With the win the Gophers improve to 12-3 overall on the season. Minnesota is the first team to move on the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Dual Final Four. The Gophers will await their opponents from the other three regional's (Cornell, Iowa State and Oklahoma State) that take place tomorrow. There is a chance the final four could be held in Minneapolis next Sunday. An announcement will be made at the conclusion of tomorrow's action.
Head coach J Robinson was a big part of putting this tournament style together for the last 25 years and he is feeling pretty good that his squad will be participating in the inaugural final four next Sunday.
“It's the first one there's ever been one, so why wouldn't we be excited?†Robinson said. “If the people who are supposed to get in get in ... then we get a chance to wrestle two of the three people who beat us this year. We're excited about going. We want it at our place. We think we can get a ton of fans there. We're excited about the whole thing.â€
Minnesota's losses this season have come against Cornell (21-16), Oklahoma State (23-14) and Iowa (19-17). Those three teams are the favored to make it out of their regional alive tomorrow afternoon.
Championship: Minnesota 27, Missouri 7
Zach Sanders started things off with an 8-4 decision over Missouri's Alan Waters. The two battled each other till the final horn, before Sanders picked up the win to improve to 23-1 overall this season.
Chris Dardanes had no problem with the Tigers Nathan McCormick, as he scored a 14-5 major to put the Gophers up 7-0 early.
Brother Nick would take the mat next and was able to pick up another major for Minnesota. Dardanes defeated Brandon Wiest 15-7 before Dylan Ness picked up a solid overtime win against Kyle Bradley, to put Minnesota on top 14-0.
Cody Yohn would pick up his second win of the afternoon for the Gophers. Yohn took Missouri's Zach Toal all three periods, before coming away with a 6-1 decision. He finished with over three minutes of riding time.
Minnesota's final victories came from Kevin Steinhaus and Tony Nelson. Steinhaus took care of Claernce Neely in a 6-0 decision and Nelson would seal the deal for the Maroon and Gold when he scored 4-1 decision over the Tigers Devon Mellon.
Semifinal: Minnesota 35, Kent State 3
Minnesota came out swinging in the semifinals of the NWCA/Cliff Clean National Duals. The Gophers took care of Kent State 35-3 in their first match of the afternoon on the campus of Rutgers University. The Gophers picked up bonus points from Chris Dardanes, Nick Dardanes, Cody Yohn, Logan Storley and Kevin Steinhaus.
Chris Dardanes scored a 12-3 major decision over Steve Mitcheff and his brother Nick followed with a 12-4 major decision over Tyler Small.
Yohn got back on the winning side of things after scoring a first period fall over Ross Tice. Yohn picked up the bonus points at the 1:22 mark in the match.
Storley would take care of Brandon Johnson with a 13-3 major and Steinhaus picked up a 16-1 technical fall win over Casey Newburg. Tony Nelson wrapped up the first dual of the day for the Gophers with a 5-4 overtime victory. Nelson and Kent State's Brandan Barlow went the full length in the extra session, with Nelson picking up the win with the riding time advantage.
Minnesota 35, Kent State 3
125: No. 2 Zach Sanders (Minnesota) dec. No. 4 Nic Bedelyon (Kent State), 8-4
133: No. 7 Chris Dardanes (Minnesota) maj. dec. Steve Mitcheff (Kent State), 12-3
141: No. 8 Nick Dardanes (Minnesota) maj. dec. No. 10 Tyler Small (Kent State), 12-4
149: No. 10 Dylan Ness (Minnesota) dec. Marcel Clopton (Kent State), 6-2
157: No. 14 Mallie Shuster (Kent State) dec. Alec Ortiz (Minnesota), 8-4
165: No. 14 Cody Yohn (Minnesota) pinned Ross Tice (Kent State), 1:22
174: No. 6 Logan Storley (Minnesota) maj. dec. Brandonn Johnson (Kent State), 13-3
184: No. 7 Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota) tech. fall Casey Newburg (Kent State), 16-1
197: No. 6 Sonny Yohn (Minnesota) dec. Keith Witt (Kent State), 3-1
285: No. 4 Tony Nelson (Minnesota) dec. No. 14 Brendan Barlow (Kent State), 5-4 SV
Minnesota 26, Missouri 7
125: No. 2 Zach Sanders (Minnesota) dec. No. 3 Alan Waters (Missouri), 8-6
133: No. 7 Chris Dardanes (Minnesota) maj. dec. No. 8 Nathan McCormick (Missouri), 15-5
141: No. 8 Nick Dardanes (Minnesota) maj. dec. Brandon Wiest (Missouri), 15-7
149: No. 10 Dylan Ness (Minnesota) dec. No. 17 Kyle Bradley (Missouri), 8-6 SV
157: No. 17 Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) dec. Danny Zilverberg (Minnesota), 6-4
165: No. 14 Cody Yohn (Minnesota) dec. Zach Toal (Missouri), 6-3
174: No. 6 Logan Storley (Minnesota) dec. No. 18 Dorian Henderson (Missouri), 2-0
184: No. 7 Kevin Steinhaus (Minnesota) dec. Clarence Neely (Missouri), 6-0
197: No. 7 Brent Haynes (Missouri) maj. dec. No. 6 Sonny Yohn (Minnesota), 10-0
285: No. 4 Tony Nelson (Minnesota) dec. Devon Mellon (Missouri), 4-1
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