CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- UNI protected its perfect record with wins against Ohio (25-15) and South Dakota State (29-12) in the West Gym today.
UNI improved to 9-0 in duals and 5-0 in the Mid-American Conference.
It’s UNI's best start since 1969 when the Panthers went 8-0 and settled for a tie in their ninth dual.
The Panthers haven’t had an undefeated season since 1956 under Bill Koll. UNI took 10th at nationals that year.
Three Panthers earned bonus points in both of their duals, and Cooper Moore earned one pin on the day.
“The guys that scored points, scored a lot and were fun to watch,” said head coach Doug Schwab. “We just need to find a way to win those other matches. We evaluate and get better next week. We need more pep and life. We need to do a better job to get them ready.”
No. 1 Joe Colon (133 pounds) added two more technical falls to his record, making it eight on the season. Coming into the dual, he was fifth in the nation at the Division I level for tech falls this year.
“He’s scoring points,” said Schwab. “He did a good job moving in and out and create more offense. He looked really good.”
At 125 pounds, Dylan Peters earned two more pins to launch him into the top 10 among all Panthers with the most falls in a single season.
Ryan Loder earned two tech falls to give the Panthers a strong start at 184 pounds in both matches.
No. 4 Cornell 36, Princeton 7
PRINCETON, N.J. -- Cornell earned four falls, three in the first period, and ran out to a 27-0 team lead en route to a 36-7 triumph against Princeton on Saturday evening at Dillon Gymnasium. The win moved the Big Red to a perfect 9-0 (4-0 Ivy) on the season in dual meet competition.
Nahshon Garrett and Mark Grey won their matches by fall in less than two minutes to start off the dual, giving the Big Red what would turn out to be enough points to claim the dual. Garrett dispatched of Ryan Cash in 1:29 at 125 pounds and Grey pinned Jake Intrator in 1:50. Later, Brian Realbuto earned a fall against Kyle Roddy at 157 pounds with 22 seconds left in the first period. Gabe Dean rounded out the wins by fall at 184 pounds, thoroughly dominating Brett Harner on his way to a tech fall before ending the match at 6:28.
Chris Villalonga won the matchup of the day, earning a hard-fought 4-2 decision against Adam Krop at 149 pounds. Krop was ranked 19th at 141 pounds before moving up a weight. Tied 2-2 heading into the third, but with riding time locked in, Villalonga escaped to open the period and avoided a takedown to earn the win.
Mike Nevinger put in a workmanlike 5-0 decision against Jordan Laster at 141 pounds and Dylan Palacio went home with a high-scoring 14-7 triumph against Judd Ziegler at 165 pounds. Jace Bennett rounded out the eight Big Red victories with a late takedown in an 8-6 decision against Abe Ayala.
The Tigers avoided the shutout with wins at 174 and 285.
No. 7 Pittsburgh 33, West Virginia 6
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. -- Pittsburgh (11-1) used pins from Geno Morelli, Max Thomusseit and Nick Bonaccorsi to cruise past rival West Virginia (9-4) 33-6 on Saturday evening at the WVU Coliseum.
Anthony Zanetta and Shelton Mack started the match off strong for the Panthers with a pair of decisions at 125 and 133 pounds to get the early 6-0 lead.
WVU responded by winning the next two bouts to even the match but Pitt regained momentum on a decision from Ronnie Garbinsky at 157 pounds. Garbinsky jumped on Brutus Scheffel early with a double leg and turned it into a near fall for a quick 4-0 lead and never looked cruising to a 10-3 decision.
The Panthers started to take over at 165 pounds when Morelli planted Ross Renzi for a pin at 1:41 to extend the Pitt lead to 15-6.
Tyler Wilps followed up the Morelli pin with a convincing 8-2 decision against Bubba Scheffel. Wilps registered a takedown in each period, an escape and a bonus point for riding time for the win.
Thomusseit and Bonaccorsi followed the Wilps victory with falls at 184 and 197, respectively, to put the match out of reach. Thomusseit locked Mac Mancuso in a cradle at the 5:30 and Bonaccorsi stuck Leo Trindade at 4:51 to give the Panthers a 30-6 lead.
P.J. Tasser allowed Pitt to end the dual on a six-match winning streak when he scored a takedown off a scramble with nine seconds left in his match with A.J. Vizcarrondo for a 6-4 decision.
No. 8 Nebraska 22, Illinois 13
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Eighth-ranked Nebraska (11-1, 5-1 Big Ten) built a 15-4 lead at the halfway point and held off an Illinois comeback in a 22-13 triumph at Huff Hall on Saturday evening.
The dual started at 149 pounds, where junior Jake Sueflohn came from behind to defeat Illinois’ Caleb Ervin. Sueflohn, the fifth-ranked wrestler by InterMat, gave up a first-period takedown before earning an escape later in the opening stanza. In the second period, Ervin earned an escape after starting in the down position. Entering the third period trailing 3-1, Sueflohn earned a takedown and tacked on a point for riding time in a 4-3 decision.
Top-ranked James Green (157 pounds) continued his undefeated season in the second bout of the dual, notching a 10-3 decision against No. 13 Zac Brunson. Green managed four takedowns in the match and added an additional point for riding time. The two-time All-American picked up his 25th win of the season.
Nebraska suffered its first loss of the dual at 165 pounds as sophomore Austin Wilson fell to No. 13 Jackson Morse by a 17-4 major decision. Wilson drops to 17-9 on the season, with a 6-6 record in duals.
At 174 pounds, No. 4 Robert Kokesh won his 13th consecutive match and earned his fourth technical fall with an 18-2 triumph against Tony Dallago. Kokesh, a junior, earned three takedowns in the match to give Nebraska an 11-4 lead.
Ninth-ranked TJ Dudley (184) continued the momentum for the Huskers heading into the halfway break with a 10-1 major decision against Nikko Reyes. In the first period, Dudley managed a last-second takedown to build a 2-0 lead. He added an additional takedown in the second period before a late one in the third period and added near fall points at the end.
At 197 pounds, Caleb Kolb battled No. 4 Mario Gonzalez to extra time before falling by a 3-2 margin. After a scoreless first period, the pair traded escapes in the second and third periods. After a scoreless minute of sudden victory, Gonzalez earned a reversal in the first 30-second overtime period to take a 3-1 advantage. Kolb managed an escape in the second 30-second period but it wasn’t enough.
Heavyweight Collin Jensen responded in the next match with a 3-1 decision against Chris Lopez. After a scoreless opening stanza, Lopez earned a second-period escape before Jensen answered with one of his own in the third period. With time winding down, Jensen took down Lopez at the buzzer to emerge with a victory and give NU an 18-7 lead.
Nebraska suffered back-to-back losses in the next two matches before 141-pounder Colton McCrystal closed out the dual with a victory. At 125 pounds, No. 9 Tim Lambert lost to defending national champion Jesse Delgado in overtime, 3-1. In the following bout, senior Shawn Nagel (133) fell by a 4-2 margin to No. 11 Zane Richards.
At 141 pounds, McCrystal took down John Fahy by a 12-3 major decision to cap the Husker victory.
