Brett Pfarr and Ethan Lizak of the Gophers each won two matches Friday to advance to the finals of the NCAA Wrestling Championships in St. Louis.
Pfarr, the second seed at 197 pounds, defeated Kollin Moore of Ohio State 13-9 in the semifinals. Lizak, the sixth seed at 125, beat Jack Mueller of Virginia 7-0.
Tommy Thorn at 141 and Michael Kroells at heavyweight also were still alive for Minnesota in Day 3 wrestlebacks.
Defending champion Penn State was ahead in the team competion with 121 points, and Ohio State was a distant second with 89.5.
The Nittany Lions' Mark Hall, a freshman from Apple Valley, was in the 174-pound final.
U softball sweeps
The No. 8 Gophers softball team swept host Pacific 10-0 and 12-1 Friday to finish its nine-games-in-nine-days road trip with a 7-2 record.
Tori Finucane, a senior transfer from Missouri, pitched a two-hitter in the shortened five-inning first game. She struck out seven in the Gophers' third consecutive shutout. Minnesota scored five runs in the first inning and five in the fifth.
In the second game, the Gophers (25-2) scored 10 runs in the third inning. Sydney Dwyer and Kendyl Lindaman both hit three-run homers. Dwyer has 40 RBI this season.