Huskers Set Sights on NCAA Championships

NCAA Championships
Thursday, March 17 - Saturday, March 19
New York, N.Y. • Madison Square Garden
Video Streaming/TV: ESPN3/ESPNU/ESPN
Stats/Brackets: TrackWrestling.com

Schedule
Thursday, March 17
11 a.m. (CT): Session I (TV/Video Streaming: ESPNU/ESPN3)
8 Mats • Pigtails and First Round

6 p.m. (CT): Session II (TV/Video Streaming: ESPNU/ESPN3)
8 Mats • Consolation Pigtails, Consolation First Round; Followed by Championship Second Round

Friday, March 18
10 a.m. (CT): Session III (TV/Video Streaming: ESPNU/ESPN3)
8 Mats • Quarterfinals on inside 4 mats; Consolation Second and Third Rounds on outside 4 mats

7 p.m. (CT): Session IV (TV/Video Streaming: ESPN/ESPN3)
6 Mats • Semifinals on inside 2 mats (1 weight at a time); Consolation Fourth Round on outside 4 mats; Followed by Consolation Quarterfinals on all 6 mats

Saturday, March 19
10 a.m. (CT): Session V (TV/Video Streaming: ESPNU/ESPN3)
3 Mats • Consolation Semifinals on all 3 mats;
Followed by 3rd, 5th and 7th place medal round matches

7 p.m. (CT): Session VI (TV/Video Streaming: ESPN/ESPN3)
1 Mat • Championship Finals

The Nebraska wrestling team concludes its season at the NCAA Championships, Thursday through Saturday, at Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y. All 10 Huskers qualified for the tournament by finishing in the top seven at the Big Ten Championships last weekend. The ESPN family of networks will broadcast every session of the NCAA Championships. Every match will be streamed on ESPN3, while Sessions I, II, III and V will be televised on ESPNU. ESPN will televise Sessions IV and VI.

Last Time Out: The Huskers finished fourth at the Big Ten Championships, marking their best finish as a member of the Big Ten since joining the conference in 2011. TJ Dudley led the way individually with a runner-up finish at 184 pounds.

About the Huskers
• Husker History at the NCAA Championships

• 19 Top-10 Team Finishes (Last: 2015)
• Best Team Finish: 3rd (1993)
• Last Year’s Team Finish: 9th (59 points)
• 11 Individual National Champions (Last: Jordan Burroughs • 2011)
• 22 NCAA Finalists (Last: Jordan Burroughs • 2011)
• 98 All-Americans (Last: James Green, Robert Kokesh, TJ Dudley • 2015)
• Manuel Gorrarian Award Winners: 5 (Last: Jason Powell • 2003)

• All 10 Husker starters qualified for the NCAA Championships for the first time since 1995 when the team finished 6th. This is the fourth time NU has accomplished the feat since 1980 (also in 1983, 1993 and 1995).

• Nebraska is one of three teams to qualify all 10 wrestlers for the national tournament, along with Oklahoma State and Rutgers.

• Big Ten Championships Notes

• All 10 Huskers earned top seven finishes individually at the Big Ten Championships to earn automatic bids to the NCAA Championships.
• NU finished 4th as a team, marking its best finish as a member of the Big Ten since joining the conference in 2011.
• TJ Dudley earned the best finish by a Husker by taking runner-up honors at 184 pounds.

•Dual Season Notes

• Nebraska outscored its 17 dual opponents by a combined score of 402-209
• Nebraska won 109 of 170 individual matches in dual competition
• Ranked 12th in the final USA Today/NWCA Division I Coaches Poll, released on Feb. 23
• Set school record for season attendance at home with 13,248 fans (7 duals)
• Set school record for individual dual attendance: 3,952 (Jan. 24 vs. Iowa)

• Nebraska fell to #6 Missouri, 19-14, during the NWCA National Duals Championship Series on Feb. 21.

            • Sueflohn knocked off previously unbeaten #3 Mayes; Berger and Jensen earn major decisions

• Nebraska crushed Northwestern, 39-6, during Senior Night and Tumble N Rumble on Feb. 12.

            • Huskers won nine matches; Lambert and Dudley earn pins; Montoya topped ranked opponent

• Nebraska split its duals at home, Feb. 5-6.

• #13 Illinois (W, 30-10): Four Huskers win by bonus points
• #3 NC State (L, 15-19): Five Huskers collect victories

• Nebraska lost to #2 Iowa, 21-11, in front of a school-record 3,952 fans at home on Jan. 24.

            • Dudley pinned #7 Brooks; Abidin and Wilson also collected wins

• Nebraska fell on the road to No. 1 Penn State and No. 11 Ohio State, Jan. 15-17.

• at #1 Penn State (L, 10-24): Abidin, Wilson and Jensen earn victories
• at #11 Ohio State (L, 17-21): Sueflohn, Wilson, Dudley and Studebaker earn victories

• Jake Sueflohn became the 24th member of Nebraska’s 100-win club on Jan. 10.

• Nebraska took down Wisconsin and No. 23 Minnesota in its first two duals of the New Year, Jan. 8-10.

• at Wisconsin (W, 29-11): Five Huskers win by bonus points
• #23 Minnesota (W, 24-10): Abidin and Sueflohn defeat ranked opponents; Sueflohn joins 100-win club

• NU finished second in the Midlands Championships with 135 points in Evanston, Ill., Dec. 29-30. Ten Huskers earned podium spots, led by runners-up TJ Dudley (184) and Derek White (197).

• Nebraska split its duals on the first Big Ten road trip of the season, Dec. 11 and 12.

• at Maryland (W, 30-9): Four Huskers win by bonus points
• at #11 Rutgers (L, 16-17): Lost by criteria (total points, 51-48); snapped 17-dual win streak

• NU won both of its duals in the Grapple at the Garden (Madison Square Garden) on Nov. 29.

• vs. #7 Cornell (W, 21-14): Lambert and Wilson defeated ranked opponents; Abidin and Sueflohn added bonus points
• vs. Princeton (W, 21-12): Barnes and Dudley defeated ranked opponents; Montoya and Wilson added bonus points

• Nebraska defeated Wyoming, 35-4, in its home opener on Nov. 21.

            • 2 pins; 2 major decisions; Barnes and Jensen defeated ranked Cowboys

• Nebraska opened its dual season with dominating wins over Lock Haven, No. 20 Oregon State and No. 7 Lehigh in the Journeymen/Asics Northeast Duals at Hudson Valley Community College on Nov. 15.

• NU outscored its three opponents by a combined score of 90-12
• NU won 26 of 30 individual matches
• vs. Lock Haven (W, 41-0): first shutout since Nov. 30, 2013 against CSU-Bakersfield; 7 bonus-point wins
• vs. #20 Oregon State (W, 25-6): Wilson and Studebaker defeated top-12 opponents
• vs. #7 Lehigh (W, 24-6): Berger and Dudley defeated top-5 opponents; 3 additional Huskers won against ranked Mountain Hawks (Lambert, Sueflohn, Barnes)

• Head Coach Mark Manning announced the signing of five student-athletes on Nov. 13.

• Chad (CJ) Red - New Palestine, Ind. (New Palestine) – 141
• Beau Breske - Hartford, Wis. (Hartford Union) – 174
• Eric Schultz - Tinley Park, Ill. (Tinley Park) – 197
• Taylor Venz - Farmington, Minn. (Farmington) – 184
• Johnny Blankenship - Platte County, Mo. (Platte County) - 165

• Nebraska won six weight class titles in the Warren Williamson/Daktronics Open in Brookings, S.D. on Nov. 1. Thirteen Huskers earned spots on the podium at the tournament.

• Nebraska’s lone returning All-American is TJ Dudley, who finished eighth at 184 pounds in the 2015 NCAA Championships.

• The Huskers have eight wrestlers with previous NCAA Championships experience, including seven from last season. Jake Sueflohn (149), a three-time NCAA qualifier, missed the 2014-15 season with a torn ACL.

• Seniors (3): Anthony Abidin (141), Jake Sueflohn (149), Austin Wilson (165)
• Juniors (5): TJ Dudley (184), Collin Jensen (HWT), Tim Lambert (125), Eric Montoya (133), Aaron Studebaker (197)

• Nebraska faced 11 opponents who finished in the top 20 at last year’s NCAA Championships: Ohio State (1st), Iowa (2nd), Missouri (4th), Cornell (5th), Penn State (6th), Minnesota (8th), Illinois (12th), Lehigh (13th), Northwestern (15th), NC State (16th) and Wisconsin (17th)

• Nebraska held its annual Intrasquad/Coaches Clinic at the Devaney Center on Nov. 6, which gave fans the first chance to see the entire 2015-16 team.

• Former Huskers Jordan Burroughs and James Green each took home men’s freestyle medals in the 2015 World Championships in Las Vegas, Nev. on Sept. 12.

• Jordan Burroughs - 1st at 74 kg (4th World/Olympic title)
• James Green - 3rd at 70 kg (1st World Championships appearance)

• Six Huskers collected medals at the Asics University Nationals in Akron, Ohio on May 31.

• Anthony Abidin - 2nd at 65 kg
• Tyler Berger - 3rd at 70 kg
• Tim Lambert - 3rd at 57 kg
• Micah Barnes - 5th at 80 kg
• Collin Jensen - 7th at HWT
• Aaron Studebaker - 8th at 86 kg