Ruiz Pins Loss on No. 25 Oregon State, 22-16

Lincoln, Neb..-- Redshirt freshman Justin Ruiz sparked the ninth-ranked Nebraska wrestling to a 22-16 win Friday night over 25th-ranked Oregon State at the Bob Devaney Sports Center with his pin in the first period over Jason Lovell at 197 pounds. Both squads won five matches, but NU scored bonus points at three weights, including a pair of pins and a major decision, en route to the victory.

The Huskers improved to 5-0 with the win, while Oregon State dropped to 5-2.

With the match tied 9-9 after the first five bouts, Ruiz gave the Huskers 15-9 lead it would not relinquish with his fall at the 1:49 mark. The pin was the first of the season for the fifth-ranked Ruiz, who improved 14-2 with the victory.

The dual started at 149 pounds, where Oregon State's Jordan Barich defeated sophomore Jeremy Baker, 9-4, to give the Beavers a 3-0 advantage.

Top-ranked Bryan Snyder (15-0) put the Huskers on top 6-3 with his fifth pin of the season, scoring the fall two minutes into the match over Micah Houston at 157 pounds. A native of Easton, Pa., Snyder has scored bonus points in each of his 15 wins this season (six technical falls, five pins and four major decisions).

The Beavers tied the dual up at six at 165 pounds with a 6-4 victory by Jed Pennell over senior Tony Denke, who fell to 7-3 on the season. OSU then went up by three as fifth-ranked Nathan Coy notched a 7-2 win over redshirt freshman George Kirgan.

In the closest match of the evening, redshirt freshman Travis Pascoe tied the dual at nine, with 3-1 win in sudden victory overtime over Issac Weber. Pascoe, who improved to 11-2, scored a takedown with five seconds remaining in the overtime period to tally the victory.

After Ruiz put the Huskers up six, Oregon State heavyweight Jason Cooley put the team score to 15-12 with a 6-1 decision over junior Pat Miron, who dropped to 5-8 on the year.

Sophomore Jason Powell and Joey Malia sealed the win for the Huskers win a pair of wins at 125 and 133 pounds, respectively. Powell's 11-2 major decision over Michael Delaney upped his season mark to 13-1, while Malia improved to 7-3 on the year with a 7-5 decision over Tim Norman.

In the final bout of the dual, 20th-ranked Casey Horn tallied a 13-2 major decision against sophomore Dusty Spaulding, to put the final team score to 22-16.

NU returns to the mat tomorrow night against Big 12 foe and 17th-ranked Missouri starting at 7 p.m. in the Devaney Center.

#9 Nebraska 22, #25 Oregon State 16 (Dual Match Play-by-Play)
149 Jordan Barich (OSU) dec. Jeremy Baker (NU), 9-4 OSU 3, NU 0
157 #1 Bryan Snyder (NU) by fall over Micah Houston (OSU), 2:00 NU 6, OSU 3
165 Jed Pennell (OSU) dec. Tony Denke (NU), 6-4 NU 6, OSU 6
174 #5 Nathan Coy (OSU) dec. George Kirgan (NU), 7-2 OSU 9, NU 6
184 #9 Travis Pascoe (NU) dec. Issac Weber (OSU), 3-1, SV OSU 9, NU 9
197 #5 Justin Ruiz (NU) by fall over Jason Lovell (OSU), 1:49 NU 15, OSU 9
HWT Jason Cooley (OSU) dec. Pat Miron (NU), 6-1 NU 15, OSU 12
125 #5 Jason Powell (NU) maj. dec. Michael Delaney (OSU), 11-2 NU 19, OSU 12
133 Joey Malia (NU) dec. Tim Norman (OSU), 7-5 NU 22, OSU 12
141 #20 Casey Horn (OSU) maj. dec. Dusty Spaulding (NU), 13-2 NU 22, OSU 16