No. 1 Minnesota and No. 2 Iowa Renew Rivalry

Friday’s dual at Williams Arena, which marks the 100th all-time meeting in this storied border battle, will likely determine the nation’s consensus No. 1 team

After becoming the first visiting team to knock off Penn State in Happy Valley since January 2011, No. 1 Minnesota returns to the Twin Cities for the team’s final home dual of the season, a one-versus-two showdown with archrival, No. 2 Iowa at 6 p.m. CT Friday night at Williams Arena. Friday will mark the 100th installment in college wrestling’s greatest rivalry.

Both the Gophers and the Hawkeyes will bring 10-0 records to the Barn. Minnesota reached 10 wins by knocking off Air Force, Wyoming, Grand Canyon and Oklahoma State out of conference, then defeating Michigan State, Northwestern, Michigan, Rutgers, Illinois and Penn State to build a 6-0 Big Ten mark. Iowa’s 10 wins include five non-conference victories – Baker, Iowa Central C.C., Cornell College, Iowa State and Oklahoma State – and five in league competition – Michigan State, Rutgers, Ohio State, Illinois and Northwestern.

The all-time series between the Gophers and the Hawkeyes favors Iowa 70-28-1, but Minnesota has had the upper-hand in recent years, winning three of the last four meetings between the two. Last season, the teams met in Iowa City, a dual highlighted by two Gophers scoring bonus points in a meet that otherwise featured eight decisions.Sam Brancale provided the Gophers with a fast start at 125, pinning Thomas Gilman in the dual’s first match to put the Maroon and Gold ahead 6-0. While Iowa would twice come back to tie the score, once at 6-6 and against at 12-12, Minnesota never trailed after jumping ahead early. Scott Schiller clinched the dual at 197 with a major decision over Nathan Burak, as the Gophers went on to defeat the Hawkeyes, 19-15.

The last time Minnesota and Iowa wrestled in Williams Arena was in February 2013 as part of the NWCA National Duals, a match Minnesota won, 22-15. Eight wrestlers – five Gophers and three Hawkeyes – who competed in those two most-recent duals in this series will be in action on Friday as well.

Looking ahead to Friday night’s dual, as many as 18 ranked wrestlers will compete, setting up eight ranked-versus-ranked matchups. Three of these matches will pit top-five wrestlers against each other. At 133, No. 1 Chris Dardaneswill put his undefeated records on the line against No. 5 Cory Clark. Following that match, two more top-five wrestlers will take the mat at 141, when No. 4 Nick Dardanes takes on No. 5 Josh Dziewa. Then, for the second consecutive dual, No. 4 Logan Storley will face a familiar foe at 174, when he takes on No. 2 Matt Evans. In addition to those top-five tilts, 197 will feature a pair of top-six wrestlers, as No. 6 Scott Schiller meets No. 3 Nathan Burak.

Familiar foe is a very appropriate term when these two teams wrestle. Among Friday’s likely starters, three bouts will feature wrestlers who have already met three times or more in their collegiate careers. At 157, Ness holds a 3-0 advantage over No. 15 Michael Kelly, a series that includes a major decision and a pin. This will be No. 1 Dylan Ness and Kelly’s first match at 157, as their previous three came at 149. Storley and Evans will be meeting for the fifth time. The two have split their previous four meetings and are separated by just two match points over those four contests. Schiller and Burak will also be squaring off for the fifth time. Schiller is a perfect 4-0 in his career against Burak, including the major decision in last year’s dual.

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Both Minnesota and Iowa have been very successful over their past 30 duals. Minnesota enters Friday having won 29 of its last 30, including an active winning streak of 17 consecutive duals. Iowa will arrive in Minneapolis with a 28-2 record in its last 30 duals and a winning streak that currently sits at 14, a run that began after the Hawkeyes fell to Minnesota last season in Iowa City.

Friday night also is Senior Night. Minnesota will honor 11 grapplers in a ceremony during the halftime intermission – the Dardanes brothers, Ness, Storley, Schiller, Conrad Rangell, Seth Lange, Pat Smith, Alex Daugherty, Randy Hanson and Corey Hodowanic.

For fans that can’t make the trip to the Barn to see Friday’s dual in-person, the event will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network beginning at 6 p.m. CT. The match will also be available to stream online via the BTN2Go app. Those looking for the Minnesota perspective can follow live updates throughout the match on the Gopher Wrestling Twitter feed and find a full recap on GopherSports.com following the event.

Minnesota Match Notes 

Iowa Match Notes 

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