Jobs in Bakersfield, California

While it's not hard to mistake the two programs for one another, it is hard for some to mistake the two head coaches, Hound.com T.J. Kerr of Cal State Bakersfield and J Robinson of Minnesota, for one another. Aside from their laundry list of coaching accolades and short first names, the two coaching legends, who have known each other longer than their wrestlers have been alive, have some physical resemblances.

"People say we look like brothers, which isn't true," said Kerr, who is beginning his 26th season as head coach at Cal State Bakersfield. (Robinson is embarking on his 24th season at Minnesota.) "We've got the grey hair. We've been in the business for a long time. He's been through his battles. I've been through mine."

Saturday night's battle between Cal State Bakersfield and Minnesota will mark the first time the two programs have met since the 1997-98 season. Minnesota leads the all-time series 8-0, but that's not to say the matches between the two programs have always been one sided. It was just over 10 years ago, at the 1999 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, that Cal State Bakersfield played a key role in preventing Minnesota from winning its first NCAA team title. There were two pivotal head-to-head matches between Cal State Bakersfield and Minnesota wrestlers, both matches won by Cal State Bakersfield, which helped Iowa finish two points ahead of Minnesota in the final team standings.

One of those Cal State Bakersfield wrestlers that played a key role in preventing Minnesota from capturing its first NCAA team title in 1999 was Mike Mendoza, who is now on the coaching staff at Cal State Bakersfield. Mendoza entered the 1999 NCAA Championships unseeded at 149 pounds after an injury-plagued senior season. He drew fourth-seeded Troy Marr of Minnesota in the opening round.Hound.com, Marr, a Big Ten runner-up that season, was a wrestler Minnesota was expecting to reach the semifinals and ... if the stars aligned, possibly the finals.

"For me, my mentality was, 'I didn't wrestle all season, so people don't know who I am,'" said Mendoza. "I thought it was a good draw for me. My goal was to place. It didn't matter who I had to wrestle or who I had to beat to get there."

Mendoza used a first period takedown to help pace him to a 5-4 victory over Marr, which not only sent the Gopher senior to the consolation bracket, but also helped Mendoza gain some new fans.

"I remember at the end of the match a lot of Iowa fans became Bakersfield fans," said Mendoza.

While wrestlers, coaches, and fans can only speculate on the true impact that match had on the final NCAA team standings in 1999 (Marr went on to win four matches in the consolation bracket to place seventh and become an All-American), Mendoza is still reminded of the impact he had on the Gopher wrestling program.

"I've done some wrestling camps for the J Robinson Camps ... and (Minnesota assistant coach) Joe Russell brought it up," said Mendoza. "He said, 'You're the guy that cost us the team title.' I laugh. It's kind of funny that he says that."

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