Huskers Fall at No. 5 Minnesota, 28-14

Minneapolis, Minn. - The Huskers won two of the last three matches and seniors Craig Brester and Jordan Burroughs remained undefeated, but it was not enough overcome No. 5 Minnesota as the 12th-ranked Nebraska wrestling team fell to the Gophers, 28-14, on Thursday night in Minneapolis.

Senior Craig Brester gave the Huskers a boost in the second match of the dual at 197 pounds, pinning Minnesota's Joe Nord in 1 minute, 10 seconds. The Howells, Neb., native got an early takedown and then pinned Nord to give the Huskers an early 6-3 lead. Brester remains undefeated this season (12-0) and now has six falls in 2009-10, accounting for nearly 30 percent of his career-pin total (22).

Nebraska's lead would be short-lived, as Brester's victory was the Huskers' only win in the first seven bouts, with Minnesota building a 25-6 advantage on the strength of six ranked wrestlers.

Following a mouth injury at last weekend's Las Vegas Invitational, senior 157-pounder Jordan Burroughs made a strong comeback, using 11 takedowns to dominate Joe Grygelko en route to a 24-9 technical fall victory. Burroughs is unbeaten in his last 44 matches, including a 7-0 mark this season with four bonus-point wins.

Nebraska went on to win two of the last three matches, as 174-pound senior Stephen Dwyer used a takedown and two-point near fall in the first period on his way to a 9-3 decision. Dwyer is 10-1 this season with his lone loss coming in the championship match at the Las Vegas Invitational.

Thursday night was the third straight season the Huskers and Gophers met in a top-15 battle after the third-ranked Huskers edged the seventh-ranked Gophers in Lincoln on Dec. 21, 2008, 21-18.

Nebraska continues its northern road swing this Saturday, Dec. 12 in Brookings, S.D., as the Huskers meet South Dakota State at the Swiftel Center at 2 p.m.

No. 12 Nebraska vs. No. 5 Minnesota
Dec. 10, 2009
Williams Arena
Minneapolis, Minn.

184 - No. 18 Sonny Yohn (UM) wins by decision over Josh Ihnen (NU), 8-4 (UM 3, NU 0)
197 -No. 2 Craig Brester (NU) wins by fall over Joe Nord (UM), 1:10 (UM 3, NU 6)
HWT - No. 11 Ben Berhow (UM) wins by decision in overtime over No. 7 Tucker Lane (NU), 9-7 (UM 6, NU6)
125 - No. 4 Zach Sanders (UM) wins by technical fall over David Klingsheim (NU), 23-8 (UM 11, NU 6)
133 - No. 2 Jayson Ness (UM) wins by fall over Ridge Kiley (NU), 2:50 (UM 17, NU 6)
141 - No. 6 Mike Thorn (UM) wins by technical fall over Mike Koehnlein (NU), 19-4 (UM 22, NU 6)
149 - No. 9 Mario Mason (UM) wins by decision over Chris Hacker (NU), 3-1 (UM 25, NU 6)
157 - No. 1 Jordan Burroughs (NU) wins by technical fall over Joe Grygelko (UM), 24-9 (UM 25, NU 11)
165 - No. 4 Dustin Schlatter (UM) wins by decision over James Nakashima (NU), 8-3 (UM 28, NU 11)
174 - No. 3 Stephen Dywer (NU) wins by decision over Scott Glasser (UM), 9-3 (UM 28, NU 14)

No. 5 Minnesota 28, No. 12 Nebraska 14