Gophers' Sanders isn't going to look too far ahead

ST. LOUIS - Gophers senior wrestler Zach Sanders is running out of time.

The 125-pounder won both of his matches in the NCAA wrestling championships Thursday to roll into the quarterfinals.

The second-seeded Sanders (28-3) is determined to even the score with top-ranked rival Matt McDonough of Iowa, who has handed Sanders all three of his losses this season.

Were it not for the multi- talented McDonough (34-1), Sanders would be closing out his career with a possible unbeaten season. Instead, he is hoping for a fourth meeting with his Big Ten Conference nemesis.

"Just got to focus on one match at a time," Sanders said. "If it happens, it happens. I will be ready."

Sanders' two-win performance capped off a near-perfect opening night for the Gophers, who sit in second place with 33 points behind defending national champion Penn State with 38 1/2. Oklahoma State (28 1/2) sits in third followed by Cornell (27 1/2) and Iowa (26).

Sanders and sophomore heavyweight Tony Nelson led the charge on opening day. Six other Gophers -- Chris Dardanes (25-10), Dylan Ness (22-8), Logan Storley (25-6), Kevin Steinhaus (29-4), Nick Dardanes (22-8) and Sonny Yohn (29-5) -- turned in 2-for-2 performances to lead a balanced team attack. Eight of nine advanced to the quarterfinal round. Steinhaus has won 21 matches in a row.

Sanders pinned Austin Miller of Bucknell in six minutes during an opening-round match and followed that with a 2-0 victory over Jonathon Morrison of Oklahoma State.

"I knew things were going to be tough," Sanders said. "Everybody is tough here. But I found a way to win."

Sanders, who finished fifth in the nation each of the past two seasons, will face No. 10 seed Nicholas Megaludis of Penn State in a key quarterfinal match on Friday. A win there would likely send Sanders up against sixth-seeded Frank Perrelli of Cornell with McDonough on deck.

McDonough beat Sanders 7-1 and 7-4 in the regular season before bouncing the Wabasha, Minn., native 6-1 in the Big Ten Conference championships on March 4.

"This is the last time for him to get a national title, and there is a finality to it," Robinson said of Sanders. "You can tell he's wrestling harder, he's wrestling with more purpose. With your back to the wall, sometimes you've got to do things differently.

Sanders agreed, saying, "This is my last chance so I've got to make it count."

The Gophers are also seeking to even the score with Penn State, which beat them 149-134 in the league meet. The Gophers placed ahead of the Nittany Lions in six of the 10 divisions but came up short in the bonus point category.

Robinson has stressed the importance of every single point, making sure his wrestlers are psyched for even the pigtail and wrestleback events.