The No. 3/1 University of Minnesota wrestling team travels to Northern Colorado tonight to face the Bears. The match is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. (CST) in Greeley, Colo. Live results can be found on the official Northern Colorado website.

THE SERIES

Friday’s match will be the fourth meeting between the Gophers and Bears. Minnesota leads the all-time series 3-0, including 2-0 at UNC. The two teams last met on Dec. 11, 1994 in Laramie, Wyo., with the Gophers downing the Bears 45-4.

ABOUT THE BEARS

Northern Colorado is led by heavyweight Reece Hopkin, who entered the season ranked 10th in the nation. Other impact wrestlers for the Bears include Kyle Kaiser (133), Tony Mustari (125) and Kenny Hashimoto (141), who each won their respective weight class in last week's Northern Colorado/Old Chicago Open.

TONIGHT'S MATCH-UPS

125 - #9 Jayson Ness (MINN) vs. Tony Mustari (NCOL)
133 - Mike Thorn (MINN) vs. Kyle Kaiser (NCOL)
141 - #6 Manuel Rivera (MINN) vs. Kenny Hashimoto (NCOL)
149 - #1 Dustin Schlatter (MINN) vs. Richard Lohr (NCOL)
157 - Tyler Safratowich (MINN) vs. Luke Salazar (NCOL)
165 - Jeremy Larson (MINN) vs. Devan Lewis (NCOL)
174 - #11 Gabriel Dretsch (MINN) vs. Ryan Johnson (NCOL)

184 - #2 Roger Kish (MINN) vs. Alex Joseph (NCOL)
197 - Yura Malamura (MINN) vs. Calen Nicholl (NCOL)
Hwt - #1 Cole Konrad (MINN) vs. #15 Reece Hopkin (NCOL)

NOTES TO KNOW

• Head Coach J Robinson earned his 300th career dual meet victory in Minnesota’s 32-10 win against American last weekend at the Northeast Duals. In his 21st season at Minnesota, Robinson now owns a 301-103-3 (.743) overall record.

• After beginning the season as the unanimous No. 1 team in the nation, Minnesota dropped to third in the latest InterMat/NWCA coaches’ poll after its season-opening loss to No. 11 Hofstra. The Golden Gophers still hold the top spot in the W.I.N. Magazine poll.

• Six of Minnesota’s 10 starters are ranked individually in the polls. Defending national champions Cole Konrad (Hwt) and Dustin Schlatter (149) both hold the top spot in their weight class across the board.

• Four of Minnesota’s starters hold perfect records through the first three weeks of the season. Manuel Rivera is 12-0 at 141 pounds with two pins, one major decision and one tech fall. Dustin Schlatter is 8-0 with two pins and four tech falls. Roger Kish is also 8-0 with four pins and two major decisions. Cole Konrad is 3-0 after making his first appearance of the season last weekend at the Northeast Duals.

• Konrad recorded two pins on his way to a 3-0 record at the Northeast Duals. He moved into fifth place all-time in career pins with 39 and into 10th place all-time in career victories with 124. With 44 consecutive wins dating back to the start of last season, Konrad is now just 15 away from breaking Tim Hartung’s school-record streak of 58 straight victories.

• Junior Roger Kish was named Co-Big Ten Wrestler of the Week on Nov. 29. Kish defeated two opponents ranked in the top seven in the nation and recorded a pin and a major decision in his other two matches on his way to a 4-0 record last weekend at the Northeast Duals.

• With Kish’s honor last week, a Minnesota wrestler has been named Wrestler of the Week in consecutive weeks. Junior Gabriel Dretsch (174) earned the award the previous week after defeating two ranked opponents on his way to the Kaufman-Brand Open title on Nov. 18.

• Minnesota is gearing up to host top-ranked Oklahoma State next Wednesday, Dec. 6 at the Sports Pavilion. The Gophers hope to avenge their runner-up finish to the Cowboys at last year’s NCAA Championships.