Nebraska Returns to Virginia to Defend Title

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No.  5/6 <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska (9-1-1) at Virginia Duals

Hampton Coliseum?Hampton, Va.?Friday, Jan. 14 and Saturday, Jan. 15?8 a.m.

Website: www.virginiaduals.org

Number of teams: 16

Last NU Appearance: 2004-1st place

 

Nebraska Returns to Virginia to Defend Title

    After a four-dual week, Nebraska returns to the mat for the 2005 Virginia Duals in Hampton, Va., Jan. 14-15.  Last week, the Huskers knocked off No. 7 Minnesota at home, then went 1-1-1 at the 2005 Lone Star Duals in Grand Prairie, Texas.  Nebraska is one of 16 teams at the Virginia Duals competing in the American college division.  The top eight teams will be seeded and their first-round opponents will be randomly drawn.

 

Last Action: Nebraska 1-1-1 at the Lone Star Duals

    Behind a pair of wins from senior 184-pound wrestler Travis Pascoe, the fourth-ranked Nebraska wrestling team went 1-1-1 at the Lone Star Duals Saturday in Grand Prairie, Texas.

The Huskers defeated No. 22 Navy 21-12 to rebound from their first dual loss of the season, a 27-12 defeat by No. 2 Michigan. NU closed the day with a 19-19 tie against 15th-ranked Wisconsin.

“We had some good things happen at this tournament,” said head coach Mark Manning. “This is all practice for March, and we have some areas where we can get better.”

The seventh-ranked Pascoe defeated Wisconsin 184-pound wrestler Matt Maciag by major decision, 18-7, to record his 13th straight victory. Earlier in the day, Pascoe beat Josh Weitzel of Michigan, 9-4.

Nebraska started its action at the Lone Star Duals with a loss to second-ranked Michigan. The Wolverines won seven of 10 matches en route to the victory. Along with Pascoe, Marc Harwood and Matt Keller picked up wins for NU. Harwood defeated Nick Roy, 3-1, while Keller won by forfeit.

The Huskers bounced back from their first dual loss of the season with a win over Navy. Nebraska won seven of 10 matches on its way to its ninth dual win of the season.

In the third dual, NU tied an opponent for the first time since matching Northern Iowa, 20-20, on Jan. 29, 2000. Nebraska and Wisconsin won five matches each, with heavyweight Jon May sealing the tie with a pin of Lee Kraemer 1:21 into their match.

 

Scouting the Virginia Duals Field

      Four ranked teams, led by fifth-ranked Nebraska, lead the Virginia Duals field.  No. 12 Missouri highlights Nebraska’s opposition in the event.  Cal-State Bakersfield and Edinboro are currently ranked 23rd and 25th, respectively.  Eleven of the 16 schools in the American College Division have at least one wrestler ranked in the Amateur Wrestling News poll.  Nebraska and Missouri are tied with seven ranked wrestlers each, followed by the six ranked grapplers from Indiana.  American and Edinboro have three each, while Tennessee-Chatannooga and Cal State-Bakersfield have two.  Old Dominion, Buffalo, Ohio and Virginia all have at least one.  A full listing of the Virginia Duals field can be found on page 3.

 

The Last Time We Were Here: Jan. 9-10, 2004-Nebraska: 1st

      The Huskers went 4-0 last year in the Virginia Duals, earning the team championship. In the opening round, the Huskers defeated Virginia, 31-10.  Nathan McClain led the Huskers with an 18-3 technical fall over Andrew Leffler.  In the quarterfinals, the Huskers won nine of 10 matches to score a 32-3 victory over Rider. Matt Keller defeated 16th-ranked Dan Fisch, 12-7 to lead NU. In the semifinal against ArizonaState, the Huskers posted a 37-(-1) victory. The Huskers were led by three wrestlers who defeated ranked opponents, as B.J. Wright scored a 6-2 decision over 12th-ranked Brian Stith and sophomore James Pummel recorded a 6-3 decision over No. 19 Ron Renzi. The biggest upset of the dual happened at 197 pounds as eighth-ranked B.J. Padden defeated third-ranked Ryan Bader, 8-2. The negative score posted by the Sun Devils marked the first time in school history the Huskers held an opponent to a negative total. 

      For the second straight year, the Huskers advanced to the finals to face off against seventh-ranked Lehigh. The Huskers posted a 25-13 victory to claim their second team title of the year. Nebraska was led by Jason Powell, who posted a fall over 14th-ranked Mario Stuart. Travis Pascoe earned a major decision win over Travis Frick, 12-4. Wright added a 7-2 decision over fourth-ranked Derek Zinck.  The team’s victory in Hampton was its second team title of the year.

 

Pascoe Heating Up for Huskers

      One of the driving forces behind Nebraska’s season-opening nine-dual winning streak was 184-pound wrestler Travis Pascoe.  The senior from Rathdrum, Idaho is on a 13-match winning streak entering the Virginia Duals, after splitting his first two matches of the season.

      Of the 13 wins, seven have earned the Huskers bonus points, including a the first three rounds of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas invitational.  Pascoe defeated Jesse Taylor of Cal State-Fullerton by major decision, 20-6.  He followed that with another major decision triumph, 17-3, over OhioState’s Alex Picazo.  He pinned 13th-ranked Ryan Halsey of Cal Poly 4:45 into their quarterfinal match.  Pascoe went on to win the Las Vegas Invitational.   

     

Wright Has Right Stuff for NU This Season

      In three duals this year, a victory by 157-pound wrestler B.J. Wright has given the Huskers the lead.  It happened again, Jan. 4, against Minnesota.  After Nebraska and the Gophers split the first two matches of the dual, Wright pinned Minnesota’s Nik Lentz with 59 seconds left in the first period.  NU would win four of the next seven matches to defeat the Gophers for the first time since Jan. 9, 1996.

      Wright gave Husker fans a glimpse into his future heroics in the first dual of the season, Nov. 19 against Hofstra.  After Travis Shufelt defeated nationally-ranked Jon Masa at 149 pounds, the Huskers were still down to Hofstra, 17-15, with two matches left in the dual.  B.J. Wright gave Nebraska the lead for good in a spectacular third period which earned Wright an 8-2 win over Hofstra’s James Strouse.

      Strouse and Wright were tied at 2-2 entering the third period.  Wright chose down, then scored an escape 19 seconds into the period to take a 3-2 lead.  Then, in the match’s last ten seconds, Wright scored a takedown and a two-point near fall.  With the riding time bonus point, Wright won 8-2.

      In NU’s second dual, a 20-15 win over then-No. 10 West Virginia, Wright, then the ninth-ranked 157-pound wrestler, knocked off No. 6 Matt Lebe.  An escape 16 seconds into the second period gave Wright the lead, and he rode Lebe for the duation of the third period. 

 

Huskers Start 2004-05 with Historic Win Streak

      After a 21-12 win over No. 7 Minnesota Jan. 4, at the NU Coliseum, Nebraska tied a school record by starting the season on a nine-dual winning streak, matching the standard set in 2000-01, Mark Manning’s first year as head coach at Nebraska.  Nebraska defeated nationally-ranked Hofstra, West Virginia and Minnesota during the run.

 

Manning Nearing 65-Win Mark at Nebraska

      With three wins this weekend at the Virginia Duals, Nebraska head coach Mark Manning will earn his 65th triumph at Nebraska.  Manning, who is coaching in 90th dual at NU Friday,  would become the fastest NU head coach to earn 65 dual wins at Nebraska, beating the pace set by Tim Neumann, who earned his 65th win in 97 duals, one better than Bob Fehrs.  The other Nebraska head wrestling coach to earn 65 wins, Orvall Borgialli, took 162 matches to reach the milestone.

 

Non-Varsity Notes

   For the second week in a row, Nebraska’s non-varsity is in action.  They will compete on Jan. 15 at the Glen Brand Open in Omaha, Neb.

   Last week, seven Huskers were placewinners at the Beamen Open in Blair, Neb.  They were led by five individual champions, including Paul Donahoe at 125 pounds, Chris Oliver at 157 pounds, Brandon Browne at 165 pounds, Matt Farrell at 174 pounds and Ryan Goodman at 197 pounds.  At 149 pounds, Gregg Romano took third, one spot ahead of Robert Sanders. 

   The non-varsity finished 2004 at the UNK Runza Loper Open on Dec. 11.  Five Huskers were placewinners, led by 174-pound champion Matt Farrell.  Joe Morrison finished second at 133 pounds.  At 165 pounds, Brandon Browne finished third.  Robert Sanders earned fifth at 149 pounds, while Ben Johnson took sixth.

      At the Harold Nichols Open at Fort Dodge, Iowa on Saturday, Nov. 13, Paul Donahoe and Chad Sportelli shared the championship at 125 pounds.  David Ingalls was defeated in the finals at 157 pounds by IowaState’s Trent Paulson, 3-1 in overtime, to earn second.  At heavyweight, Jon May finished fourth after losing the third-place match to Blake Gillis of Wartburg, 7-1.

      The non-varsity competed along with the varsity at the Kaufman-Brand Open in Omaha, Neb. on Nov. 20.  In the open division, Jon May took fourth at heavyweight.  Chad Sportelli finished sixth at 125 after losing 5-0 to Derrick Fleenor of OklahomaState.  In the 20-and-under division, Paul Donahoe took the 125-pound championship, defeating Hofstra’s Dave Tomasette 4-3 in the final.  Joe Morrison earned runner-up at 133 pounds, while Chris Oliver took third at 157 pounds with a 13-2 major decision over Ben Henderson of DanaCollege.  A pair of Huskers placed at 174 pounds, with Matt Farrell earning third and Cody Foust taking sixth.  Heavyweight Jon May took second as NU’s only placewinner at the UNI Open in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Dec. 4.

 

Huskers, Cowboys Set for National Television Appearance

      College Sports Television announced that it will broadcast Nebraska’s Feb. 10 home dual against defending national champion OklahomaState on CSTV live starting at 7 p.m. from the NU Coliseum.  It will be simulcast locally on NETV.  One of 12 national wrestling broadcasts by CSTV, the Feb. 10 broadcast will be the only one that features a pair of Big 12 Conference teams.  Missouri’s away dual against Lehigh this week is the only other national broadcast featuring a Big 12 team.

 

Up Next

      Nebraska returns to the Southeast next weekend for duals against North Carolina and North CarolinaState.  The Huskers take on the Tar Heels on Saturday, Jan. 22 in Chapel Hill, then move on to Raleigh, N.C., to square off with the Wolfpack at 6 p.m.