Gophers to take on Wisconsin at home

The Gophers wrestling team will return to action at home Sunday to face Wisconsin in a battle between two teams that had nearly equal and opposite results last Sunday.

Isaac Newton, hold onto your hat.

Minnesota shut out Purdue 40-0 on the road last Sunday in a merciless display of dominance.

The Badgers, on the other hand, were steamrolled 43-0 by defending national champions Penn State.

“Sunday [at Purdue] I thought we definitely wrestled as a team,” junior Cody Yohn (165 pounds) said. “We had a lot of fun, and I think our score definitely reflected that in getting a shutout.”

The No. 4 Gophers (7-2, 4-0 Big Ten), who also defeated No. 15 Illinois last weekend, lead the all-time series with Wisconsin 57-33-1.

The two teams split two contests last season. The Badgers beat the Gophers 19-17 at the National Duals but the Gophers rebounded three weeks later at the Sports Pavilion and won 25-15.

Gophers head assistant coach Brandon Eggum said he expects a performance similar to the lopsided win from a week prior Sunday.

“We want to dominate,” Eggum said. “That would be our goal, to come out and try to dominate and win all 10 matches.”

The Badgers (5-5, 0-3 Big Ten) will host Purdue on Friday before traveling to play the Gophers on Sunday.

Even though Wisconsin was shutout by Penn State on Sunday, Yohn said he is not taking the Badgers lightly.

“For Wisconsin, it’s a team that got shutout, but people have got to realize they got shutout by a really good team,” Yohn said. “The individual I have to wrestle for Wisconsin, I’ve wrestled before, and I know that the kid’s tough. I think we’re maybe one or two [spots] apart in rankings, so it’s going to be one of the better matches [of the dual] in my opinion.”

No. 11 Yohn will face off against No. 14 Ben Jordan in one of the two weight classes in the dual that features two individually ranked wrestlers. The other match will be at 149, where No. 11 Dylan Ness wrestles for Minnesota against No. 14 Cole Schmitt.

Logan Storley (174) will wrestle in his fifth dual since returning more than a month ago from an ankle injury suffered near the beginning of the season. The injury caused him to miss most of the first month of his freshman season, but he says he’s now completely healthy.

“I feel good, my ankle has been healing up really well, and I’m back to 100 percent,” Storley said. “It’s a big difference compared to high school obviously, but it’s starting to all come together now.”

Storley is currently ranked No. 7 at 174 pounds and has won eight matches in a row after losing his first two coming off the injury.