Huskers Fall to Oregon State

Lincoln--Despite getting major decision victories from Craig Brester, Paul Donahoe and Stephen Dwyer, the No. 17 Nebraska wrestling team fell to Oregon State, 21-15, Friday night at the NU Coliseum.

 

The dual was hotly contested throughout, as neither team held a lead larger than four points until the end of the dual.  Consistent with the close nature of the dual, five of the nine actual matches in it were decided by two points or less. 

 

Brester opened the dual at a strong pace with a 21-7 major decision triumph over Travis Gardner at 197 pounds.  Brester took a 10-3 lead after the first period and never looked back en route to the victory.

 

After a forfeit at heavyweight gave OregonState a two-point lead, Donahoe put Nebraska back into the driver’s seat with a 14-4 major decision over Jake Gonzales at 125 pounds.  Donahoe put the match out of reach with a strong second period in which he outscored Gonzales 5-1, including a takedown with one second to go in the frame.

 

A setback at 133 pounds put the Beavers back out front, but Dominick Moyer gave the Huskers a two-point lead with an 8-7 overtime victory over Kyle Larson at 141 pounds.  Moyer scored a reversal with seven seconds to go in regulation to send the match to overtime.  After a quiet sudden victory period, Moyer notched a two-point nearfall nine seconds into the first half of the tiebreaker to take an 8-6 lead.  In the second tiebreaker, Larson was awarded one penalty point, drawing the match to its final margin.

 

Back-to-back losses at 149 and 157 gave OregonState a four-point lead with three matches to go, but Dwyer evened the dual with a 13-2 major decision win over Brett Arand at 165 pounds.  Dwyer put himself into position to earn bonus points with a dominant second period, in which he scored a takedown and a pair of three-point nearfalls to build an eight-point lead going to the third period. 

 

Oregon State won by two points in back-to-back matches at 174 and 184 pounds to earn the dual victory.

 

The Huskers (6-1) will look to bounce back from this loss at the 2007 National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa, on Jan. 13-14.  Last year, Nebraska earned a third-place finish at the event, despite being unseeded. 

 

Oregon State 21, #17 Nebraska 15

Friday, Jan. 5, 2007

NU Coliseum-Lincoln, Neb.

Attendance-455

Official-Mike Hagerty

197-Brester (NU) by major dec. over Gardner (OSU), 21-7

HWT-#4 Watterson (OSU) by forfeit

125-#5 Donahoe (NU) by major dec. over Gonzales (OSU), 14-4

133-Pfennigs (OSU) win by dec. over Aleksanyan (NU), 4-2

141-Moyer (NU) by dec. over Larson (OSU), 8-7; TB1

149-Kipperberg (OSU) by dec. over Burroughs (NU), 8-6

157-Davis (OSU) by dec. over Oliver (NU), 9-4

165-Dwyer (NU) by major dec. over Arand (OSU), 13-2

174-#7 Larson (OSU) by dec. over #20 Harwood (NU), 4-2

184-Bressler (OSU) by dec. over Wofford (NU), 3-1