
The team victory was the Gophers' 13th straight over the Buckeyes,which dates back to 1993. After going 0-4 in Williams Arena during the dual meet season, Minnesota finished with a 3-0 record in the Sports Pavilion.
DUAL MEET DOMINANCE
Minnesota has posted a 182-35 (.839) dual meet winning percentage since the start of the 1997-98 season. In seven seasons during that stretch, the Gophers have lost two dual meets or fewer, including a perfect 19-0 season in 2001-02. Before their Dec. 2 loss to Iowa State, Minnesota had won 23 consecutive dual meets dating back to Nov. 25 of last season.
STREAKS END
Minnesota's gut-wrenching loss to Iowa State on Dec. 2 ended a number of impressive streaks. Minnesota's 23-meet win streak, which was tied for the second-longest streak in Gopher history, came to an end. It also halted Minnesota's home winning streak of 14 meets, which dated all the way back to Feb. 20, 2005. The Gophers also lost to the Cyclones for the first time in the past five dual meetings between the two schools.
Longest Winning Streaks in School History
1. 33 (Jan. 11, 2001 - Nov. 15, 2002)
2. 23 (Jan. 22, 1999 - Jan. 23, 2000)
23 (Nov. 25, 2006 - Dec. 2, 2007)
4. 19 (Dec. 2, 2005 - Feb. 17, 2006)
5. 18 (Feb. 2, 1997 - Jan. 18, 1998)
18 (Dec. 12, 1993 - Feb. 19, 1994)
The loss dropped the Gophers out of the No. 1 spot in the NWCA/Intermat poll. Minnesota had been ranked first nationally every week since Jan. 21 of last season.
IS MACK BACK?
No Gopher endured a more trying regular season than senior Mack Reiter. The 2005 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and a two-time All-American, Reiter struggled at times and finished with a 19-6 overall record. But he responded to his critics during the Gophers' dual meet finale with Ohio State Feb. 24, putting together his most dominant performance of the Big Ten season. Reiter scored an impressive 11 points during the final two periods against No. 13 Reece Humphrey, earning an 18-2 technical fall.
FOUR GOPHERS PASS CENTURY MARK
While current senior Roger Kish was the only Gopher to eclipse 100 career victories last season (he currently has 113), four Gophers accomplished the feat in 2007-08. Senior Manny Rivera picked up his 100th lifetime win by beating Central Michigan's Eric Kruger 7-5 in overtime at the National Duals. Mack Reiter notched his 100th win by beating Kenny Jordan of Nebraska in the Gophers' semifinal loss at the National Duals.
Another Gopher senior, C.P. Schlatter, just picked up his 100th career victory with an impressive 43-second pin of SDSU's Nick Genereux on Jan. 20. Gabe Dretsch, a three-time NCAA qualifier out of Frazee, Minn., won his 100th career match by pinning MSU's John Murphy on Jan. 25.
Current Gophers Past 100 Career Wins
Roger Kish (2003-pres.) - 113-24-0
Manuel Rivera (2003-pres.) - 107-37-0
Mack Reiter (2003-pres.) - 105-23-0
C.P. Schlatter (2003-pres.) - 107-28-0
Gabriel Dretsch (2003-pres.) - 106-51-0
SCHLATTER SENSATION
Top-ranked junior Dustin Schlatter has established himself as one of the most dominant wrestlers in the country in just a short time in a Golden Gopher uniform. He posted a 65-match winning streak, the second-longest streak in school history, before falling in the semifinals at the 2007 NCAA Championships. Schlatter has won 94 of 98 career matches for a .959 winning percentage, which currently ranks as the highest career winning percentage in school history.
One of the few freshman under Head Coach J Robinson not to redshirt, Schlatter put together one of the most remarkable rookie campaigns in school history in 2005-06 with a 42-1 overall record, with his only loss of the season coming against Mark DiSalvo of Central Michigan (11/26/05). He became the first freshman in school history to win an individual national title. This season, Schlatter is 15-2 (7-1 in duals) with two tech falls and three major decisions.
Schlatter held 20 of his 38 opponents on the 2006-07 season to one point or fewer. He shut out 11 of those opponents, with six of of those matches resulting in tech falls. He shut out three straight opponents from Nov. 25-Dec. 6 by identical 15-0 margins. Overall, he had nine tech falls, two pins and two major decisions in 2006-07. Schlatter tied for third on the team with 78 points scored in dual meets.
BAND OF BROTHERS
Brothers C.P. and Dustin Schlatter have the distinction of being the only pair of brothers in school history to win individual Big Ten titles in the same season, which they have now accomplished in back-to-back years. Only two other sets of brothers in school history have both claimed individual conference crowns, with Gordy and Marty Morgan each winning Big Ten titles – Gordy in 1989 and Marty in 1990 and ‘91, as well Dan and Larry Zilverberg – Dan won in 1979 and ‘80, Larry in 1974, ‘75 and ‘76.
In 2007, C.P. and Dustin also became just the second pair of brothers in school history to earn All-America honors in the same season, joining Gordy and Marty Morgan who accomplished the feat in 1989.
No brothers in school history can claim having both won NCAA individual titles.
FAMILY REDEMPTION
Before missing six weeks with a hamstring injury, Dustin Schlatter suffered a rare loss in the finals of the 2007 Southern Scuffle (Dec. 30), falling to Boston University's Mike Roberts. However, his older brother C.P. Schlatter earned a form of family redemption in his own championship match at 157 pounds. The elder Schlatter defeated second-ranked Gregor Gillespie of Edinboro 5-2 in the final to pick up his first-ever Southern Scuffle title and avenge his brother's 3-2 NCAA semifinal loss to Gillespie a year ago.
NESS VS. FALCK: ROUND FIVE APPEARS IMMINENT
An old rivalry looks to be renewed this weekend as top-seeded Jayson Ness and No. 2 seed Charlie Falck of Iowa anchor the bracket at 125 pounds. These two old high school foes (Falck, who attended Apple Valley High School in Minnesota, beat Ness twice in three prep matches) are not strangers at the collegiate level.
Last season, Ness proved to have Falck's number: The Gopher beat the Hawkeye three times in a one-month stretch, including a dual meet (8-0 MD in favor of Ness), the Big Ten Championships (a 12-1 drubbing in the final) and at the 2007 NCAA Championships (a 3-0 quarterfinal win).
This season, Ness continued his domination with an impressive 14-2 major decision during the teams' Feb. 1 match-up at Williams Arena.
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