Three Pins Pace Huskers in Win

In a wild dual that saw seven of the 10 matches decided by fall or technical fall, fifth-ranked <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Nebraska defeated American, 29-21, in front of 655 fans on Saturday night at the NU Coliseum in Lincoln, Neb.  <?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

“American had some good individuals,” NU head coach Mark Manning said.  “It was a good time for us to come home and wrestle in front of our fans.”

NU started the dual with three straight victories to take a commanding 15-0 lead.  At 141 pounds, 18th-ranked Dominick Moyer earned his first win by fall in a dual this season with a pin of Jordan Zipkin 1:27 into their match.  Moyer took Zipkin down just 36 seconds into the match, scored a near fall with 1:49 to go in the first period, and then earned the pin 16 seconds later. 

 

Ryan Davis followed at 149 pounds with a 12-6 win over Tom Kniezewski.  Davis built a 9-2 lead after the first two periods, allowing only a pair of escapes to Kniezewski before holding on to win.

 

At 157 pounds, 16th-ranked Chris Oliver pinned Rudy Rueda with 17 seconds to go in their match.  Oliver, who leads the team with four wins by fall in dual competition, took Rueda down with 20 seconds to go in the match before pinning him three seconds later.    

 

Fourth-ranked Muzzaffar Abdurakhmanov broke Nebraska’s winning streak with a pin at 165 pounds, but the reigning Big 12 Wrestler of the Week, third-ranked Jacob Klein, answered with a win by technical fall over Dwayne Hash at 174 pounds.  Klein built a 12-2 lead in the first period with three takedowns and two three-point near falls.  Klein started the second period down and escaped four seconds into the second.  Eight seconds later, Klein took down Hash, then scored a two-point near fall with 1:11 in to go in the second to clinch the technical fall victory.  Klein was awarded one bonus point for his 2:22 edge in riding time. 

 

Klein has won 14 of his last 15 matches for NU.  With his win over Hash, Klein took sole possession of fifth place in school history for career dual wins.  Klein can tie Tolly Thompson and Brad Vering for third all-time with 62 wins with his next dual victory. 

 

In the night’s only matchup of two ranked wrestlers, American’s fifth-ranked Josh Glenn defeated 10th-ranked Vince Jones at 184 pounds by fall 1:17 into the first period.  Glenn scored a takedown 14 seconds into the match, but Jones earned the reversal 13 seconds later.  Glenn regained control with a reversal with 2:03 to go in the first period before earning the win by fall.

 

The Huskers would rebuild their lead after a win by fall by fifth-ranked B.J. Padden over Tyler Flatt.  Padden had a 9-2 lead after a takedown with 1:32 to go in the second period before pinning Flatt 20 seconds later to give Nebraska a 26-12 lead with three matches left.

 

After a win by fall at heavyweight by 15th-ranked Adam LoPiccolo, Nebraska clinched the dual with a 5-2 victory by ninth-ranked Paul Donahoe at 125 pounds over Matt Morkel.  Donahoe never trailed after taking the lead 57 seconds into the match with a takedown.  With the dual clinched, Jordan Lipp won by decision at 133 pounds for American.

 

Nebraska (10-3) will open Big 12 competition by taking on Missouri at the NU Coliseum at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 29.  The Huskers have won the last three and 14 of the last 16 duals over the Tigers.

 

#5 Nebraska 29, American 21

Attendance-655

Referee-Mark Allen

141-#18 Dominick Moyer (NU) by fall over Jordan Zipkin (AU), 1:27

149-Ryan Davis (NU) by dec. over Tom Kniezewski (AU), 12-6

157-#16 Chris Oliver (NU) by fall over Rudy Rueda (AU), 6:43

165-#4 Muzzaffar Abdurakhmanov (AU) by fall over David Ingalls (NU), 3:58

174-#3 Jacob Klein (NU) by tech. fall over Dwayne Hash (AU), 18-2; 3:49

184-#5 Josh Glenn (AU) by fall over #10 Vince Jones (NU), 1:17

197-#5 B.J. Padden (NU) by fall over Tyler Flatt (AU), 3:48

HWT-#15 Adam LoPiccolo (AU) by fall over Jon May (NU), 4:07

125-#9 Paul Donahoe (AU) by dec. over Matt Morkel (AU), 5-2

133-Jordan Lipp (AU) by dec. over Patrick Aleksanyan (NU), 2-1