Feb. 5, 2001

EAST LANSING, MICH. -

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UP NEXT FOR THE SPARTANS: It's the halfway point of the Big Ten season and the No. 7 Spartans will have to rebound quickly as they will face the No. 1 and No. 3 teams in the country. MSU will go to Minnesota on Friday, Feb. 9 to face the Gophers and then will travel to Iowa to wrestle on Sunday, Feb. 11.

OVERALL record against the Gophers: 22-18-0 (.550) LAST TIME OUT: Feb. 13, 2000...Lost to the No. 2 Gophers, 25-9 The Skinny: Minnesota has lost only once this year, to then No. 2 Oklahoma State. The Gophers have since bounced back, revenging the loss to the Cowboys at National Duals, beating them and regaining their top spot.

Marquee Match-ups: 149-No. 17 Karl Nadolsky vs. No. 3 Jared Lawerence *Lawerence won the first match-up of the two, 8-3. 133-No. 6 Pat McNamara vs. No. 3 Brett Lawerence *McNamara took the last match-up between the two, 3-0. 125-No. 9 Chris Williams vs. No. 3 LeRoy Vega *Vega took the last decision, 6-4.

OVERALL RECORD against the Hawkeyes: 13-28-2 (.314) LAST TIME OUT: Jan. 30, 2000...lost to No. 1 Iowa, 22-13. The Skinny: The No. 4 Hawkeyes are coming off a tough 18-16 loss to No. 5 Michigan.

Marquee Match-ups: 133- No. 6 Pat McManara vs. No. 1 Eric Juergens *The two have an extensive past, with McNamara posting a big 6-4 win over Juergens in the championship match at the 1998 Midlands. The win was McNamara's second over Juergens, but the next three decisions belong to Juergens, winning in 1999's National Duals, the dual match-up and last year's Big Ten Championship match. 125-No. 9 Chris Williams vs. No. 2 Jody Strittmatter Strittmatter took last year's match-up 8-2.

Many Ranked Wrestlers To Count:When the Spartans head to Minnesota and Iowa this weekend, they will be facing teams that have a ranked wrestler at almost every weight class. Minnesota has nine wrestlers in the top ten (the 174 pounder is 15th) and Iowa boasts a ranked wrestler at every spot , except heavyweight. The Hawkeyes also have three top-ranked wrestlers in Eric Juergens (133), Doug Schwab (141) and T.J. Williams (157).