A strong start from the seniors in their final home dual wasn’t enough as the Nebraska wrestling team dropped its match against Oklahoma 22-15 Thursday night.
Seniors Stephen Dwyer and Craig Brester both earned bonus points in their matches as the Huskers jumped out 15-0 after four matches, but Oklahoma’s strength was too much as they took the final 22 points of the match.
The match was the final home dual of the season before NU hits the road for two tough tests before postseason action.
Head coach Mark Manning said the way his seniors stepped up showed how focused they were coming into their last home match.
“That’s the way you should do it,” Manning said. “We got two guys who came to wrestle tonight.”
From the opening second of Brester’s match-up against No. 6 Eric Lapotsky, the second-ranked Brester was in total control. He earned his first two points just 16 seconds into the match and dominated the entire time, earning a technical fall 18-2 in the second period. Brester extended his record to 24-0 with the win over the top 10 opponent.
Brester said winning the way he did helps him build momentum as the season winds down.
“When you can go out there and execute the game plan it definitely gives you some confidence when you know you’re doing the right things,” Brester said.
In the first match of the night, Dwyer, who is ranked fourth nationally, also controlled his match as he earned a major decision 10-2 over No. 18 Jeff James.
Dwyer was patient for the majority of the match but took control of the match with a near fall in the third period to earn bonus points with his major decision.
The turning point of the dual came when David Klingsheim lost an overtime decision to No. 12 Jarrod Patterson 4-3 at 125 pounds. From that point on, the ninth-ranked Sooners cruised to the top with wins in the final four matches.
Next up for the Huskers is a pair of road duals starting with No. 3 Oklahoma State before traveling to Ames, Iowa, to take on second-ranked Iowa State.
Brester said the team is looking forward to the opportunities they have to get ready for the postseason with their tough remaining schedule.
“Getting battle tested in hostile environments is a lot of fun,” Brester said. “You just have to be mentally focused and prepared.”
Manning said although they have two top five opponents remaining, the team needs to perform strong to gain confidence.
“We’ve got to beat them now, we’ve got to beat them the first week of March, and we’ve got to beat them at nationals,” Manning said. “You’ve got to be ready to go.”
patradigan@dailynebraskan.com
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