No. 7 Huskers Welcome No. 11 Wisconsin for 2009-10 Opener

Dual 1: #11 Wisconsin vs. #7 Nebraska
Date: Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009
Time: 1 p.m. CT
Location: NU Coliseum, Lincoln, Neb.
Live Stats: Huskers.com
Live Video: Huskers NSide (subscription required)
Promotions: First 50 UNL students with N-Card receive free Valentino's pizza and Nebraska Wrestling T-shirt

The seventh-ranked Nebraska wrestling team kicks off the 2009-10 season when it hosts the eleventh-ranked Wisconsin Badgers of the Big Ten Conference Sunday, Nov. 15 at the NU Coliseum at 1 p.m. The season-opening dual is the first of nine ranked opponents the Huskers will face this season, according to InterMat's preseason rankings. Sunday's match, in addition to the entire home campaign, will be video-streamed live on Huskers.com with a subscription to Huskers NSide, while free live stats will also be provided.

The Huskers are coming off a 17-3-1 season that included a share of the Big 12 title and NU's second-straight fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships. Nebraska returns four national qualifiers from a year ago, led by senior 157-pounder Jordan Burroughs. A native of Sicklerville, N.J., Burroughs completed an undefeated 35-0 season en route to the 2009 national championship. Burroughs is the only unbeaten national champion in school history and will attempt to become Nebraska's first-ever two-time individual national champion in 2009-10.

Senior Craig Brester is a returning All-American as well at 197 pounds, after he reached the finals at the 2009 NCAA Championships, before suffering a 2-1 defeat to Iowa State's Jake Varner in the title match. The Huskers also bring back national qualifers Stephen Dwyer (Sr., 174 pounds) and Tucker Lane (So., HWT).

Wisconsin has three wrestlers in the InterMat preseason individual rankings, including senior Kyle Ruschell (No. 2, 149), sophomore Andrew Howe (No. 3, 165) and freshman Tyler Graff (No. 10, 133). Nebraska's ranked individuals are Burroughs (No. 1, 157), Brester (No. 2, 197), Dwyer (No. 6, 174) and Lane (No. 9, HWT).

Fans can purchase tickets on match day at the NU Coliseum, by visiting Huskers.com or by calling 1-800-8-BIG-RED. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for youth/seniors. Students get in free with an NCard. This Sunday, the first 50 students who show their NU ID at the marketing table in the main lobby will receive a free slice of Valentino's pizza and a free Nebraska Wrestling T-shirt.

Scouting the No. 11 Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin ended the 2008-09 season with a 9-8 dual record and sixth-place finish in the Big Ten Conference. The Badgers return seven starters off a squad that placed ninth at the NCAA Championships. A pair of All-Americans return in senior Kyle Ruschell (149) and sophomore Andrew Howe (165). Head coach Barry Davis is in his 16th season at Wisconsin, where he has produced a 164-108-10 record.

The Badgers begin the 2009-10 season on Friday night when they host Old Dominion in Madison.

Husker History vs. Wisconsin
Sunday will be Nebraska's first dual against Wisconsin since the 2004-05 season, when the Huskers and Badgers fought to a 19-19 tie at the Lone Star Duals in Grand Prairie, Texas. NU's last victory over UW came on Jan. 6, 2001, a 24-17 win, also at the Lone Star Duals. The Badgers lead the all-time series, 7-3-2.

Last Time Out: Huskers Gear Up for Season at Wrestle-Offs
The seventh-ranked Nebraska wrestling team had its first taste of competition for the 2009-10 season, as the Huskers hosted the annual Wrestle-Offs at the Devaney Center on Friday, Nov. 6. Nearly 200 high school coaches from across the region were in attendance, as the Wrestle-Offs were held in conjunction with the 2009 Fall Coaches Clinic.

Led by four returning national qualifiers, defending 157-pound national champion Jordan Burroughs dominated his only match of the night, pinning freshman Michael Klinginsmith (1:24).

A 2009 All-American, senior 197-pounder Craig Brester defeated junior Cameron Browne by technical fall, 16-0, while senior Stephen Dwyer (174 lbs) and sophomore Tucker Lane (HWT) each went 2-0. Dwyer won a major decision bout (22-8) over redshirt freshman Ethan Studebaker and defeated freshman Caleb Kolb by a 10-3 decision. Lane pinned redshirt freshman Alex Thomas and downed senior Levi Wofford (8-4 decision).

165-pound junior Alex Ward led the Huskers in victories, producing an undefeated 3-0 record with victories over freshman Jerad Gubbels (major dec., 10-2), junior James Nakashima (tech. fall, 19-4) and redshirt freshman Tyler Koehn (dec., 3-2).

Mike Koehnlein, a 141-pound junior college transfer from West Minster, Calif., dominated each of his matches, pinning freshman Matt Rasmussen (2:48) after he opened the night with a 15-0 technical fall victory over freshman Frankie Odierno. Koehnlein's pin was one of six at the Wrestle-Offs, joining falls by Burroughs, Lane, Gubbels, Odierno and redshirt freshman Chris Hacker.

Three Huskers Invited to NWCA All-Star Classic
Three Huskers have been invited to the 44th NWCA All-Star Classic, as seniors Jordan Burroughs (157), Craig Brester (197) and Stephen Dwyer (174) will compete in the 20-man field on Nov. 22 in Fullerton, Calif., at 4 p.m. The All-Star Classic features 20 of the top wrestlers in the nation. This year's competitors are all ranked in the top-seven of their respective weight classes.

Brester will be part of arguably the most anticipated match of the day, as he will take on Iowa State's Jake Varner in a rematch of the 2009 national championship. Burroughs will face second-ranked Matt Moley of Bloomsburgh, while Dwyer takes on No. 3 Chris Henrich of Virginia.

Burroughs is one of three defending national champions participating in the NWCA All-Star Classic, joining Varner and Missouri's Mark Ellis (HWT).

While Burroughs, Brester and Dwyer are competing at the All-Star Classic, the majority of the Husker wrestling team will stay in-state at the Kaufman-Brand Open in Omaha, Neb. (Nov. 21).

2009 NWCA All-Star Classic Schedule
125: #2 Anthony Robles (Arizona State) vs. #4 Zach Sanders (Minnesota)
133: #4 Steve Bell (Maryland) vs. #5 Daniel Dennis (Iowa)
141: #2 Nick Gallick (Iowa State) vs. #3 Alex Krom (Maryland)
149: #2 Lance Palmer (Ohio State) vs. #5 Kyle Borshoff (American)
157: #1 Jordan Burroughs (Nebraska) vs. #2 Matt Moley (Bloomsburg)
165 :#4 Jonathan Reader (Iowa State) vs. #6 Andrew Rendos (Bucknell)
174: #3 Chris Henrich (Virginia) vs. #7 Stephen Dwyer (Nebraska)
184: #4 Max Askren (Missouri) vs. #5 Josh Patterson (Binghamton)
197: #1 Jake Varner (Iowa State) vs. #2 Craig Brester (Nebraska)
HWT: #1 Mark Ellis (Missouri) vs. #5 David Zabriskie (Iowa State)

Former Husker Gardner to be Inducted into National Wrestling Hall of Fame
Responsible for one of the greatest Olympic upsets of all-time, former Husker wrestler Rulon Gardner has been chosen as one of four 2010 inductees into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum.

Gardner's shining moment came in the 2000 Olympics, when he shocked the sports world with a 1-0 overtime victory over Russia's Alexander Karelin in the Greco-Roman super heavyweight gold medal match. Karelin was a three-time Olympic gold medalist and had not lost an international match in 13 years, including the last six without giving up a point. Gardner's upset helped the former Husker earn numerous prestigious honors, including the 2001 Jesse Owens Award, a 2001 ESPY (U.S. Male Olympic Athlete of the Year) and the 2001 United States Olympic Committee's Sportsman of the Year honor.

At Nebraska, Gardner was a 1993 All-American after he finished fourth in the heavyweight division at the NCAA Championships, helping the Huskers to a third-place team finish. A native of Afton, Wyo., Gardner lettered two seasons for the Big Red after he transferred to Nebraska from Ricks Junior College in Rexburg, Idaho, where he was an NJCAA national champion (1991) and two-time All-American (1990-91).

Along with his 2000 Olympic gold medal, Gardner was a four-time U.S. Nationals Greco-Roman champion (1995, 1997, 2000 and 2001), earned bronze at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and won international titles at the 1996 World Cup, the 1998 and 2000 Pan American Games and the 2001 World Championships. He most recently contributed as a television analyst for NBA during the 2008 Olympics.

"I want to thank our Board of Governors and the various screening and selection committees involved in the six-month process that determines our honorees for induction. This is another exceptional class of inductees whose merits transcend our sports impact upon society," said Lee Roy Smith, Executive Director of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum.

David Auble, Russell Camilleri and Lincoln McIlravy join Gardner in the 2010 class, which will be inducted during the Honors Weekend Banquet and Induction Ceremony in Stillwater, Oklahoma, June 4-5, 2010. The Hall of Fame's Board of Governors approved this year's selections at its semi-annual meeting in Kansas City last week.

Former National Champion Powell Returns to NU Wrestling
A familiar face is back with the Nebraska wrestling program as the Husker coaching staff announced former national champion Jason Powell has been hired as an assistant coach. Powell will be working immediately with the 2009-10 Huskers that are coming off the 2009 Big 12 co-championship.

Powell is now part of Nebraska's Performance staff as an assistant strength coach after finishing his collegiate career as one of the most decorated wrestlers in school history. The Midwest City, Okla., native claimed the 2004 national championship at 125 pounds with a 17-2 technical fall over Kyle Ott of Illinois. The win wrapped up a 26-2 season for Powell, as he helped lead NU to its first top-five finish at the NCAA Championships since 1996. As a junior, he finished third at the 2003 national meet following a fifth-place finish in 2002. Powell ranks 10th on the all-time win chart with 109.

A 2004 graduate with a degree in sociology, Powell was a three-time All-American and four-year team captain, before furthering his career with a fourth-place finish at the U.S. Nationals in the freestyle competition. Since graduation, Powell spent time as a volunteer coach and administrative assistant for the Huskers followed by stints as an assistant coach at the University of Oregon and the University of Maryland.

The Midwest City, Okla., native was a three-time high school state champion, three-time Junior Greco-Roman National Champion, a two-time Junior Freestyle national Champion, and a member of the Junior World team, where he placed second in the 1998 Junior World Freestyle Championships.

Powell joins an experienced coaching staff that has a combined 23 years of service at Nebraska.

Huskers.com Adds NU Wrestling Blog
Huskers.com has announced an addition to the wrestling page with the start of the NU Wrestling Blog, another place to visit when looking to stay up-to-date and follow everything surrounding Husker wrestling. On the blog, you will find some interesting news, notes and tidbits surrounding the team as we go through the 2009-10 season.

The goal for the blog is to help fans and media stay in tune daily with what's going on with the Huskers and get inside the program. The blog will include anything that fans might find interesting, but maybe isn't newsworthy or lengthy enough for its own press release. You can expect all kinds of notes, learn about the upcoming opponents and hear what the coaches are saying throughout the season.

On match days, check out the blog for the latest updates as the Huskers get ready to take the mat.

In addition, there should be a lot of exciting news as the NCAA Championships get closer. This year's national meet takes place at Qwest Center Omaha from March 18-20 and is co-hosted by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

E-mail bgries@huskers.com if you have any questions or suggestions about the blog.