Jan. 2, 2007
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - Although the calendar changed to a new year, the fortunes of the Arizona State University wrestling team did not as the Sun Devils suffered a 44-3 setback to No. 2 Minnesota Tuesday night in Minneapolis, Minn. The Sun Devils, who fell to 2-3 overall on the year, dropped their third dual in a row, all on the road, with all three coming at the hands of teams ranked among the Top 6 nationally.
The dual opened at 197 pounds where Thor Moen took the mat and earned a hard-fought 1-0 decision over Justin Bronson. After a scoreless first period, Moen chose down to start the second and eventually escaped for a 1-0 lead. Bronson then took down to start the third, but Moen rode him out to take Bronson's riding time advantage and a victory to give the visitors at 3-0 lead.
That lead was short-lived as the Sun Devils forfeit at heavyweight gave the Golden Gophers a 6-3 lead. From there, the Sun Devils absorbed another forfeit loss (at 165), one major decision, two technical falls and two pins to go along with two losses by decision. The two close losses came at 157, where No. 2 Brian Stith was upset by unranked Tyler Safratowich, 4-3, with the other coming in the final bout of the evening as Greg Gifford fell in a close 13-10 bout to No. 2 Roger Kish.
The Sun Devils return home for a trio of duals Sunday inside Wells Fargo Arena as the team plays host to the Sun Devil Duals. ASU and American will meet at 4:30 p.m. before the Sun Devils take on Cal State Fullerton at 6 p.m. in a Pac-10 dual. The final dual of the night will see the Sun Devils meet the No. 23 Mountain Hawks of Lehigh in a 7:30 p.m. dual.
#2 Minnesota def. Arizona State, 44-3
Dual started at 197 pounds
197 - Thor Moen (A) decision Justin Bronson (M), 1-0
285 - #1 Cole Konrad (M) won by forfeit
125 - #9 Jayson Ness (M) tech John Espinoza (A), 17-2
133 - Mike Thorn (M) pinned Shawn Jones (A), 1:57
141 - #5 Manuel Rivera (M) pinned Robert Galvan (A), 2:31
149 - #1 Dustin Schlatter (M) tech Cameron Smith (A), 16-1
157 - Tyler Safratowich (M) decision #2 Brian Stith (A), 4-3
165 - Jeremy Larson (M) won by forfeit
174 - #8 Gabriel Dretsch (M) major Alex Pavlenko (A), 11-0
184 - #2 Roger Kish (M) decision Greg Gifford (A), 13-10