Stephen Dwyer Season 2009-10

Awards & Honors

• Two-Time All-American (2008, 2010)
• Four-Time NCAA Championship Qualifier (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010)
• Big 12 Champion (2010)
• Two-Time Nebraska Most Dedicated Wrestler (2008, 2010)
• Two-Time NWCA All-Academic Team (2008, 2010)
• Two-Time First-Team Academic All-Big 12 (2009, 2010)
• Second-Team Academic All-Big 12 (2008)
• Six-Time Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll (Fall 2008, 2009, 2010; Spring 2007, 2009, 2010)

2009-10 (Senior)
NCAA Championships
Dwyer returned to the All-America podium by advancing to the semifinals in dominating fashion. Dwyer did not allow a point in three shutout victories to open the NCAA Championships, defeating Brad Darrington of Utah Valley (6-0), Doran Henderson of Missouri (5-0) and Jarion Beets of Northern Iowa (4-0). His bid for a national title ended in a narrow 3-2 loss to No. 1 Mack Lewnes of Cornell, who had not given up an offensive point all season. Dwyer rebounded with another shutout win over No. 10 Jordan Blanton of Illinois (9-0) in the consolation round, before falling to No. 3 Chris Henrich of Virginia in a 10-1 defeat to finish fourth.

Big 12 Championships
The top-seeded Dwyer lived up to his expectations to win the 2010 Big 12 championship, claiming a 9-5 decision over No. 6 Mike Benefiel of Oklahoma State in the title match. Dwyer's win marked the 18th Big 12 championship in NU history and the third straight at 174 pounds for NU. Dwyer won his semifinal match over No. 20 Duke Burk of Iowa State, 2-1.

Regular Season
Dwyer put his name in the NU record books Feb. 21 at Iowa State, winning his 100th career match with an 11-2 major decision over No. 20 Duke Burk of Iowa State. His victory marked the 18th Husker in school history to reach the century win total. Dwyer was 22-3 (18-2 in duals) during the regular season and ranked second on the team in dual points with 79. He had eight pins, including six in the first period. Prior to his senior season, Dywer had just three falls in her first three seasons combined and none as a junior.

Dwyer's three regular season losses came to No. 1 Mack Lewnes (Cornell), No. 2 Jay Borschel (Iowa) and No. 11 Colby Covington (Oregon State). He was undefeated at 10-0 before his first loss of the season to Lewnes, resulting in a runner-up finish at the 2009 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Dwyer cruised through the conference slate by pinning No. 15 Dorian Henderson (Missouri), taking major decisions over No. 18 Jeff James (Oklahoma) and Burk, while shutting out No. 10 Mike Benefiel (Oklahoma), 4-0. He defeated six ranked opponents during the regular season, including No. 5 Ben Bennett of Central Michigan by a 4-1 decision.

2008-09 (Junior)
NCAA Championships
The seventh-seeded wrestler, Dwyer went 2-2 at the national tournament to miss out on All-America honors. He opened with a 6-1 decision over No. 14 Mike Galante of Lehigh, but dropped a 5-2 match to No. 12 Andrew Rendoes of Bucknell. Dwyer rebounded with a 7-2 decision over Oregon State's Keegan Davis, but sixth-ranked Nick Marable of Missouri pulled out a last second 7-5 win over Dwyer in the second tiebreaker to eliminate the Husker.

Big 12 Championships
Dwyer entered the Big 12 Championships as the No. 3 seed, and wrestled on the winning and losing end of two exciting overtime matches. Dwyer upset second-seeded Jon Reader of Iowa State in the semifinals with a 7-3 decision in the tiebreaker, but lost in the final to top-seeded Nick Marable of Missouri in overtime, 3-1.

Regular Season
Dwyer posted a 5-0 record and a first-place showing at the Kaufman-Brand Open on Nov. 22 to start the season, before placing third at the Las Vegas Invitational on Dec. 6. He went 5-1 at the tournament with two technical falls and one major decision.

Dwyer picked up three bonus-point dual wins to propel Nebraska past Minnesota, Michigan and Northern Colorado to begin the New Year, before going 3-1 at National Duals Jan. 10-11, He lost to third-ranked Ryan Morningstar of Iowa, but defeated No. 5 Jon Reader of Iowa State.

Dwyer finished the regular season on a 7-2 run, picking up three wins over ranked foes. All four of Dwyer's regular-season losses were to top-13 opponents, including three in the top 10. Dwyer was ranked in the top seven the entire season, and finished with a 25-5 record, including 15-3 in duals, with three pins and eight major decisions.

2007-08 (Sophomore)
NCAA Championships
Dwyer earned his first All-America honor with an eighth-place finish and a 3-3 record at the NCAA Championships. Dwyer opened with a 13-4 major decision over Hofstra's Ryan Patrovich and added a 4-2 decision over Edinboro's Jarrod King in the second round.

A tiebreaker loss put him in the consolation bracket, but Dwyer rebounded with a 5-4 decision over Penn's Zack Shanaman to secure All-America honors. Dwyer ended his season with losses to Northern Iowa's Moza Fay and Iowa State's Jon Reader.

Big 12 Championships
Dwyer entered the Big 12 Championships seeded third, but captured a 3-1 sudden victory upset of second-seeded Jake Dieffenbach of Oklahoma State in the semifinals to advance. Both wrestlers notched escapes in regulation before Dwyer earned a takedown with 14 seconds left in overtime for the win.

In the finals, top-seeded Nick Marable of Missouri scored a takedown 30 seconds into the match, and neither wrestler could produce much offense after that. Marable escaped with a 3-2 victory as Dwyer finished second.

Regular Season
With his 32-10 record on the season, Dwyer claimed the 10th spot on the Husker sophomore wins list. He captured a title at the Cowboy Open with a 5-0 performance on Nov. 10. He followed with a third-place finish at the Kaufman-Brand Open by going 6-1 on Nov. 17.

A fifth-place showing at the Las Vegas Invite on Nov. 30, and his performance at the National Duals put him on the map. Dwyer was the only Husker to go 4-0 at the National Duals, including an opening-round pin of Northwestern's Dominic Marella in 2:55.

One of Dwyer's biggest wins of the season came with a 6-5 decision over No. 7 Jon Reader of Iowa State in Ames on Feb. 24. Dwyer went 2-2 against the Big 12 in the regular season, with both losses in extra time. His 12-3 dual record and eight major decisions ranked second on the team. Dwyer was ranked in the top 12 nationally for most of the season and climbed as high as No. 7.

2006-07 (Freshman)
NCAA Championships
Dwyer finished 1-2 in his first career trip to the NCAA Championships. After losing his first-round match to Michael Cannon of American, Dwyer captured an NCAA win with a 7-5 overtime victory over Max Dean of Indiana. Dwyer was eliminated with a 5-3 overtime loss to Roger Smith-Bergrud of Illinois. Dwyer was one of three Husker freshmen to qualify for nationals in 2007.

Big 12 Championships
Despite facing three ranked foes, Dwyer clinched a bid to the NCAA Championships with a third-place finish at the Big 12 Championships. In the first round, Dwyer dominated 18th-ranked Shane Siebert of Oklahoma in an 11-2 major decision victory. After an 8-5 loss to No. 1 Johny Hendricks of Oklahoma State in the semifinals, Dwyer upset No. 7 Matt Pell of Missouri in a 10-8 overtime victory to take third.

Regular Season
Dwyer started the season by winning 14 of his first 15 matches on his way to becoming Nebraska's starter at 165 pounds. He finished with a 19-13 record. He started the season by sweeping the amateur bracket at the Cowboy Open in Laramie, Wyo., on Nov. 11. He added a third-place finish at the Kaufman-Brand Open on Nov. 17.

Dwyer moved into the starting lineup and flourished as the Huskers' 165-pounder. He won his first varsity dual match by major decision over Ryan Meyer of South Dakota State, 16-5. After a 7-3 win over Devan Lewis of Northern Colorado, Dwyer won three straight matches in bonus-point fashion, including a pin of Wyoming's Kyle Morrow and back-to-back major decision wins over Keenan McCurdy of Nebraska- Kearney and Brett Arand of Oregon State.

Dwyer then faced seven straight ranked opponents, including six top-10 foes. He defeated No. 16 Shane Siebert of Oklahoma with a 4-1 win on Feb. 9. Dwyer picked up his last win of the regular season in a 5-1 triumph over Lehigh's Manuel Schubert.

Before Nebraska
The 2006 Illinois class AA state champion at Hononegah High School in Rockton, Ill., Dwyer finished his senior year with a 43-1 record. He was a runner-up at 152 pounds as a junior in 2005, finishing with a 35-6 record.

Personal
The son of David Dwyer and Lora Cook, Stephen was born March 2, 1988, in Rockford, Ill. He has two brothers, David, Jr., and Matthew and one sister, Natalie. He is a business administration major at NU.

Dwyer's Career Statistics

Year

Overall

Dual

Pins

TF

MD

2006-07 19-13 7-9 2 1 6 2007-08 32-10 12-3 1 1 8 2008-09 27-7 15-3 0 3 8 2009-10 28-5  18-2  8  1  4 

Totals

106-35

52-17

11

6

26