Huskers Complete Regular Season

The 19th-ranked Nebraska wrestling team defeated Drexel, 25-13, before finishing its regular season with a 17-17 tie against No. 20 Penn.  The Huskers complete the regular season with a 10-7-1 record, marking the fifth straight season and the 17th in the last 18 years in which the Huskers have won at least 10 duals.

 

In the first dual, Nebraska won the last three matches to earn the dual win over the Dragons.  With the Huskers trailing 13-12 through seven matches, Dominick Moyer earned a major decision win over Dave Gilio at 141 pounds, 12-4.  Moyer outlasted Gilio, scoring four takedowns in the third period to build from a 3-0 lead built in the first two periods.

 

Jordan Burroughs defeated Mark Cartella at 149 pounds, 5-1.  After a scoreless first period, Burroughs scored an escape and a takedown to take a 3-0 lead through two periods.  The win gave Nebraska a 19-13 lead through nine matches.

 

In the final match of the dual, Chris Oliver slammed the door on any hopes of a Drexel comeback bid with his pin of Ryan Hluschak at 157 pounds with 29 seconds remaining in the match.  In the lone match in the dual featuring a pair of ranked wrestlers, Hluschak took a 4-1 lead after the first period and an 8-4 lead through the second.  But after Hluschak scored an escape early in the third period, Oliver took him down with under one minute to go in the match, then pinned him moments later to clinch the dual victory for NU. 

 

Nebraska won three of the first five matches against Drexel to take a 12-9 lead through six matches.  After a setback at 165 pounds, Marc Harwood, Levi Wofford and Craig Brester earned three consecutive wins for the Huskers to give NU a 9-6 lead.  Harwood defeated Nick Kozar in the second tiebreaker period, 4-3, at 174 pounds.  The match was tied 1-1 through regulation and 2-2 through the first round of tiebreaker periods.  After a second scoreless sudden-victory period, both Harwood and Kozar escaped in the tiebreaker period, but Harwood held a five-second advantage in riding time after the second tiebreaker period to earn the extra point and the victory. 

 

Wofford broke a personal eight-match losing streak with a 4-1 win over Brian Stouffer at 184 pounds.  Wofford started the second period down and earned an escape and a takedown to build a 3-0 lead early in the period.  At 197 pounds, Brester edged Jon Oplinger, 4-2.  Brester also took a 3-0 lead in the second period.

After a setback at heavyweight, Paul Donahoe defeated Steve Mytych, 13-6.  Donahoe led the match throughout, taking a 4-1 lead in the first period and a 9-5 lead after two periods. 

 

A loss at 133 pounds gave Drexel a 13-12 lead before the Huskers won the last three matches to earn the dual win.

 

No. 20 Penn took an early 10-0 lead on Nebraska after winning the first three matches before Brester stopped the Quaker winning streak with his 14-5 major decision win over Jack Sullivan at 197 pounds.  The win was Brester’s third of the weekend and his 14th in his last 16 matches heading into the Big 12 Championships.  A loss at heavyweight would build Penn’s lead to 13-4 halfway through the dual.

 

Donahoe earned his third win of the weekend with an 8-2 win over Matt Eveleth at 125 pounds.  He has won six of his last seven matches since losing back-to-back matches in mid-January.  At 133 pounds, top-ranked Matt Valenti earned a major decision win to give Penn a 17-7 lead with three matches remaining.

 

Again, Nebraska got three consecutive wins to end the dual, starting with Moyer at 141 pounds.  Moyer defeated Brett McCurdy, 5-2 to break the Quakers’ winning streak.  Burroughs followed at 149 with his third win on the weekend and his second bonus-point triumph in a 19-7 major decision win over Rob Hitschler. 

 

Oliver tied the dual for the Huskers with a 4-1 win over Matt Dragon at 157 pounds.  Oliver won three matches on the weekend.

 

Nebraska begins postseason action with the 2007 Big 12 Championships at the HearnesCenter in Columbia, Mo., on Saturday, March 3.  Thirty-eight wrestlers will qualify for the NCAA Championships, including the top-three finishers in each weight class and eight wild-card selections. 

 

#19 Nebraska 25, Drexel 13

Saturday, Feb. 17, 2007

Daskalaskis Athletic Center, Philadelphia, Pa.

165?Billy Haydt (DU) by fall over Stephen Dwyer (NU), 5:57

174?Marc Harwood (NU) by dec. over Nick Kozar (DU), 4-3; TB2

184--Levi Wofford (NU) by dec. over Brian Stouffer (DU), 4-1

197?Craig Brester (NU) by dec. over Jon Oplinger (DU), 4-2

HWT?Chris Cowen (DU) by dec. over Cameron Browne (NU), 11-6

125?Paul Donahoe (NU) by dec. over Steve Mytych (DU), 13-6

133?Billy Martin (DU) by major dec. Patrick Aleksanyan (NU), 11-3

141?Dominick Moyer (NU) by major dec. over Dave Gilio (DU), 12-4

149?Jordan Burroughs (NU) by dec. over Mark Cartella (DU), 5-1

157?Chris Oliver (NU) by fall over Ryan Hluschak (DU), 6:31

 

#19 Nebraska 17, #20 Penn 17

Saturday, Feb. 17, 2007

The Palestra, Philadelphia, Pa.

165-#10 Zack Shanaman (UP) by dec. over Stephen Dwyer (NU), 9-3

174-#11 Matt Herrington (UP) by major dec. over Marc Harwood (NU), 16-8

184-#14 Lior Zamir (UP) by dec. over Levi Wofford (NU), 13-7

197-#10 Craig Brester (NU) by major dec. over Jack Sullivan (UP), 14-5

HWT?Ben Reiter (UP) by dec. over Cameron Browne (NU), 6-2

125-#13 Paul Donahoe (NU) by dec. over #20 Matt Eveleth (UP), 8-2

133-#1 Matt Valenti (UP) by major dec. over Patrick Aleksanyan (NU), 11-0

141-#7 Dominick Moyer (NU) by dec. over Brett McCurdy (UP), 5-2

149?Jordan Burroughs (NU) by major dec. over Rob Hitschler (UP), 19-7

157-#17 Chris Oliver (NU) by dec. over Matt Dragon (UP), 4-1