Huskers Heads East for Two Matches

Lincoln -- The ninth-ranked Nebraska wrestling team will take to the road for the first time as they travel to Hempstead, N.Y. for two duals against Rutgers and 11th-ranked Hofstra, Saturday Nov. 29. The Huskers will face off against the Scarlet Knights at 11 a.m. before facing the Pride at 7 p.m.

Scouting the Scarlet Knights/Pride
Rutgers returns eight starters and four NCAA qualifiers from last season's 10-6 squad. The Scarlet Knights are led by two-time NCAA qualifier Greg Austin at 149 pounds. Austin finished last season with a 23-8 record and will be competing for the first time this season against the Huskers. Rutgers lone ranked wrestler is transfer Donnie Defilippis. After wrestling last season at George Mason, Delilipis is currently ranked 17th in the nation in the 157-pound weight class. Amir Kahn (157) leads the Scarlet Knight with eight wins, while 174-pounder Andrew Roy is 7-0. Rutgers is coached by John Sacchi, who is in enters his 12th season at Rutgers. He owns a 124-69-5 record at Rutgers and a career mark of 404-127-9 in 30 seasons of coaching.

Hofstra returns nine NCAA qualifiers from last season's team that finished with a 13-7 dual mark and a 21st-place showing at the NCAA Championships. The Pride is led by two-time All-American Chris Skretkowicz, who enters the match against Nebraska ranked second in the nation at 197 pounds. Skretkowicz will bring a 9-0 record into the match against NU. Skretkowicz has not been scored upon all season. Last season, Skretkowicz went 1-2 last seasona against the Huskers. Hofstra's other standout is three-time NCAA qualifier Noel Thompson (174). Last season, Thompson wrestled at the 165 pound weight class but has moved up one this class this season. Thompson brings a 9-0 record into the match against NU. The other ranked Pride wrestlers are Tom Noto (No. 9, 125), Paul Siemon (No. 11, 157), Ralph Everett (No. 11, 165), Brad Christie (No. 11, 184), Nik Feteke (No. 11, HWT). Hofstra is coached by Tom Ryan who owns a career record of 70-64-1 in eight seasons at Hofstra.

A win for NU would mean....
With victories over Rutgers and Hofstra this Saturday, the Huskers would

• Start 5-0 for the third consecutive season
• Be Head Coach Mark Manning's 40th win at Nebraska 
• Give NU its fourth straight win over a ranked opponent (Hofstra)
• Give NU its sixth straight dual win dating back to last season
• Give NU its first road victories since a 22-21 victory over Cal Poly on Jan. 18.

The Last Time We Met
This is the first meeting in school history between Nebraska and Rutgers. The Huskers own a record of 2-0 against the Pride both last season. The Huskers faced off and defeated the Pride 22-17 in the quarterfinals of the Virginia Duals behind a Mitch Manstedt victory and posted a 21-18 decision in Lincoln on Feb. 22.

Last Time Out
Behind pins from junior Travis Pascoe and sophomore B.J. Padden, Nebraska improved to 3-0 on the season with a 31-10 victory over 22nd-ranked Boise State Friday, Nov. 21st at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. Nebraska won seven of 10 matches on the night

Leading by six points heading into the final three weight classes, Pascoe pinned Casey Phelps in 3:57 at 184 pounds to give NU a 22-10 lead. After Pascoe’s victory, Padden defeated 16th-ranked K.C. Walsh in 2:27 at 197 pounds. Padden, who wrestled last season at 184 pounds, improved to 3-0 on the year and has won all three of his matches by pin.

Huskers in the Rankings
In the preseason Intermat rankings, the Huskers enter the poll at No. 9. They are the third-highest ranked Big 12 school, following No. 1 Oklahoma State and fourth ranked Iowa State. Missouri follows at No. 6 with Oklahoma rounding out the Big 12 schools at No. 17.

In individual rankings, senior 125-pounder Jason Powell is No.1 according to Intermat. Senior 133-pounder Joey Malia enters at No. 18, followed by junior Travis Shufelt at 149 pounds who is seventh, junior B.J. Wright enters at 17th (157). Sophomore Jacob Klein is 23th at 165 pounds, junior Travis Pascoe is fifth at 184 pounds, while sophomore, junior, heavyweight Mitch Manstedt is 15th. B.J. Padden enters the rankings at No 13.

Huskers face Weight Changes
With the loss of two-time All-American Justin Ruiz to an Olympic redshirt, Head Coach Mark Manning has been forced to make some changes in the starting lineup. Two-time NCAA qualifier Travis Pascoe returns to the 184-pound weight class after competing last season at 174 pounds. Sophomore B.J. Padden has move up one weight class to 197 pounds after wrestling at 184 in 2002-03. Sophomore Kyle Gubbels is battling senior jason High for the starting position at 174 pounds. Gubbels wrestled last season at 197 pounds.

Huskers Strong at Home
With a victory over Boise State on Nov. 21, NU recorded its 10th victory in its last 11 home matches. The Huskers have won seven straight at home, losing to only third-ranked Minnesota last January. In the 10 dual wins in that stretch, NU has defeated four ranked opponents. The average margin of victory during this stretch is 17.9 points

Manstedt Out
Mark Manning announced that junior heavyweight Mitch Manstedt is out for a significant amount of time after suffering a knee injury in practice. Manstedt, who finished last season with a 22-11 record will be replaced by senior Nathan McClain. McClain a native of Flora Vista, N.M. is off to a 2-0 start this season after finishing last year with a 15-6 record. Manstedt was victorious in his only match this season.

Huskers to Be Shown on CSTV
The University of Nebraska wrestling team is scheduled to have two duals to be televised on College Sports Television this season. Nebraska's matches against Missouri on Jan. 25 and Iowa State on Feb. 17 are slated to be seen live. Wrestling legends Dan Gable and Jeff Blatnick will call the action on selected CSTV telecasts.

Huskers Ink Four
Head Coach Mark Manning announced that four wrestlers have signed National Letters-of-Intent to wrestle for the Huskers beginning in 2004-05. The signees include Chris Oliver of Omaha Creighton Prep, Paul Donahoe of Davison, Mich., Matt Nelson of Wayne, Neb., and Mike Rodgers of Easton, Pa.

Oliver, a three-time state champion, is 97-0 during his prep career and was won state titles at 103, 119 and 140 pounds. He picked NU over Minnesota. His father, Ray, wrestled for NU from 1981 to 1983, earning All-American honors in 1983.
Donahoe, a two-time national junior freestyle champion, picked NU after receiving offers from Michigan and Michigan State. Competing for Davison High School, Donahoe won state titles in 2000 and 2001 at 103 pounds and finished second last year at 119.

Nelson is a three-time place winner and is the defending state champion at 135 pounds. Rodgers is currently ranked second in the nation at 145 pounds and is a three-time place winner for Easton High. Rodgers is from the same high school that produced four-time Big 12 champion and All-American Bryan Snyder and current Husker Chad Sportelli

Manning Named Finalist for Olympic Wrestling Coaching Position
University of Nebraska wrestling head coach Mark Manning has been named a finalist for an Olympic wrestling coaching position for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Manning along with Tom Brands of Iowa City, Iowa, Bruce Burnett of Annapolis, Md., Bobby Douglas of Ames, Iowa and Zeke Jones of Morgantown, W. Va. were also named to the list. Manning was the Head Coach for the 2001 U.S. Freestyle World Team. He also served on the coaching staff of the 1996 and 2000 U.S. Olympic teams. He served as the assistant coach of the 1997 U.S. Freestyle World Team, which placed sixth in the team standings. He served on the coaching staff of the U.S. World team five times.

Huskers Again Face Difficult Schedule
Nebraska is scheduled to face some of college wrestling's top programs this season. The Huskers are to face nine of InterMat's Preseason top 25-poll, including defending national champion Oklahoma State in Stillwater on Feb. 7. In addition to facing the Cowboys, the Huskers will face three other to the preseason top 10 teams. The Huskers will square off against No. 4 Iowa State, No. 7 Missouri, No. 8 Minnesota, along with No. 17 Oklahoma, No. 20 Arizona State, No. 21 North Carolina. Nebraska defeated No. 23 Boise State, 31-10 last week.

Non-Varsity Schedule
The Husker non-varsity and freshmen will also have a full schedule during the 2003-04 season beginning with the South Dakota State Open on November 8. Upcoming tournaments include the Northern Iowa Open (Dec. 6), before finishing up with the UNK Open (Dec. 13), Dana College (Jan. 3), Glen Brand Open and Denker Open (Jan. 10) and Missouri Valley Open (Jan. 31)

At the Kaufman/Brand Open in Omaha on Nov. 22 six wrestlers placed, led by freshman heavyweight Jon May and sophomore 133-pounder Dominick Moyer. May defeated Josh Leadingfox of Central Oklahoma, 6-2 to take the 20 & under division title, while Moyer finished second to Ellsworth's Mario Galanakis.

At 125 pounds, sophomore Chad Sportelli finished fourth after dropping his consolation final to UNK’s Trevor Charbonneau, 7-3. Freshman Derek Pirner added a fifth-place showing for NU at 133 pounds. At 197 pounds, freshman Chad Espinoza went 4-1 on the day recording a third-place finish defeating Cody Nehl of South Dakota State, 8-4 in the consolation final.

NU’s final place winner of the day was sophomore Matt Keller, who earned a fourth-place showing at 133 pounds in the open division.

Up Next
The Huskers will next be in action on Dec. 5-6, when they travel to Las Vegas, Nev., for the Cliff Keen Invitational.