University of Minnesota Athletics
Friday, February 6
Piscataway, NJ
6:00 PM
University of Minnesota
15
at
23
Rutgers
Players Mentioned
285 lbs.
/ Wrestling
184 lbs.
/ Wrestling
157 lbs.
/ Wrestling
133 lbs.
/ Wrestling
197 lbs.
/ Wrestling
174 lbs.
/ Wrestling
149 lbs.
/ Wrestling
165 lbs.
/ Wrestling
125 lbs.
/ Wrestling
141 lbs.
/ Wrestling
Wrestling Stopped by Rutgers
2/6/2026 8:51:00 PM | Wrestling
MINNEAPOLIS – No. 7 Minnesota (9-5, 3-3 B1G) saw its five-match road winning streak come to an end Friday night with a 23-15 setback at No. 15 Rutgers (11-5, 4-3 B1G) in Piscataway, N.J.
The Golden Gophers hadn't lost at another team's venue since a 21-13 loss at Nebraska on Jan. 11 of last season. Friday night's defeat was also the team's first in eight all-time matchups against the Scarlet Knights.
Rutgers got the dual started by taking the first two matches of the night and four of the first five.
The opening dual was an upset at 125 pounds as No. 28 Ayden Smith topped No. 10 Jore Volk, 7-2. Smith took Volk down in the first period and got another in the closing seconds of the match as Volk tried to get the go-ahead score.
The lead then grew to 7-0 as No. 27 Dylan Shawver defeated Brandon Morvari at 133 pounds by major decision, 12-2.
Ninth-ranked Vance VomBaur got the Gophers on the board at 141 pounds with a tech fall win over Mason Gibson. VomBaur picked up takedowns in each of the first two periods then two more in the third, including one that turned into four nearfall points. The 18-3 (7:00) win was VomBaur's first tech-fall victory since Feb. 9 of last season.
Back-to-back upset wins for the Scarlet Knights sent them into intermission ahead 13-5.
The first came at 149 as No. 29 Andrew Clark took down No. 17 Drew Roberts, 5-1, while Anthony White, also ranked 29th, defeated Charlie Millard in overtime, 4-1, at 157 pounds.
Coming out of intermission, No. 10 Andrew Sparks got Minnesota back on track at 165 with a 2-0 shutout of No. 20 Andrew Barbosa. After a scoreless first, Sparks logged an escape in the second period then rode out Barbosa for the entire third period to improve to 15-4 on the season and 3-2 in the Big Ten.
A wild matchup at 174 could have sent the dual in either team's direction but it was Rutgers that prevailed as No. 16 Lenny Pinto defeated No. 24 Ethan Riddle. Pinto dominated the opening period and built a 9-2 lead, but Riddle battled back to cut the advantage to 9-6 through two periods. Riddle closed the gap to 11-9 and was battling for the go-ahead takedown in the closing seconds only to see Pinto get a takedown and four nearfall points to emerge with an 18-0 major decision.
No. 4 Max McEnelly won his 10th match in a row at 184 pounds with a 15-7 major decision over No. 21 Shane Cartagena-Walsh. After no scoring in the opening period, McEnelly turned it on with three takedowns in the second to lead 9-2. He led 14-4 late in the third and looked to make it a tech-fall win but Cartagena-Walsh caught him for a takedown, though McEnelly was able to escape in the closing seconds to record his team-leading 10th bonus-point win of the season. He is now 15-1 on the season, 13-1 in duals and 6-0 in the Big Ten.
The dual was decided at 197 pounds in an overtime matchup between No. 25 Gavin Nelson and No. 16 Remy Cotton. Both wrestlers tallied escapes in regulation, sending the match to overtime tied at 1-1. In the extra session, Cotton won by fall at the 8:13 mark, clinching the dual for the Scarlet Knights.
In the final matchup of the night, No. 10 Koy Hopke snapped a four-match skid with a 4-2 decision over No. 19 Hunter Catka. A first-period takedown proved to be the difference for Hopke who, for the first time since the conference opener, did not have to face a top-9 opponent. The win was his 17th of the season, tying Volk for the team lead.
Minnesota closes out their road slate at Maryland Sunday at 1 p.m. CT. The match will be carried by Big Ten Plus.
Match Results
#15 Rutgers 23, #7 Minnesota 15
Feb. 6, 2026 | Piscataway, N.J. | Jersey Mike's Arena | Attendance: 3,702
125: #28 Ayden Smith (RU) dec. #10 Jore Volk, 7-2 | MINN 0, RU 3
133: #27 Dylan Shawver (RU) MD Brandon Morvari, 12-2 | MINN 0, RU 7
141: #9 Vance VomBaur TF Mason Gibson (RU), 18-3 (7:00) | MINN 5, RU 7
149: #29 Andrew Clark (RU) dec. #17 Drew Roberts, 5-1 | MINN 5, RU 10
157: #29 Anthony White (RU) dec. #19 Charlie Millard, 4-1 SV1 | MINN 5, RU 13
165: #10 Andrew Sparks dec. #20 Andrew Barbosa (RU), 2-0 | MINN 8, RU 13
174: #16 Lenny Pinto (RU) MD #24 Ethan Riddle, 18-9 | MINN 8, RU 17
184: #4 Max McEnelly MD #21 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (RU), 15-7 | MINN 12, RU 17
197: #16 Remy Cotton (RU) Fall #25 Gavin Nelson, 8:13 | MINN 12, RU 23
285: #10 Koy Hopke dec. #19 Hunter Catka (RU), 4-2 | MINN 15, RU 23
The Golden Gophers hadn't lost at another team's venue since a 21-13 loss at Nebraska on Jan. 11 of last season. Friday night's defeat was also the team's first in eight all-time matchups against the Scarlet Knights.
Rutgers got the dual started by taking the first two matches of the night and four of the first five.
The opening dual was an upset at 125 pounds as No. 28 Ayden Smith topped No. 10 Jore Volk, 7-2. Smith took Volk down in the first period and got another in the closing seconds of the match as Volk tried to get the go-ahead score.
The lead then grew to 7-0 as No. 27 Dylan Shawver defeated Brandon Morvari at 133 pounds by major decision, 12-2.
Ninth-ranked Vance VomBaur got the Gophers on the board at 141 pounds with a tech fall win over Mason Gibson. VomBaur picked up takedowns in each of the first two periods then two more in the third, including one that turned into four nearfall points. The 18-3 (7:00) win was VomBaur's first tech-fall victory since Feb. 9 of last season.
Back-to-back upset wins for the Scarlet Knights sent them into intermission ahead 13-5.
The first came at 149 as No. 29 Andrew Clark took down No. 17 Drew Roberts, 5-1, while Anthony White, also ranked 29th, defeated Charlie Millard in overtime, 4-1, at 157 pounds.
Coming out of intermission, No. 10 Andrew Sparks got Minnesota back on track at 165 with a 2-0 shutout of No. 20 Andrew Barbosa. After a scoreless first, Sparks logged an escape in the second period then rode out Barbosa for the entire third period to improve to 15-4 on the season and 3-2 in the Big Ten.
A wild matchup at 174 could have sent the dual in either team's direction but it was Rutgers that prevailed as No. 16 Lenny Pinto defeated No. 24 Ethan Riddle. Pinto dominated the opening period and built a 9-2 lead, but Riddle battled back to cut the advantage to 9-6 through two periods. Riddle closed the gap to 11-9 and was battling for the go-ahead takedown in the closing seconds only to see Pinto get a takedown and four nearfall points to emerge with an 18-0 major decision.
No. 4 Max McEnelly won his 10th match in a row at 184 pounds with a 15-7 major decision over No. 21 Shane Cartagena-Walsh. After no scoring in the opening period, McEnelly turned it on with three takedowns in the second to lead 9-2. He led 14-4 late in the third and looked to make it a tech-fall win but Cartagena-Walsh caught him for a takedown, though McEnelly was able to escape in the closing seconds to record his team-leading 10th bonus-point win of the season. He is now 15-1 on the season, 13-1 in duals and 6-0 in the Big Ten.
The dual was decided at 197 pounds in an overtime matchup between No. 25 Gavin Nelson and No. 16 Remy Cotton. Both wrestlers tallied escapes in regulation, sending the match to overtime tied at 1-1. In the extra session, Cotton won by fall at the 8:13 mark, clinching the dual for the Scarlet Knights.
In the final matchup of the night, No. 10 Koy Hopke snapped a four-match skid with a 4-2 decision over No. 19 Hunter Catka. A first-period takedown proved to be the difference for Hopke who, for the first time since the conference opener, did not have to face a top-9 opponent. The win was his 17th of the season, tying Volk for the team lead.
Minnesota closes out their road slate at Maryland Sunday at 1 p.m. CT. The match will be carried by Big Ten Plus.
Match Results
#15 Rutgers 23, #7 Minnesota 15
Feb. 6, 2026 | Piscataway, N.J. | Jersey Mike's Arena | Attendance: 3,702
125: #28 Ayden Smith (RU) dec. #10 Jore Volk, 7-2 | MINN 0, RU 3
133: #27 Dylan Shawver (RU) MD Brandon Morvari, 12-2 | MINN 0, RU 7
141: #9 Vance VomBaur TF Mason Gibson (RU), 18-3 (7:00) | MINN 5, RU 7
149: #29 Andrew Clark (RU) dec. #17 Drew Roberts, 5-1 | MINN 5, RU 10
157: #29 Anthony White (RU) dec. #19 Charlie Millard, 4-1 SV1 | MINN 5, RU 13
165: #10 Andrew Sparks dec. #20 Andrew Barbosa (RU), 2-0 | MINN 8, RU 13
174: #16 Lenny Pinto (RU) MD #24 Ethan Riddle, 18-9 | MINN 8, RU 17
184: #4 Max McEnelly MD #21 Shane Cartagena-Walsh (RU), 15-7 | MINN 12, RU 17
197: #16 Remy Cotton (RU) Fall #25 Gavin Nelson, 8:13 | MINN 12, RU 23
285: #10 Koy Hopke dec. #19 Hunter Catka (RU), 4-2 | MINN 15, RU 23
Coach Eggum Post-Match Speech
Thursday, February 05
Cinematic Recap: Gophers Upset #4 Iowa
Thursday, February 05
Coach's Corner with Brandon Eggum
Thursday, February 05
Highlights: Gophers 21, Iowa 16
Friday, January 30