No. 2 Nebraska Halts No. 16 Hofstra

Lincoln-After surrendering a technical fall in its opening match against No. 16 Hofstra, the No. 2 Huskers roared back with six straight wins to capture a 25-10 dual victory over the Pride on Sunday in Hempstead, N.Y. Nebraska won its fifth straight dual to up its mark to 14-2 on the season as the Huskers have won 12 of their last 13 duals. Hofstra fell to 13-8 on the year.

 

Nebraska rebounded from an opening-match setback at 157 pounds with two decisions at 165 and 174 to take the lead 6-4, but the momentum really swung the Huskers way at 184 pounds. Junior Vince Jones, wrestling 120 miles from his hometown of Sicklerville, N.J., notched a fall of Hofstra’s Justin Danz in 5:58 after nearly pinning him in the second period. Jones’ pin put the Huskers up 12-4 as the Huskers went on to capture seven of the 10 contested matches. Jones moved his mark to 21-10 on the year as 10 of his wins have come by fall.

 

Sophomore Jordan Burroughs, another native of Sicklerville, N.J., also produced for the Huskers with a 17-9 major decision over the Pride’s Mitch Smith. Burroughs had seven takedowns in the match to record his 11th major decision and improve to 26-5 on the year.

 

Several weight classes saw ranked wrestlers from each team square off, including 125, 174 and 197. Junior Brandon Browne, ranked No. 5, earned a come-from-behind 8-6 win over No. 6 Alton Lucas at 174 pounds in one of the closest matches of the day. Browne went down 4-1 early, but entered the third period tied at four and scored two takedowns in the final stanza to take the victory. Browne is now 28-2 on the year, including 13-1 in duals.

 

Sophomore Craig Brester, ranked No. 7, squared off against No. 10 Joe Rovelli in the 197-pound weight class. Brester notched two nearfalls as he held Rovelli scoreless until the third period and ended with a 10-3 victory. The win was Brester’s third consecutive against a ranked opponent. At 125, junior Paul Donahoe nearly scored a major decision over No. 13 Dave Tomasette, but a late takedown by Tomasette forced Donahoe to settle for an 11-5 decision.

 

Sophomore Steven Dwyer notched an 11-5 decision over Ryan Patrovich at 165 pounds to get the Huskers on the board, while senior Jon May scored a takedown and two-point nearfall late in the third period to win 6-3 over Tom Daddino at heavyweight.

 

Nebraska concludes its regular season against No. 7 Iowa State in Ames, Iowa, on Feb. 24 at 2 p.m. The Huskers are currently 3-0 in the Big 12 as a win over the Cyclones would give NU a perfect mark in the Big 12, a feat which Nebraska has never accomplished.

 

No. 2 Nebraska 25, No. 16 Hofstra 10

Hofstra Arena, Hempstead, N.Y.

Sunday, Feb. 17

 

Match Results

125 Pounds- No. 4 Paul Donahoe (NU) by dec. over No. 13 Dave Tomasette (HU), 11-5

133 Pounds-No. 6 Lou Ruggirello (HU) by dec. over No. 8 Kenny Jordan (NU), 6-0

141 Pounds-No. 4 Charles Griffin (HU) by dec. over No. 15 Mike Rowe (NU), 3-1

149 Pounds?No. 8 Jordan Burroughs (NU) by maj. dec. over Mitch Smith (HU), 17-9

157 Pounds?Jonny Bonilla-Bowman (HU) by tech fall over No. 17 Chris Oliver (NU), 33-17

165 Pounds-No. 10 Stephen Dwyer (NU) by dec. over Ryan Patrovich (HU), 11-5

174 Pounds-No. 5 Brandon Browne (NU) by dec. over No. 6 Alton Lucas (HU), 8-6

184 Pounds-No. 9 Vince Jones (NU) by fall over Justin Danz (HU), 5:58
197 Pounds-No. 7 Craig Brester (NU) by dec. over No. 10 Joe Rovelli (HU), 10-3

285 Pounds-No. 17 Jon May (NU) by dec. over Tom Daddino (HU), 6-3