University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, November 15
Tulsa, OK
11:00 AM
University of Minnesota
19
vs
17
Virginia Tech
Players Mentioned
133 lbs.
/ Wrestling
141 lbs.
/ Wrestling
184 lbs.
/ Wrestling
157 lbs.
/ Wrestling
197 lbs.
/ Wrestling
174 lbs.
/ Wrestling
165 lbs.
/ Wrestling
285 lbs.
/ Wrestling
125 lbs.
/ Wrestling
141 lbs.
/ Wrestling
Photo by: Ryan Schroeder
Ranked Wins Send Gophers Past Virginia Tech at National Duals
11/15/2025 3:22:00 PM | Wrestling
MINNEAPOLIS – No. 10 Minnesota (1-0) won four of the five ranked matchups Saturday against No. 11 Virginia Tech (1-1), opening the National Duals Invitational with a 19-17 victory over the Hokies in Tulsa, Okla.
With the win, the Golden Gophers advance to the quarterfinals against Big Ten-foe Ohio State. That dual is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the BOK Center. A win against the Buckeyes would put Minnesota into the semifinals Sunday morning at 10 a.m., while a loss would put the team into the consolation bracket Saturday night at 7 p.m.
Minnesota won its season opener for the fifth straight year and has now won 17 of their last 19 duals overall dating back to the 2023-24 season. During the stretch, Minnesota has outscored opponents, 548-172, and has given up more than 12 points in a dual just four times.
Saturday's dual started with a top-8 matchup at 125 pounds with No. 8 Jore Volk facing No. 4 Eddie Ventresca. Both registered escapes in regulation, sending the match to overtime. After a scoreless sudden-victory period, Volk scored a reversal in the first rideout session and ultimately prevailed 3-1 to move to 8-0 on the season and 2-0 against ranked opponents.
Virginia Tech evened the dual at 3-3 following a 5-3 win for No. 17 Dillon Campbell over Chris Cannon at 133 pounds, but the Gophers quickly regained the lead with another ranked win.
No. 8 Vance VomBaur and No. 17 Tom Crook were tied 1-1 at 141 pounds with about 20 seconds to go in the third period, but VomBaur had the riding time point. Crook got a takedown to lead 4-1 and took the riding time back under 1:00, but he was called for locked hands. VomBaur then got a reversal and got riding time back to exactly 1:00 for an exciting, 5-4 win.
Minnesota and Virginia Tech then traded tech-fall wins at 149 and 157.Â
A 16-1 (6:13) win for Noah Nininger over Rhett Koenig, who was making his collegiate duals debut, at 149 gave the Hokies their only lead of the match at 8-6, but No. 14 Charlie Millard answered with a tech fall of his own. A 16-1 win at the 6:10 mark gave Minnesota the lead back at 11-8.
A 7-4 win for Ryan Burton over No. 11 Andrew Sparks at 165 evened the match score at 11-11, but Minnesota won the next two matches to claim the dual.
The turning point came at 174 with Minnesota winning a third straight ranked matchup.
Like Koenig at 149, 22nd-ranked Ethan Riddle was making his dual debut against No. 23 Sergio Desiante. The two had met earlier this year in the semifinals of the Southeast Open with Riddle winning a high-scoring 16-10 decision, but Saturday was a low-scoring 2-1 affair. Both wrestlers registered escapes in regulation to send the match to overtime. It looked like Riddle won via neutral danger in sudden victory but a challenge resulted in an overturned call. Going to rideouts, Riddle needed only four seconds to escape before he fended off Desiante.
The clinching match came at 184 pounds as No. 1 Max McEnelly posted a tech fall of 23-7 (6:50) over No. 22 Jaden Bullock. The two met last season when Bullock was at Michigan in an overtime win for McEnelly, but Saturday's blowout made McEnelly 3-for-3 in recording tech falls this year and gave Minnesota a 19-11 lead.
Virginia Tech won the final two matches, but both were by decisions, leaving Minnesota with a two-point final margin.
Match Results
#10 Minnesota 19, #11 Virginia Tech 17
Nov. 15, 2025 | Tulsa, Okla. | BOK Center
125: #8 Jore Volk dec. #4 Eddie Ventresca (VT), 3-1 TB1 | MINN 3, VT 0
133: #17 Dillon Campbell (VT) dec. Chris Cannon, 5-3 | MINN 3, VT 3
141: #8 Vance VomBaur dec. #17 Tom Crook (VT), 5-4 | MINN 6, VT 3
149: Noah Nininger (VT) TF Rhett Koenig, 16-1 (6:13)Â | MINN 6, VT 8
157: #14 Charlie Millard TF Matt Henrich (VT), 16-1 (6:10) | MINN 11, VT 8
165: Ryan Burton (VT) dec. #11 Andrew Sparks, 7-4 | MINN 11, VT 11
174: #22 Ethan Riddle dec. #23 Sergio Desiante (VT), 2-1 TB1 | MINN 14, VT 11
184: #1 Max McEnelly TF #22 Jaden Bullock (VT), 23-7 (6:50) | MINN 19, VT 11
197: #23 Sonny Sasso (VT) dec. #17 Gavin Nelson, 8-4 | MINN 19, VT 14
285: #18 Jimmy Mullen (VT) dec. Bennett Tabor, 3-1 | MINN 19, VT 17
With the win, the Golden Gophers advance to the quarterfinals against Big Ten-foe Ohio State. That dual is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the BOK Center. A win against the Buckeyes would put Minnesota into the semifinals Sunday morning at 10 a.m., while a loss would put the team into the consolation bracket Saturday night at 7 p.m.
Minnesota won its season opener for the fifth straight year and has now won 17 of their last 19 duals overall dating back to the 2023-24 season. During the stretch, Minnesota has outscored opponents, 548-172, and has given up more than 12 points in a dual just four times.
Saturday's dual started with a top-8 matchup at 125 pounds with No. 8 Jore Volk facing No. 4 Eddie Ventresca. Both registered escapes in regulation, sending the match to overtime. After a scoreless sudden-victory period, Volk scored a reversal in the first rideout session and ultimately prevailed 3-1 to move to 8-0 on the season and 2-0 against ranked opponents.
Virginia Tech evened the dual at 3-3 following a 5-3 win for No. 17 Dillon Campbell over Chris Cannon at 133 pounds, but the Gophers quickly regained the lead with another ranked win.
No. 8 Vance VomBaur and No. 17 Tom Crook were tied 1-1 at 141 pounds with about 20 seconds to go in the third period, but VomBaur had the riding time point. Crook got a takedown to lead 4-1 and took the riding time back under 1:00, but he was called for locked hands. VomBaur then got a reversal and got riding time back to exactly 1:00 for an exciting, 5-4 win.
Minnesota and Virginia Tech then traded tech-fall wins at 149 and 157.Â
A 16-1 (6:13) win for Noah Nininger over Rhett Koenig, who was making his collegiate duals debut, at 149 gave the Hokies their only lead of the match at 8-6, but No. 14 Charlie Millard answered with a tech fall of his own. A 16-1 win at the 6:10 mark gave Minnesota the lead back at 11-8.
A 7-4 win for Ryan Burton over No. 11 Andrew Sparks at 165 evened the match score at 11-11, but Minnesota won the next two matches to claim the dual.
The turning point came at 174 with Minnesota winning a third straight ranked matchup.
Like Koenig at 149, 22nd-ranked Ethan Riddle was making his dual debut against No. 23 Sergio Desiante. The two had met earlier this year in the semifinals of the Southeast Open with Riddle winning a high-scoring 16-10 decision, but Saturday was a low-scoring 2-1 affair. Both wrestlers registered escapes in regulation to send the match to overtime. It looked like Riddle won via neutral danger in sudden victory but a challenge resulted in an overturned call. Going to rideouts, Riddle needed only four seconds to escape before he fended off Desiante.
The clinching match came at 184 pounds as No. 1 Max McEnelly posted a tech fall of 23-7 (6:50) over No. 22 Jaden Bullock. The two met last season when Bullock was at Michigan in an overtime win for McEnelly, but Saturday's blowout made McEnelly 3-for-3 in recording tech falls this year and gave Minnesota a 19-11 lead.
Virginia Tech won the final two matches, but both were by decisions, leaving Minnesota with a two-point final margin.
Match Results
#10 Minnesota 19, #11 Virginia Tech 17
Nov. 15, 2025 | Tulsa, Okla. | BOK Center
125: #8 Jore Volk dec. #4 Eddie Ventresca (VT), 3-1 TB1 | MINN 3, VT 0
133: #17 Dillon Campbell (VT) dec. Chris Cannon, 5-3 | MINN 3, VT 3
141: #8 Vance VomBaur dec. #17 Tom Crook (VT), 5-4 | MINN 6, VT 3
149: Noah Nininger (VT) TF Rhett Koenig, 16-1 (6:13)Â | MINN 6, VT 8
157: #14 Charlie Millard TF Matt Henrich (VT), 16-1 (6:10) | MINN 11, VT 8
165: Ryan Burton (VT) dec. #11 Andrew Sparks, 7-4 | MINN 11, VT 11
174: #22 Ethan Riddle dec. #23 Sergio Desiante (VT), 2-1 TB1 | MINN 14, VT 11
184: #1 Max McEnelly TF #22 Jaden Bullock (VT), 23-7 (6:50) | MINN 19, VT 11
197: #23 Sonny Sasso (VT) dec. #17 Gavin Nelson, 8-4 | MINN 19, VT 14
285: #18 Jimmy Mullen (VT) dec. Bennett Tabor, 3-1 | MINN 19, VT 17
Coach's Corner with Brandon Eggum
Sunday, November 23
Highlights: Gophers 25, Virginia Tech 10
Sunday, November 16
Highlights: Gophers 15, Missouri 14
Sunday, November 16
Highlights: Gophers 19, Virginia Tech 17
Saturday, November 15