Top-ranked Hawkeyes gain revenge vs. Gophers

Stung by lopsided losses to Minnesota the past two years, Iowa grabbed momentum early and hung on.

By CHIP SCOGGINS, Star Tribune

Last update: February 1, 2008 - 11:01 PM

The Iowa wrestling team holds a decided lead all-time in its rivalry with the Gophers, but the Hawkeyes looked anything but dominant in the previous two meetings.

The Gophers defeated Iowa by 16 points at home in 2006 and by 16 again in Iowa City last season, which was the Hawkeyes' second-worst home loss since 1972.

With those two performances in mind and a No. 1 ranking on its side, Iowa gave a much better effort Friday in a 20-13 victory against the fourth-ranked Gophers before an announced crowd of 7,472 at Williams Arena.

"We don't talk about the past too much," Iowa coach Tom Brands said.

The Gophers welcomed back two-time All-America Roger Kish from injuries, but even that wasn't enough to overcome Iowa's balanced lineup. The road won't get any easier for the Gophers (11-4), who have a dual meet at No. 3 Oklahoma State on Sunday.

"We have to learn from this and go on," Gophers coach J Robinson said.

The Hawkeyes seized momentum and took the lead for good when ninth-ranked Dan LeClere defeated No. 3 Manuel Rivera 9-7 in overtime at 141 pounds. Rivera, who had only two losses this season and had scored a major decision over LeClere two years ago, trailed throughout but scored two third-period takedowns to force overtime.

LeClere, however, ended the match with a takedown with 28 seconds left, giving Iowa a 6-4 lead.

"I don't want to make any excuses [for Rivera]," Robinson said. "We just got beat. Let's leave it at that."

Top-ranked Brent Metcalf stretched Iowa's lead to 11-4 with a technical fall over Luke Mellmer at 149. The Gophers had hoped that Dustin Schlatter, ranked No. 2 at 149, would return from a hamstring injury, but Robinson said Schlatter is still a few weeks away from returning.

Kish returned to the lineup at 184 for the first time since early December because of various injuries, but he did not look like himself. Trailing 14-10, the Gophers needed a big performance from the fifth-ranked Kish, but Iowa's eighth-ranked Phillip Keddy scored two takedowns in the first period and claimed a 6-2 decision.

"It's tough for Kish because he hasn't wrestled for almost a month and a half," Robinson said. "There are nerves and timing [issues]."

Justin Bronson gave the Gophers hope by scoring late in the third period to defeat Chad Beatty 5-4 at 197, closing Iowa's lead to 17-13. But Iowa heavyweight Matt Fields won his match against Ben Berhow 7-3, sealing the victory.

Top-ranked Jayson Ness got the Gophers off to a good start with a major decision (14-2) over No. 3 Charlie Falck at 125. Up 3-2 after the first period, Ness dominated the rest of the match, improved to 4-0 lifetime against Falck and remained undefeated at 27-0.

At 133 pounds, Iowa's Joe Slaton, No. 2 nationally, used a late flurry to defeat No. 5 Mack Reiter 8-3. Reiter scored a takedown in the third period to close the lead to 4-3. But Slaton answered with a takedown with 22 seconds left.