NU Faces Northwestern at National Duals

Tournament Three:
No. 4 Nebraska at NWCA National Duals

Date: Saturday, Jan. 10-Sunday, Jan. 11
Time: 9 a.m.
Location: UNI Dome, Cedar Falls, Iowa
Live Stats: Huskers.com
Live Video/Audio: Livesportsvideo.com
Television: ESPNU (Tape-Delay on Jan. 15 at 3 p.m.)

Lincoln - The Huskers begin a critical stretch in the season by traveling to the NWCA National Duals at the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa, this weekend. No. 4 Nebraska (6-0) enters the tournament seeded fourth and squares off against No. 20 Northwestern (7-1) at 9 a.m. Saturday in the first round. A win pits NU against No. 5 Missouri (11-0), who is seeded fifth, or No. 14 Penn State (5-3) at 1 p.m.

Nebraska will be looking to build on a solid first half of the season during which the Huskers won the Las Vegas Invitational and posted a 6-0 record in dual action, including two dual wins last Sunday. NU topped No. 15 Michigan 22-13, thanks to bonus-point wins in the upper weights and key decisions in the lower weights. Nebraska carried its momentum into its second match of the day to claim nine of 10 matches against Northern Colorado for a 39-3 victory.

Now the Huskers face their first big test of 2009 at National Duals, which is one of the biggest wrestling events annually. The dual-format tournament features team brackets and draws some of the top programs in the nation. Fourteen of the top 21 teams in the Jan. 6 NWCA poll will be in attendance, including the top six teams. Overall, all three NCAA divisions will be represented, as well as divisions for NAIA, NJCAA and women.

Fans can watch the action via streaming video on the internet at Livesportsvideo.com, or catch live audio at Takedownradio.com. Live video will not be available for Sunday’s finals, though. ESPNU will air the finals on a tape-delay basis on Jan. 15 at 3 p.m. Huskers.com will also provide live stats for each of Nebraska’s duals.

Last Time Out: Bonus Points Bounce NU past Wolverines and Bears
Three Huskers posted six bonus-point victories to propel the No. 3 Nebraska wrestling team to dual wins over No. 15 Michigan (22-13) and Northern Colorado (39-3) in front of more than 960 fans at the NU Coliseum last Sunday. Jordan Burroughs, Stephen Dwyer and Craig Brester collected four major decisions and two technical falls between them to move Nebraska to a perfect 6-0 in duals this season. The Wolverines and Bears dropped to 3-3 and 1-5-1, respectively.

Wrestling at 157 pounds, Burroughs opened with five takedowns in the first period against Michigan’s Aaron Hynes en route to a 24-8 technical fall over the Wolverine and posted a 19-8 major decision over Northern Colorado’s Justin Gaethje in his second match of the day. Gaethje wrestled the junior from Sicklerville, N.J., close until Burroughs exploded for six takedowns in the final period to post a commanding victory. Burroughs is now 14-0 on the season and is second on the team with seven major decisions.

Dwyer accomplished the same feat at 165 pounds, collecting a major decision and technical fall to improve to a 14-1 record. The junior racked up more than two minutes of riding time against UM’s Just Zeerip for a 9-1 major decision and recorded three nearfalls to earn a 23-6 technical fall over Northern Colorado’s Tanner Weiks. Dwyer leads the Huskers with three technical falls and has five major decisions.

Brester continued thrashing opponents at 197 pounds by adding two more major decisions to his 15-0 record. The junior from Howells, Neb., downed Michigan’s Erich Smith 15-4 courtesy of a six-point first period and notched four takedowns in the first period against UNC’s Patrick Carey en route to a 19-6 victory. Brester has posted bonus-point victories in 14 of his 15 matches this season and is tied for the team lead with seven major decisions.

Redshirt freshman Tucker Lane won a 4-1 decision over UM’s Chad Bleske before pinning Justin Tuell of Northern Colorado in 4:15 at heavyweight, while Patrick Aleksanyan (133) and Robert Sanders (149) also posted perfect 2-0 records on the day to help solidify NU’s lower weights.

Freshman Jon Burns made his career debut against Michigan, but lost an 8-0 major decision to fourth-ranked Kellen Russell at 141 pounds. Burns bounced back by pinning Northern Colorado’s Lance Gallegos in 2:53. Vince Jones and Brandon Browne also lost one match on the day to a ranked opponent. Top ranked Steve Luke of Michigan defeated Browne 6-2, while No. 11 Anthony Biondo earned a 9-6 decision over Jones. Both Huskers earned victories over Northern Colorado opponents in their second matches of the day.

Scouting Northwestern (7-1)
The Wildcats were ranked 10th in the NWCA’s preseason poll, but enter this weekend’s competition in the No. 20 spot with a 7-1 record. NU opened the dual season with three victories against Chattanooga (30-12), Eastern Michigan (23-13) and Kent State (21-8) at the Purdue Duals on Nov. 15. Northwestern won its first contest against Stanford (25-15) in a triangular on Nov. 23, but lost to UC Davis (23-15) later in the day. The Wildcats bounced back with three straight dual victories in December, over Northern Illinois (27-12), No. 25 Pittsburgh (20-18) and Clarion (29-3), respectively. In its latest competition, Northwestern finished fifth out of 47 teams the Midlands Championships in late December, earning two individual titles.

Individually, the Wildcats are led by All-Americans Jake Herbert at 184 pounds and Brandon Precin at 125 pounds. Herbert, a senior from Wexford, Pa., was the 2007 national champion at 184 pounds, but redshirted last season while attempting to make the U.S. Olympic team. He is ranked first in the country this season after a 16-0 start to the season, including placing first at Midlands. Precin, a junior from Orland Park, Ill., finished seventh at last year’s NCAA Championships with a 37-9 record. Precin also claimed a Midlands title this season, racking up a 16-1 mark to start the year, which earns him the No. 3 ranking. NCAA qualifier Keith Sulzer is 12-3 for the Wildcats at No. 16 in the country at 141 pounds, while freshman Jason Welch is ranked 17th at 157 pounds with a 15-3 record.

Husker History Versus Northwestern
Nebraska’s history against the Wildcats is fairly scarce. The Huskers hold a 7-2 all-time advantage over Northwestern, but four of those meetings came in the 1920s. Although Nebraska met the Wildcats last year at National Duals, the two programs previous meeting was in Evanston on Feb. 2, 1993, a dual the Huskers won en route to a third place finish at the NCAA Championships that season. Nebraska currently holds a five-dual winning streak over Northwestern.

In their most recent meeting, the Huskers won seven of the first eight matches to claim a 25-9 victory over the Wildcats in the first round of National Duals last year. Nebraska had outstanding performances from several wrestlers, but the most exciting match of the day went to Jordan Burroughs at 149 pounds. Burroughs, ranked sixth in the nation, squared off against No. 5 Ryan Lang of Northwestern. Burroughs battled the first two periods, but entered the third down 6-3. Lang tired in the final stanza as Burroughs scored three takedowns in the period, including one in the final two seconds, to earn the come-from-behind win.

Stephen Dwyer created some excitement of his own as he pinned Dominic Marella in 2:55 at 165 pounds. Dwyer tweaked his ankle midway through the first period and writhed on the mat in pain for several seconds. Dwyer took advantage of the injury timeout to recuperate and get some advice as he returned and pinned Marella within 30 seconds.

Vince Jones sealed the win as he collected a 19-8 major decision over Adil Kolovic at 184 pounds and Nebraska’s second bonus-point win of the dual.

Scouting Missouri (11-0)
The Tigers were busy during the fall semester, posting an 11-0 dual record while traveling to several dual tournaments in New York and California. Missouri’s record is impressive, but the Tigers have faced just two ranked foes during their run. MU collected dual wins over Lock Haven and Bucknell before defeating No. 16 Hofstra, 22-12, in the Tiger’s home opener on Nov. 22. Missouri then went 4-0 at the Northeast Duals on Nov. 29, earning a 29-9 victory over No. 20 Old Dominion in the opening round. The Tigers also traveled to the Central Coast Duals where they collected three more dual victories over California schools. In its most recent action, Missouri placed third at Midlands, behind eight placewinners. The Tigers enter National Duals ranked fifth in the nation, a spot they have held in every NWCA poll.

All six of Missouri’s ranked wrestlers have earned spots in the top 10 in the nation, including second-ranked Mark Ellis at heavyweight. Ellis, a junior from Peculiar, Mo., has a 20-1 record this season after going 5-0 at Midlands to finish first in his latest action. The two-time NCAA qualifier defeated two ranked foes to earn Big 12 Wrestler-of-the-Week Honors on Jan. 5. Fellow junior Max Askren is ranked fifth in the nation after winning the Big 12 last season and finishing seventh at the NCAA Championships. Askren has a 16-2 mark at 197 pounds and is fifth in the nation this year. The Tigers also return All-Americans Nick Marable and Raymond Jordan this season. Marable claimed a Big 12 title last season before earning third at the national tournament at 165 pounds. The junior started the season ranked No. 1, but an early-season loss and defeats in his last three matches have dropped him to eighth with an 11-5 record. Jordan claimed third at 184 pounds at the 2008 NCAA Championships with a 26-6 record. The senior dropped to 174 pounds this season and is sixth after opening the season with 18 straight wins. He is currently 19-2. Seniors Michael Chandler and Marcus Hoehn are No. 7 and No. 10 at 157 and 141, respectively.

Scouting Penn State (5-3)
Penn State comes to Cedar Falls with a 5-3 record in duals this season, but the Nittany Lions have faced four ranked opponents. PSU was ranked seventh in the preseason poll, but an 18-15 loss to unranked Hofstra in its first dual of the season dropped Penn State to 14th, where it enters National Duals. The Nittany Lions dropped a 24-10 dual to fourth-ranked Cornell, before picking up their first dual victory of the season at Sprawl and Brawl on Nov. 23. PSU went 3-0 at the tournament, picking up wins over No. 24 Virginia, No. 15 Edinboro and host-school Binghamton. In their most recent action, the Nittany Lions lost 17-16 to No. 9 Lehigh on Jan. 4, but defeated Lock Haven, 36-3.

Individually, Penn State has four wrestlers ranked in the latest NWCA poll, including three returning All-Americans. Junior Bubba Jenkins is the highest ranked Nittany Lion, earning the No. 2 spot behind Iowa’s Brent Metcalf, who he lost to the final of last year’s NCAA Championships at 149 pounds. Jenkins is 13-0 this season, including 8-0 in duals, and leads the team with seven major decisions. Fellow All-American Dan Vallimont is ranked eighth at 157 pounds after finishing third in the nation last season with a 32-3 record. The junior is 10-3 this year after losses to the third and fifth-ranked wrestlers at his weight. Senior Jake Strayer returns for PSU this season after claiming All-America honors with a seventh-place finish last year. He lost his first match of the season, but has rattled off seven consecutive victories since, including two wins over ranked foes. Freshman Quentin Wright is 14th in the nation at 174 pounds after knocking off No. 6 Alton Lucas of Hofstra in his first dual of the season.

Scouting the National Duals Field
After holding the No. 1 dual ranking the whole season, it comes as no surprise that Iowa earned the top seed at this year’s National Duals. The Hawkeyes will see plenty of familiar faces in Cedar Falls as eight of the 16 teams in the bracket are from the Big Ten. Several new teams also make appearances this season, as Wyoming, Buffalo and Cornell join the usual list of attendees at National Duals. This year’s field features 14 of the top 21 teams from the Jan. 6 NWCA poll, including the top six teams.

Three of the Big 12’s five teams will compete as Oklahoma and Oklahoma State decided to forgo the tournament, as they usually do. The Huskers enter the tournament seeded fourth, while fellow Big 12 competitor Missouri grabbed the fifth seed. The Tigers face Penn State in the opening round. Iowa State earned the highest seed for a Big 12 team at second and will dual Indiana in the first round.

The Huskers are seeded fourth to Cornell’s third, as Cornell picked up one more point than NU in the Jan. 6 NWCA poll. Nebraska has six wrestlers ranked in the top 20 after a 6-0 performance in duals this season, while Cornell is 1-0 with seven wrestlers ranked. NU would have to make it to the championship dual to face Cornell, but Husker fans have plenty of storylines before that. A possible second-round match against Big 12 foe Missouri looms, while a chance for redemption versus Iowa awaits in the semifinals. The Hawkeyes dismantled the Huskers in last year’s final, winning eight of the 10 matches.

Husker History at the National Duals
The Huskers are 46-27 in their 16 appearances at the National Duals. NU went 3-1 last year, knocking off three ranked opponents before losing to Iowa in the finals. It was the 10th time the Huskers have finished in the top five in the event’s history. NU finished in the top five four straight years, from 1993 to 1996. That run coincided with the event’s five-year run in Lincoln, which saw Nebraska host the National Duals from 1993 to 1997. Nebraska ran off 11 straight top-eight finishes from 1990 to 2000. A pair of runner-up finishes, in 1993 and 1996, highlighted NU’s participation in the event. In 1993, Nebraska clinched its bid to finals with a 24-20 upset of top-ranked Iowa. The win was clinched by Rulon Gardner at heavyweight with his 12-5 win over John Ostendorp.

No. 1
With the loss of Iowa State’s Jake Varner, junior Craig Brester moved from second at 197 pounds to the top-ranked wrestler in the nation in the latest NWCA rankings. The Howells, Neb., native spent the fall semester in the third or fourth slot, but a 15-0 start has catapulted Brester into the the No. 1 spot.

Burroughs Bounces Back
Junior Jordan Burroughs’ proudest accomplishment at Nebraska may be breaking the single-season dual takedown record last season, but the mark may fall this year. Burroughs and senior Brandon Browne have battled for the team lead through NU’s six duals this season. Browne briefly took a 19-18 advantage through four duals, but Burroughs posted an impressive 18 takedowns in two duals last Sunday to retake the lead. With both Huskers ranked in the top three at their respective weight class, many more takedowns are sure to come for Browne and Burroughs.

Big Time at the Big Weights
Nebraska has posted an impressive mark so far this season in the upper weights. In six duals, Nebraska has a 37-4 record from 149 pounds to heavyweight, including six wrestlers holding an undefeated dual record in that weight range.

Perfect So Far
Three Husker wrestlers remain in the ranks of the undefeated. Of NU’s 30 wrestlers that have competed, Jordan Burroughs (157), Craig Brester (197) and Ridge Kiley (125) still have unblemished records. Nebraska has 22 wrestlers with winning records in 2008-09.

Brester is 15-0 after earning two tournament titles at the Kaufman-Brand Open on Nov. 22 and the Las Vegas Invitational on Dec. 5-6. He has also picked up six dual victories. Likewise, Burroughs has won two tournaments, but only has five dual wins for a 14-0 mark. Kiley is 8-0 after finishing first in the amateur division at the Kaufman-Brand Open on Nov. 22 and competing in the UNK Loper Open on Dec. 13.

Sanders On The Move
Senior Robert Sanders made his season debut at 149 pounds against Minnesota on Dec. 21. A bit of a journeyman, Sanders has wrestled at three weight classes for the Huskers during his career. He qualified for the NCAA Championships at 149 pounds in 2006, but battled three other Huskers for the starting nod at 141 last season. Sanders started this season at 157, but dropped to 149 with the move up of Jordan Burroughs. Sanders made his debut a winning effort, as he secured a late reversal for the 7-5 victory against Minnesota’s Brian Peterson. Sanders continued his success last Sunday with dual wins against Michigan and Northern Colorado. He is tied for the team lead with 18 wins on the season, including a 4-0 mark in duals.

Tickets on Sale for Big 12 Wrestling Championships
The University of Nebraska has announced that tickets are now on sale for the general public for the 2009 Big 12 Wrestling Championships, which will be held at the NU Coliseum in Lincoln, Neb., on March 7. Fans can purchase tickets by calling the Nebraska Ticket Office at (800) 8-BIGRED or online at Huskers.com.

All-session tickets are $20 for reserved seating (north and south stands) and $15 for general admission (east and west balcony). Individual-session tickets will be available on March 7 for $8 reserved and $7 general admission. The first session begins at 11 a.m., while the second sessions commences at 4 p.m. Finals are contested at 7 p.m.

The Huskers host the conference tournament for the third time since the inception of the Big 12. Nebraska finished fourth when it hosted the event in 2000 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center and third at the Qwest Center in Omaha in 2005. This year’s tournament will be contested at the NU Coliseum, which holds more than 4,030 fans. The Coliseum is located in the heart of NU’s campus next to Memorial Stadium and has provided a thrilling match-day environment for fans, including hosting the National Duals from 1993 to 1997.

Running up the Rankings
The Huskers dropped to fourth in the latest NWCA dual rankings after defeating No. 15 Michigan and Northern Colorado on Jan. 4. NU moved up to as high as third after winning the Las Vegas Inviational. Nebraska started the season ranked sixth in the nation and has been ranked in the top 25 ever since the NWCA and InterMat polls combined in 2004, including 16 straight polls in the top 10.

The Wrestler Formerly Known as Jordan
Nebraska’s Jordan Burroughs is quickly earning a new nickname - OW. The junior from Winslow Township, N.J. has claimed three Oustanding Wrestler honors at three tournaments. He posted a technical fall and major decision en route to being named the Outstanding Wrestler at last year’s Big 12 Championships, while also earning the title at the Kaufman-Brand Open with a 5-0 record on the day and a defeat of former NCAA champion Dustin Schlatter of Minnesota. Burroughs picked up his third OW honor in early December at the Las Vegas Invitational when he posted another five wins, including two over All-Americans and another against a former NCAA champion in Cornell’s Jorden Leen.

Bonus-Point Brester
Craig Brester has been a bonus-point machine for the Huskers this season. A junior from Howells, Neb., Brester has posted a perfect 15-0 record so far, including 6-0 in duals. Fourteen of his 15 wins have come by bonus-points, including six pins, one technical fall and seven major decisions. Brester notched five pins in his first six matches, and has rolled from there. In early December, he went 5-0 at the Las Vegas Invitational to claim the title at 197 pounds. He started the tournament with a fall, posted his first technicall fall of the season in the second round, and finished with three straight major decisions. Currently, he has posted six consecutive major decisions.

Quickest Pin
The award for quickest pin so far this season goes to freshman Josh Ihnen at 184 pounds. Ihnen notched a 28 second fall of Morningside’s Joe Lockett at the UNK Loper Open on Dec. 13 to earn the honor. Ihnen has four pins on the year, while the Huskers as a whole have notched 68 so far.

Judging Jordan
Jordan Burroughs earned All-America honors with his third-place finish at last year’s NCAA Championships, but his proudest accomplishment may be setting Nebraska’s single-season dual takedown mark with 98 last season.

Judging by his performance in his five dual appearances this season, he may be well on his way to breaking the record again. He has notched 36 dual takedowns so far, including 18 in two duals on Jan. 4. With at least 13 duals left, and maybe more because of National Duals, Burroughs would have to average 4.7 takedowns per match to break the record. He would also have to appear in all of NU’s duals, a feat he accomplish last season when he averaged 5.8 takedowns per dual.

The Pin King
Vince Jones, Nebraska’s resident pin king, is back at it again this season. He led the Huskers in falls with 12 in 2005-06 and accomplished the feat again with 10 in 2007-08. The senior is well on his way again this season with eight pins already in 20 matches, including three straight to start the year.

Jones has some competition this season from junior Craig Brester, the Huskers’ 197-pounder. Brester is 15-0 on the year with six pins and one technical fall and seven major decisions. All of Brester’s falls have come in the first period, including one against No. 14 Andrew Anderson of Northern Iowa at the Kaufman-Brand Open on Nov. 22.

Non-Varsity Notes
Nebraska claimed four individual titles at the Dana Open on Jan. 3, as the Huskers sent a contingent of non-varsity wrestlers to Blair. Overall, seven NU wrestlers placed in the top eight.

Sophomore Andy Johnson and freshman Tyler Koehn posted 4-0 records to earn first at their respective weights. Wrestling at 174 pounds, Johnson pinned his first two opponents and collected two decisions, including a 7-2 victory over Nebraska-Omaha’s Ross Taplin in the final, en route to the crown. Koehn was just as effective at 157, earning a major decision and a pin to open the tournament and also defeating a Nebraska-Omaha opponent (Marvio Tischhauser) in the final. Johnson improved to 10-2 on the season, while Koehn is tied for the team lead with 18 wins on the year.

Freshman Josh Ihnen and sophomore Cameron Browne notched three wins each to place first at 184 and 197 pounds. Ihnen pinned his first opponent and won a major decision before defeating teammate Levi Wofford in the final. Browne posted a major decision to open the tournament before earning a technical fall in the final. Browne sports a 15-5 record with five major decisions, and Ihnen is 17-4 with 12 bonus-point victories.

Sophomore Alex Ward (165) and freshman Ross Grande (149) each placed fifth, while freshman Hadley Cooksley made his season debut at heavyweight.

Next up: Nebraska Battles Jackrabbits and Terrapins
The Huskers host a triangular for the third time this season, as South Dakota State and Maryland visit Lincoln on Jan. 18. Nebraska faces SDSU at 2 p.m. and UM at 4 p.m., while both opponents will dual at noon. NU squares off against the Jackrabbits for a third consecutive season, but duals the Terrapins for the first time since 2006. Tickets can be purchased by call (800) 8-BIGRED or online at Huskers.com.