The Wisconsin Badgers lost a hard fought dual meet against the Minnesota Golden Gophers on February 11th. The result of the meet was 19-15, in favor of the Golden Gophers after being down 15-13 with two matches left. Despite a strong team performance overall, Wisconsin struggled to close out the meet and secure the win.
Wisconsin Badgers Drop to a 1-7 Conference Record
After a rough skid against #2 Iowa, #9 Northwestern, and #5 Nebraska, Wisconsin looked to bounce back against Minnesota. The Golden Gophers had other plans however, and got out to a 6-0 start. Minnesota secured the pin at 149 pounds before dropping the next two matches at 157 and 165 pounds. Garrett Model and Dean Hamiti scored excellent decisions to tie the team score at six.
Minnesota scored a four point major decision win at 174 pounds to make it 10-6. Another decision win at 184 gave the Golden Gophers a solid lead over Wisconsin, 13-6. The Badgers bounced back after dropping consecutive matches to win the next three in a row.
125: #7 Eric Barnett vs. #6 Patrick McKee pic.twitter.com/nVy2BiXxbi
— Wisconsin Wrestling (@BadgerWrestling) February 11, 2023
Braxton Amos led the charge with a thrilling 2-1 decision win over Michial Foy at 197 pounds. At 285, Trent Hillger followed his Wisconsin teammate with a 3-2 decision win, bringing the Badgers within a point for the meet score. Eric Barnett then faced Patrick McKee at 125 pounds in the most anticipated match of the night. Barnett secured the victory in a close, physical wrestling match resulting in a 5-4 decision.
The Badgers were on top with two matches left, 15-13. The dual meet ended with 133 and 141 pound matches taking place. Wisconsin suffered decision losses in each match, resulting in a 19-15 win for Minnesota. It was an extremely close meet that took each team down to the wire. The Badgers certainly had it in them to win, but the Gophers proved to be a worthy opponent this year.
Next up for the Badgers will be their final dual meet on the year against Northern Iowa on February 18th at home. Following the completion of their Senior Day dual meet, Wisconsin will turn their attention to the looming Big Ten Championships the first week of March.
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