The fourth-ranked Minnesota Golden Gopher wresting team enjoyed a banner first day at the 2007 Southern Scuffle, hosted by the University of North Carolina-Greensboro in Greensboro, N.C. Twelve of the 13 Gophers’ tournament entrants were still alive after day one of competition, including eight undefeated wrestlers. The defending national champions also held a significant edge in team scoring, jumping out to a 53.5-42.5 advantage over second-place Edinboro after the first rounds of competition.
Third-ranked sophomore Jayson Ness paved the way for the Gophers, racking up pins in his first three matches of competition. Ness, the tournament’s top-seeded wrestler at 125 pounds, improves his overall record to 16-0 on the season, including a whopping 12 pins. Minnesota’s single-season pin record is 20, set by current head assistant coach Marty Morgan in 1990.
Other remaining undefeated wrestlers include Mack Reiter (the tournament’s second seed at 133 pounds), Manny Rivera (seeded second at 141 pounds), top-ranked Dustin Schlatter (first seed at 149 pounds), C.P. Schlatter (the fourth seed at 157 pounds), Tyler Safratowich (165 pounds), Scott Glasser (No. 2 at 165 pounds) and Gabe Dretsch (No. 4 at 174 pounds). Heavyweights Joe Nord and Ben Berhow remain alive in the consolation bracket, as do 197-pounders Yura Malamura and Justin Bronson.
Dustin Schlatter, pursuing his third straight Southern Scuffle title, appears well on his way to another undefeated tournament. The junior, ranked first in the nation at 149 pounds, defeated his two opening day opponents by a combined score of 16-4, including a 10-2 first round major decision win over Dennis Bermudez. Schlatter’s overall season record stands at 11-0 and the two-time All-American has never lost a match at the Southern Scuffle.
Minnesota seniors Reiter, Rivera, C.P. Schlatter and Dretsch are a combined 10-0 after day one, with Rivera and Schlatter looking to defend their 2007 tournament titles. Reiter has a fall and a tech fall to his credit thus far (2-0 on the day) and appears poised for a rematch with Hofstra’s Lou Ruggirello, his opponent at the 2007 NWCA All-Star Classic. Rivera advanced to the semifinals with two pins and a hard-fought 7-6 decision over Christopher Bencivenga.
The elder Schlatter (C.P.) has looked impressive in the early going as well, contributing a tech fall, major decision and pin to Minnesota’s cause. Dretsch, ranked seventh nationally at 174 pounds in the latest NWCA poll, advanced to the quarterfinals with a 20-5 tech fall over Derek Sickel of The Citadel and a 9-1 major decision victory over No. 14 Alton Lucas of Hoftra.
The Golden Gophers had two entrants at 165 pounds. An NCAA qualifier at 165 pounds a year ago, Safratowich will wrestle top-seeded Mack Lewnes of Cornell in Sunday’s quarterfinals after going 3-0 Saturday with two falls and a 13-5 major decision win over Hofstra’s Ryan Patrovich. Minnesota’s dual meet starter at 165 pounds, Glasser also advanced to the quarterfinals with three wins.
Redshirt freshman heavyweight Nord will face off against a yet-unknown opponent in the consolation bracket Sunday after compiling a 2-1 record. Nord won his first two matches before losing 7-2 to eighth-seeded Justin Dobies. Fellow redshirt freshman heavyweight Berhow will try to work his way through the consolation bracket Sunday as well. Malamura and Bronson went 1-1 Saturday and will battle through consolation competition tomorrow.
Tomorrow’s action will get underway at 7:00 a.m. CT. Live team standings and weight-by-weight results will again be available through SouthernScuffle.com. Fans can also still purchase a live webcast for $9.95 through the UNC-Greensboro website.
Team Standings Through Day 1
1. Minnesota 53.5
2. Edinboro 42.5
3. Boise State 39.5
4. Old Dominion 38.5
5. Cornell 37.5
5. Maryland 37.5
Southern Scuffle Day 2 Schedule (all times Eastern)
8:00 a.m. - Weigh-ins & Skin check
9:00 a.m. - Quarterfinals & 4th Round Wrestle-backs
10:30 a.m. - 5th Round Wrestle-backs
11:30 a.m. - Semifinals & 6th Round Wrestle-backs
1:00 p.m. - 7th Round Wrestle-backs
2:00 p.m. - Medal Rounds (3rd - 8th)
5:00 p.m. - Championship Finals
Minnesota Individual Results Through Day 1
#1 Jayson Ness (125 pounds)
Ian Moser (Bloomsburg) Fall (1:37), First Round
Paul Sanford (Unattached/The Citadel) Fall (4:20), Second Round
Brian Wright (George Mason) Fall, 2:10, Third Round
#2 Mack Reiter (133 pounds)
Nick Bridge (Cornell) Fall, 6:29, Second Round
William Ashnault (Lock Haven) TF, 15-0, Third Round
#2 Manuel Rivera (141 pounds)
John Delgado (George Mason) Fall, 5:50, First Round
Ben Thompson (Davidson) Fall, 2:29, Second Round
Marcus Cox (Appalation State) D, 7-6, Third Round
Luke Mellmer (149 pounds)
Matt Reedy (Unattached/Ohio U) Fall (lost), 4:17, First Round
Vincent Ramirez (UNC-Greensboro) D, 0-5, Consolation
#1 Dustin Schlatter (149 pounds)
Dennis Bermudez (Bloomsburg) D, 10-2, First Round
Jeremy Doyle (Cal-Bakersfield) MD, 10-2, Second Round
#4 C.P. Schlatter (157 pounds)
Tel Todd (Unattached/Old Dominion) TF, 17-1, First Round
Alex Conover (Unattached/Bloomsburg) MD, 13-5, Second Round
Joe Butcher (Navy) Fall, 2:48, Quarterfinals
Tyler Safratowich (165 pounds)
Michael Metzger (Lock Haven) Fall, 1:03, First Round
Mike Sewell (Virginia) MD, 13-5, Second Round
Ryan Patrovich (Hofstra) Fall, 7:20, Third Round
#2 Scott Glasser (165 pounds)
Randall Herring (Garnder-Webb) Medical Forfeit, First Round
Joseph Son (Liberty) Fall, 1:26, Second Round
Tommy Weinkam (Unattached/Ohio U) MD, 12-2, Third Round
#4 Gabriel Dretsch (174 pounds)
Derek Sickel (The Citadel) TF, 20-5, First Round
Chris Estep (Kent State) MD, 9-1, Second Round
Yura Malamura (197 pounds)
George Kocher (Unattached/N. Carolina) D, 8-4, First Round
Brent Jones (Virgina) D, 5-11, Second Round
Justin Bronson (197 pounds)
Kyle Byers (George Mason) D, 3-2, First Round
David Mendoza (Old Dominion) Fall (lost), Second Round
Joe Nord (heavyweight)
Calvin Cardillo (Virginia) D, 9-4, First Round
Tim Miller (Virginia Tech) Fall, 2:35, Second Round
Justin Dobies (North Carolina) D, 2-7, Third Round
Ben Berhow (heavyweight)
No. 9 Zach Hammond (Cornell) D, 1-3, First Round
Jared Campbell (Appalation State) D, 3-2, Consolation
