No. 3 Iowa earns 27-11 win at No. 13 Minnesota

Joey Gunther won his first match against a ranked opponent and the third-ranked Hawkeyes won seven of 10 matches to take down No. 13 Minnesota, 27-11, on Sunday at the Sports Pavilion in Minneapolis.

Gunther, unranked at 165 pounds, upset No. 15 Nick Wanzek, 5-2, using takedowns in the first and third periods.

'We need to keep bringing him along,' Iowa Coach Tom Brands said. 'Gunther has been doing a good job, but he can open it up a little bit more and build leads. He can be more aggressive because he does have good shots.'

Gunther, a redshirt freshman, improved his record to 13-5. He had lost in sudden victory to No. 3 Isaac Jordan of Wisconsin on Friday.

'It was a nice win to get moving forward, getting those ranked wins under my belt,' Gunther said. 'I still want to be the best, so it feels good.'

Iowa built a 19-0 dual lead thanks to Gunther, and major decisions from Brandon Sorensen (149), Michael Kemerer (157), Alex Meyer (174) and Sammy Brooks (184).

The Gophers cut that lead down to 19-8 before top-ranked Thomas Gilman pinned No. 6 Ethan Lizak at 125 pounds. Gilman improved to 21-0.

Lizak was leading 8-2 going into the third period when Gilman released him twice and got two takedowns, then got the pin.

'I knew I had to get to my feet and get out,' Gilman said. 'I wasn't going to win the match by staying underneath for five minutes and then going to my feet.'

Iowa (10-2, 6-1 Big Ten) travels to Indiana on Friday then hosts Senior Day on Sunday against Nebraska.