Huskers Look to Rebound

Lincoln -- The second-ranked Nebraska (17-2) wrestling team will look to rebound after suffering a 25-9 loss to No. 1 Oklahoma State, last Saturday when the Huskers face off against North Carolina on Saturday, Feb. 14 at the NU Coliseum beginning at 7 p.m.

Scouting the Opponent
The defending ACC championships enter the match with the Cornhuskers having dropped four of its last five duals. Before the face the Huskers, UNC scheduled to wrestler North Carolina State on Wednesday, Feb. 11 in Raleigh, N.C.

The Tar Heels are led by senior heavyweight Ryan Adams. Adams led the team in wins with 23 and pins with four. Adams has earned three top-10 finishes in tournaments to go along with his 23-8 record. The other standout Tar Heel is junior Mark Canty, who is second on the team in wins with 20. He has added three top-five finishes, including a second-place showing at the Rubbermaind Open.

The Tar Heels are coached by C.D. Mock who is in his first season in Chapel Hill.

The Series vs. North Carolina/ACC
The Huskers have faced off against the Tar Heels five times winning four, with the last meeting in 1997 in the first round of the National Duals in which, Nebraska won 19-16.

Against the ACC, the Huskers own an all-time record of 18-3-0 with NU winning its only match up vs. the ACC this year was against Virginia, 31-10 in the first round of the Virginia Duals on Jan. 9

A Win this weekend for NU this weekend would mean.
* the most home wins since NU also recorded nine during the 1993-94 season.
* the most overall victories since recording 21 during the 21 wins during the 1989-90 season
* Give NU the most home wins during Mark Manning's tenure

Huskers Have Carolina Connection
Head Coach Mark Manning got his collegiate coaching start at the University of North Carolina. Manning was an assistant coach for Bill Lam at North Carolina from 1985-94 helping lead the Tar Heels to seven top-20 finishes, including a sixth and seventh-place showing during the 1985, 1986 seasons. As an assistant, Manning coached 26 conference champions, 15 All-Americans and two national champions.

Last Time Out
Jason Powell became the 15th wrestler in school history to record 100 career victories with his 7-4 decision over Cody Stites of Oklahoma State but it wasn't enough as the top-ranked Cowboys defeated the Huskers 25-9 last Saturday.

Oklahoma State won seven of 10 matches as Matt Murray and B.J. Padden recorded the only other wins.

NU/ISU set for Feb. 26
The wrestling dual between second-ranked Nebraska and seventh-ranked Iowa State has been rescheduled for Thursday, Feb. 26, in Ames, Iowa. The dual is slated to begin at 7 p.m. at the Hilton Coliseum.

The dual was originally scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 5, but was postponed due to bad weather conditions.

Powell Hits Century Mark
With a 7-5 victory over Cody Stites of Oklahoma State last Saturday, top-ranked Jason Powell became the 15th wrestler in school history to win 100 career matches.

Powell is tied with three-time All-American Temoer Terry and sits one win behind two-time All-American Chris Nelson for 13th place on the all-time victories list.

Huskers Receiving Honors
Travis Pascoe and Jacob Klein each have received the Big 12 Wrestler of the Week award during the 2003-04 season.

Pascoe received the honor for his action during the month of December, when he went 9-0, including a first-place finish at the Cliff Keen Invitational. He also received the CSTV national wrestler of the week for posting two victories over Rutgers and Hofstra on Nov. 29.

Klein won the honor for the week of Jan. 18-25 after leading the Huskers to a victory over Missouri on Jan. 24 as he defeated defending Big 12 champion, Tyron Woodly. The victory over Woodley was Klein's first victory over a ranked opponent this season.

He also received the CSTV national Wrestler of the Week award for his victory over Woodley.

Huskers Place Six Grapplers on Big 12 Honor Roll
The University of Nebraska wrestling team placed six wrestlers on the Fall 2003 Big 12 Commissioners Honor Roll. Senior Jeremy Baker (Community Heath), Jeremy Emerson (Architectural Studies), Trevor Hall (Chemical Engineering), Matt Murray (Mathematics Education), Chris Nedens (Diverse Ag. Studies) and B.J Wright (Finance) were the honorees. The honor roll includes all students-athletes who achieved a 3.0 GPA or better during the semester.

Manning Records Career Coaching Victory No. 75
With a 26-9 victory over Arizona State on Jan. 30, Mark Manning recorded his 75th career coaching victory. In his seventh season as a head coach Manning has produced a record of 75-48-2. At his previous stop, Manning owned a record of 23-24-2, while at Nebraska he owns a mark of 52-24-0 and recorded his 50th coaching win at Nebraska against Wyoming on Jan. 17.

Huskers Rolling Up the Points
After recording 30 or more points on Jan. 16-17 against both Air Force and Wyoming, the Huskers have now scored 30 or more points in 15 of their last 19 duals.

Huskers Just Dominating
In fact, Nebraska averages better than 30 points in duals this season, outscoring opponents by an average of 33.0-6.4 in duals (619-123 total points). Fourteen of Nebraska’s 17 dual victories this season have been by 20 points or more, with six victories by 40 or more points.

Huskers Reach 17 Dual Wins
With the victory over Arizona State on Jan. 30, the Huskers raised its season win total to 17. The 17 wins are the most in Mark Manning’s four seasons at Nebraska. This season also marks the 12th time since 1990-91 that NU has recorded double-digit wins.

This marks the third time in four seasons that NU has reached the 10-win plateau under Manning. This season marks the 13th time in school history Nebraska has reached 15 or more wins.

Who’s Hot Among Husker Wrestlers

Matt Keller, RFr., 133, McDonald, Tenn. - First-year starter Matt Keller has won 11 of his last 13 matches, including six that earned the Huskers bonus points. Keller is tied for the team lead in wins with 22 and is 6-2 against ranked opponents this season. Keller came within two points of upsetting two-time national champion Johnny Thompson of Oklahoma State last Saturday.

Matt Murray, Jr., 141,Colby, Kan. - Murray enters the match against North Carolina on a four-match winning streak. He has compiled an 18-4 overall record, including a 14-3 mark in dual. All three of his three dual losses, have come against ranked opponents, including top-ranked Scott Moore of Virginia, in which Murray lost by only four, 5-1.

Travis Pascoe, Jr., 184, Rathdrum, Idaho - Pascoe is 23-1, which includes a first-place showing at the Cliff Keen Invitational on Dec. 5-6. The team leader in takedowns with 72, Pascoe has only been taken to the mat four times. Fourteen of Pascoe’s last 17 wins have earned the Huskers bonus points. Pascoe also leads the Huskers in technical falls with six. He won his first 23 matches before a 6-3 loss to OSU's No. 3 Jake Rosholt.

Nathan McClain, Sr., HWT, Flora Vista, N.M. - McClain has a 19-5 record and leads the team in major decisions with nine and is third on the team in takedowns with56. At the Cliff Keen Invitational, McClain earned a seventh-place finish. McClain has matched his win total from all of last season. He is currently ranked ninth according to W.I.N. Magazine.

Huskers Strong at Home
With its 23-13 defeat over No. 4 Missouri on Jan. 24, NU recorded its 13th victory in its last 16 home matches. The Huskers have won 12 straight at home, last losing to Minnesota in 2003. During that 12-match stretch, NU has defeated five ranked opponents. The average margin of victory during this stretch is 24 points. The 12-match home win streak is the second-longest in school history, two short of the mark that was set in 1989-90. The Huskers have also won 10 straight matches against non-conference opponents. NU has also won 29 straight matches at home against unranked opponents, since 1990-91 when the school started keeping rankings.

Up Next
Following this weekend's matches, the Huskers will return to Big 12 competition as they face off against Oklahoma on Senior Day, Feb. 20, 2004 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center Track beginning at 4 p.m. The dual will take place during the intermission of the Nebraska state wrestling tournament.