No. 2 Minnesota Defeats Huskers, 26-12

Lincoln -- Second-ranked Minnesota handed the eighth-ranked Nebraska wrestling team its first loss of the season Thursday night with a come from behind 26-12 victory. NU could not capitalize on a 12-7 advantage, dropping the final five matches of the night to the Gophers in front of 1,461 fans at the Bob Devaney Sports Center, as Minnesota improves to 6-1, while the Huskers fall to 9-1.

Trailing 7-0 after the first two bouts of the night, NCAA champion Brad Vering cut the Gopher lead to one with a dominating pin over Eli Ross just 1:49 in the match. With the win, Vering upped his overall record to 16-0 and improved his win streak to 21 dating back to last season.

At heavyweight, sophomore Pat Miron snapped a seven-match losing streak with a 3-1 overtime victory over Mike Flanagan to give the Huskers a 9-7 lead.

Redshirt freshman Jason Powell gave NU a five-point cushion with a 13-11 upset over Minnesota's third-ranked Leroy Vega. Powell, who is currently ranked sixth, improves to 14-3 on the year with his fourth victory of the season over top-10 opponents.

Top-ranked Todd Beckerman suffered his first loss on the year in a 7-4 decision to third-ranked Brett Lawrence at 133 pounds. Beckerman trailed by just one, 3-2, in the third period, but Lawrence scored two takedowns in the final minute to come away with the upset. Beckerman falls to 14-1 on the year.

At 141 pounds, true freshman Dusty Spaulding gave sixth-ranked Chad Erikson all he could handle, scoring a two-point near fall in the third period to cut Erikson's lead to 6-5. But Spaulding could not put up anymore points after that, as Erikson would go on to score a reversal and a riding time point, winning 9-5.

With Minnesota leading 13-12, the Gopher's third-ranked Jared Lawrence pinned NU's 149-pound redshirt freshman Travis Baker in 5:45 to take a 19-12 advantage with two matches remaining.

Minnesota's fifth-ranked Luke Becker sealed the win for the Gophers at 157 pounds with a 4-3 upset victory over second-ranked Bryan Snyder. Becker scored a takedown with just two seconds remaining giving Snyder, 15-1, his first loss of the season.

At 165 pounds, third-ranked Brad Pike closed out the scoring for Minnesota with a 16-6 major decision over junior Tony Denke, putting the final team tally to 26-12.

Nebraska returns to the mat, next weekend, Jan. 20-21, at the prestigious Cliff Keen/NWCA National Duals in College Park, Pa.

#8 Nebraska 12, #2 Minnesota 26
174 pounds	#13 Matt Kraft (UM) dec. #10 Ati Conner (NU), 9-5	UM 3, NU 0
184 pounds	#4 Damien Hahn (UM) maj. dec. Matt Fletcher (NU), 19-8	UM 7, NU 0
197 pounds	#1 Brad Vering (NU) by fall over Eli Ross (UM), 1:49	UM 7, NU 6
Heavyweight	Pat Miron (NU) dec. Mike Flanagan (UM), 3-1	NU 9, UM 7
125 pounds	#6 Jason Powell (NU) dec. #3 Leroy Vega (UM), 13-11	NU 12, UM 7
133 pounds	#3 Brett Lawrence (UM) dec. #1 Todd Beckerman (NU), 7-4	NU 12, UM 10
141 pounds	#6 Chad Erikson (UM) dec. Dusty Spaulding (NU), 9-5	UM 13, NU 12
149 pounds	#3 Jared Lawrence (UM) by fall over Travis Baker (NU), 5:45	UM 19, NU 12
157 pounds	#5 Luke Becker (UM) dec. #2 Bryan Snyder (NU), 4-3	UM 22, NU 12
165 pounds	#3 Brad Pike (UM) dec. Tony Denke (NU), 16-6	UM 26, NU 12