Gophers' title hopes gone

ST. LOUIS - Friday morning at the NCAA wrestling tournament began for the Gophers with a potentially damaging ruling about a few close shaves. By Friday night, however, that controversy had subsided -- only to be replaced by a series of results that left Minnesota more than a few close shaves from where it hoped to be.

In a microcosm of the Gophers season, every reprieve led to another letdown, and every corner turned led to a wall that could not be scaled. Minnesota started with five wrestlers in the quarterfinals and a fighting chance in the team race. But by the time the early session was over, the Gophers had advanced just one wrestler to the semifinals while also losing a pair of seeded wrestlers for good.

A better showing at night -- led by a dramatic semifinal victory by Jayson Ness at 125 -- provided salve for the team's pride but did little to influence the team race, where the Gophers ended Friday in 10th place with 56.5 points. Minnesota entered the season with realistic hopes of repeating as the NCAA champion. Instead, Iowa (102 points, 31 more than No. 2 Ohio State) is going to be the runaway winner.

"It shows how fleeting it is. ... Nothing is guaranteed," Gophers coach J Robinson said. "The season just rolled, and there wasn't anything we could do about it."

Injuries, a key story line all year, played a role Friday. C.P. Schlatter, the No. 5 seed at 157, tore his hamstring in the Big Ten meet and was knocked out of NCAAs with a 1-2 record. His brother, Dustin, was seeded No. 2 at 149 but will limp into today's seventh-place match on a sprained knee and ankle. Roger Kish (184) fought a bulging disc, then dislocated his shoulder at Big Tens. He lost twice Friday to end his career.

A tough morning got off to a strange and -- at the time -- damaging start. The NCAA was intent on enforcing a seldom-used rule regarding wrestlers shaving -- yes, such a rule exists -- and the Gophers were nabbed. Four wrestlers were checked and deemed to have too much facial stubble, which can potentially injure an opponent in a sport with such close contact. Minnesota was poised to lose three team points, while Robinson faced a suspension. But when it was found that about 80 wrestlers were flagged, according to Gophers assistant Marty Morgan, everyone was given a reprieve.

That might have stood out as the day's brightest spot if not for Ness. He earned his 20th pin in the quarterfinals, tying Morgan's single-season team record. Facing defending champion Paul Donahoe of Nebraska in the semifinals, Ness skirted the edge of the circle and scored a double-leg takedown with nine seconds left for a 4-3 victory and a date in tonight's final against No. 1 Angel Escobedo of Indiana.

Ness said his job is to "set a tone," and Friday evening his match was followed by consecutive consolation victories by Mack Reiter, Manuel Rivera and Dustin Schlatter that ensured all three of All-America status. Reiter followed with another victory later in the evening and can finish as high as third, while losses by Schlatter and Rivera put both in seventh-place matches today.

Those four wrestlers and Kish met between sessions Friday; all but Ness had been stung by quarterfinal losses.

"It meant a lot to me after losing everything I've been working for all my life this morning," Reiter, a senior, said of his evening comeback. "I've been wrestling for 19 years, and I'd always dreamed of winning an NCAA title. I had to change that goal from winning to getting third."