The No. 8 Gophers wrestling team (7-0) will face No. 7 Northwestern (1-0) at 2 p.m. Saturday in Evanston, Ill., in its Big Ten opener.
Minnesota is off to its best start to a season since the 2014-15 campaign. The Gophers have won 17 of the past 18 meetings with the Wildcats, including 31-9 last season at Maturi Pavilion.
The feature bout of the dual will come at 125 pounds between two All-America wrestlers. Patrick McKee of the Gophers, No. 4 in the InterMat national rankings will meet No. 3 Michael DeAugustino.
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- The Gophers gymnastics team opened its season by winning the Best of Minnesota Meet at Maturi Pavilion with a score of 196.075. Gustavus (181.075) was second, followed by Winona State (180.900) and Hamline (179.675). Gianna Gerdes of the Gophers won the all-around (349.025).
- Center Sophie Hart signed with the Gophers women's basketball team. Hart is a 6-5 graduate of Farmington High School, who played two seasons at North Carolina State, and had two years of eligibility. Hart will be eligible to play for Minnesota in the 2023-24 season after playing five games earlier this season with the Wolfpack.
- Camellia Xu, former Big Sky Goalkeeper of the Year at Montana, signed with the Gophers soccer team. Last season as a redshirt sophomore, Xu was 7-7-6 with eight shutouts while ranking third in the Big Sky in goals-against average (0.84) and save percentage (.815).
- Carson Hansen of Lakeville South High School was named the Gatorade Minnesota Football Player of the Year. The 6-1, 205-pound senior running back rushed for 1,727 yards and 21 touchdowns this past season, leading the Cougars (9-3) to the Class 6A state semifinals. He signed with Iowa State last month.
