Wrestling 11/21/07 -- No. 1 Augsburg (Minn.) 34, Augustana (S.D.) 10
MINNEAPOLIS (11/21/07) -- Claiming wins in its first seven bouts and eight of 10 matches overall, Augsburg College scored a 38-10 victory over Augustana College (S.D.) in a wrestling dual meet on Wednesday night at Augsburg's Si Melby Hall.
It was the first dual meet for both teams this season. Augsburg, defending NCAA Division III national champions, is ranked No. 1 in the NCAA Division III national poll (National Wrestling Coaches Association). Augsburg leads the all-time series with Augustana 8-1, in a series that dates to the 1999-2000 season. Augustana finished ninth at last season's NCAA Division II national championships.
Against teams from Divisions II and III, Augsburg is now 219-17 since the 1989-90 season, losing just 12 matches to non-Division I opponents since the 1995-96 season. Augsburg has won 10 Division III national titles in the last 17 seasons.
The dual-meet victory was the first for new Augsburg head coach Sam Barber, the eighth head coach in the history of the Auggie wrestling program. Barber, who served as head coach at his alma mater, Upper Iowa University, in the 1999-2000 season, served as an Augsburg assistant coach for six seasons before being named head coach this year.
Augsburg scored four bonus-point victories -- a pin, technical fall and two major decisions -- along with a forfeit among its eight bout victories in Wednesday's dual meet. Willy Holst (SO, Prescott, Wis.), ranked No. 3 nationally at 149 pounds, moved up a weight class and scored a 2:33 pin of Augustana's Gavin Nelson (FY, Missouri Valley, Iowa). Holst is now 5-0 on the season.
In his first dual meet for the Auggies after transferring from the University of Minnesota, Travis Lang (JR, Bismarck, N.D.) improved to 4-1 on the season with a 16-1, technical-fall victory over Chism Fink (FY, Harrisburg, S.D.) at 133. Lang dominated the match, with three takedowns and three 3-point near-falls, while accumulating 6:06 of riding time.
Lucas Murray (FY, Anoka, Minn.) and Jason Adams (SO, Coon Rapids, Minn.) both remained unbeaten at 4-0 with major-decision wins -- Murray with a 14-3 win over Jay Sherer (FY, Columbus, Neb.) at 141 and Adams with a 10-2 triumph over Mike Wubbena (FY, Fairmont, Minn.).
Robbie Gotreau (SR, Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson HS), ranked No. 2 nationally at 184, built 3:19 of riding time to score a 4-1 victory over Beau Severtson (SR, Flandreau, S.D.). Tyson Barrett (SO, Excelsior, Minn./Minnetonka HS) opened the match with a 5-1 win over Lance Peters (FY, LeRoy, Minn.) at heavyweight. Matt Curtis (SO, Coon Rapids, Minn.) scored the go-ahead point with an escape with 1:19 remaining and a crucial takedown with three seconds left in the third period to claim a 6-3 win over Kyle Svendsen (FY, Omaha, Neb.) at 165.
Augustana's Andrew Sorenson (SR, Garretson, S.D.) improved to 8-3 on the season with a second-period, 3:28 pin of Augsburg's Brandon Klukow (JR, Albert Lea, Minn.) at 174 pounds. In the final match of the evening, Ty Copsey (FY, Glenwood, Iowa) improved to 11-2 on the season with a 9-1, major-decision win over Augsburg's Andy Robinson (SO, Cedar, Minn./St. Francis HS), taking advantage of three takedowns and a 3:09 riding-time advantage.
Both teams return to action after the Thanksgiving break on Dec. 1 at 9 a.m. at the Minnesota State Moorhead Dragon Open.
College Wrestling -- No. 1 (D-III) Augsburg (Minn., 1-0) 34, Augustana (S.D., D-II, 0-1) 10
Wednesday, November 21, 2007 -- Si Melby Hall, Minneapolis, Minn.
Time of match: 1:31. Attendance: 238.
Action begins at Heavyweight.
Official: Byron Olson.
HWT -- Tyson Barrett (Augsburg, 3-2) dec. Lance Peters (Augustana, 6-6) 5-1 (Augsburg 3-0).
125 -- Jaime Rocha (Augsburg, 4-2) wins by forfeit (Augsburg 9-0).
133 -- Travis Lang (Augsburg, 4-1) tech. fall Chism Fink (Augustana, 2-3) 16-1 at 7:00 (Augsburg 14-0).
141 -- Lucas Murray (Augsburg, 4-0) maj. dec. Jay Sherer (Augustana, 7-2) 14-3 (Augsburg 18-0).
149 -- Jason Adams (Augsburg, 4-0) maj. dec. Mike Wubbena (Augustana, 4-2) 10-2 (Augsburg 22-0).
157 -- No. 3 (149) Willy Holst (Augsburg, 5-0) pinned Gavin Nelson (Augustana, 11-7) 2:33 (Augsburg 28-0).
165 -- Matt Curtis (Augsburg, 4-1) dec. Kyle Svendsen (Augustana, 4-2) 6-3 (Augsburg 31-0).
174 -- Andrew Sorenson (Augustana, 8-3) pinned Brandon Klukow (Augsburg, 4-2) 3:28 (Augsburg 31-6).
184 -- No. 2 Robbie Gotreau (Augsburg, 5-0) dec. Beau Severtson (Augustana, 7-4) 4-1 (Augsburg 34-6).
197 -- Ty Copsey (Augustana, 11-2) maj. dec. Andy Robinson (Augsburg, 2-3) 9-1 (Augsburg 34-10).
