Gophers beat Illinois in wrestling on Senior Day

The No. 11 Gophers wrestling team beat No. 17 Illinois 24-9 on Senior Day on Saturday at Maturi Pavilion. It was the fourth straight win for Minnesota (11-2, 4-2 Big Ten) and improved their home record to 5-0.

Bailee O'Reilly at 174 pounds and Jake Bergeland at 141 got wins over top 10-ranked wrestlers to lead the Gophers. O'Reilly beat No. 10 Edmond Ruth 6-4, breaking his 20-match winning streak, and putting Minnesota ahead to stay at 6-3.

Bergeland upset No. 9 Danny Pucino 12-2 for a major decison.

Patrick McKee at 125 and Mike Blockhus at 149 also had major decisions for the Gophers against the Illini (5-5, 3-3). Other winners for the home team were Cael Carlson (165) in the second match of the dual, Isaiah Salazar (184) and Garrett Joles (heavyweight).

The Minnesota swimming and diving teams won four of their five two-day dual meets which ended Saturday at Norris Aquatics Center in Evanston, Ill.

The Gopher men defeated host Northwestern 221-130 and Purdue 194-153, while the women topped Iowa 287.5-64.5 and the Boilermakers 247-105 but lost to the Wildcats 200-153. In all, Minnesota won seven events the final day.

The Gophers' top performances came in the 200-yard backstroke and 400 individual medley as the men and women swept both events.

Paula Rodriguez Rivero won by nearly 1.5 seconds in the 200 backstroke (1 minute, 55.46 seconds), while for the men Desmon Sachtjen took first and dropped his NCAA 'B' cut by 1.14 seconds (1:43.01).

In the 400 IM, Megan Van Berkom won by eight seconds (4:08.98) and William Christenson completed the sweep (3:50.98) in the men's race.

Among other men's winners were fifth-year senior Max McHugh and sophomore Bar Soloveychik in the 200 breaststroke (1:54.96) and 500 freestyle (4:19.43), respectively.

The women also got an event win from fifth-year senior Joy Zhu on the 1-meter diving board (322.35 points).

The Gophers' Shelby Frank won the weight throw at the Jack Johnson Classic at the University of Minnesota Field House with a lifetime best of 23 meters (75 feet, 5½ inches) — the fifth-best mark in the NCAA this indoor season, a mark that also improved on the second-farthest throw in school history.

Minnesota athletes also won four other events. Odell Frye sets a facility record in winning the 60-meter dash (7.31 seconds). Her time is the fourth-fastest in school history.

Alliyah McNeil of the Gophers cleared 5-11 ¼ in the high jump — the second best program mark indoors — and also won the long jump.

Diarra Sow took first in the triple jump (41-9¾); the fourth best leap in school history.

• The Gophers tennis team lost 4-0 to host Oklahoma in the first round of the ITA Kickoff Tournament in Norman.