Gophers wrestlers rout Purdue

The Gophers wrestling team, ranked No. 2, opened its Big Ten season with a 35-3 rout over No. 20 Purdue on Friday at the Sports Pavilion.

Purdue took a 3-0 lead, but Minnesota won the next nine matches and got a lot of extra points. David Thorn won 15-5 at 133 pounds to give the Gophers a 4-3 lead with the major decision. Dylan Ness got a pin at 157, and the Gophers got majors at the next three weights from Dan Zilverberg (10-2), Logan Storley (18-4) and Scott Schiller (15-7).

Tony Nelson, the nation's top-rated heavyweight, got the final win with a 4-0 decision.

This was the Gophers' seventh consecutive victory over the Boilermakers and they lead the all-time series 36-9-2.

Seniors Tori Dixon and Ashley Wittman had 15 kills apiece as the No. 11 Gophers swept No. 18 Michigan 25-18, 25-23, 25-19 in Ann Arbor.

Minnesota (24-6, 12-5 Big Ten) hit .385 and outblocked the Wolverines 12.5 to 6. Dixon and Karlie Hauer each had six block assists.

Michigan (17-11, 7-10) still holds a 6-5 lead over the Gophers in their past 11 meetings on its home court.

The Gophers (13-1-0) still have a 35-game road winning streak. It goes back to Jan. 14, 2012. Minnesota has played the Bulldogs only once before, winning 2-1 on the road on Jan. 18, 1998. Yale (2-5-1) is coming off a road sweep of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Union.

Gophers coach Brad Frost needs one more victory for 200 in his career.

• The Gophers women's cross-country team, rated No. 16 in the latest coaches association poll, will compete in the NCAA meet on Saturday in Terre Haute, Ind. The women's 6K race will start about 12:15 p.m. They qualified for this year's meet by finishing second in the Midwest Regional. Junior Molly Kayfes was the runner-up in the individual competition there.