Lincoln, Neb. – No. 13 Nebraska (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) held a 10-6 lead after four matches before winning five in a row on its way to a 26-9 triumph over No. 21 Rutgers at the Devaney Center on Sunday afternoon.
Sophomore Tim Lambert opened the dual with a 12-1 major decision over Sean McCabe at 125 pounds before Eric Montoya (133) and 10th-ranked Anthony Abidin each knocked off ranked opponents. Montoya trailed No. 17 Scott DelVecchio, 4-1, in the second period before a pair of takedowns gave him a 7-4 win.
Abidin also came from behind in his 5-2 win over No. 7 Anthony Ashnault at 141 pounds. At 149 pounds, Justin Arthur was pinned by 17th-ranked Ken Theobold, but the Huskers outscored the Scarlet Knights 16-0 over the next five bouts.
All-Americans James Green (157) and Robert Kokesh (174) each took down top-20 opponents, while Austin Wilson (165) used a late takedown to defeat Nick Visicaro, 3-1. Kokesh, the top-ranked wrestler in the country at 174 pounds, improves to 24-0 on the season.
No. 18 TJ Dudley (184) and Aaron Studebaker (197) each claimed victories before Collin Jensen fell by a 5-3 margin to No. 14 Billy Smith in the final match.
The Huskers travel to Evanston, Ill., next weekend to face Northwestern on Friday night before hosting Indiana on Sunday at the Devaney Center. The Huskers and Wildcats square off at 7 p.m. (CT) on BTN Plus. NU battles the Hoosiers at 1 p.m.
No. 13 Nebraska 26, No. 21 Rutgers 9
Sunday, Jan. 25, 2015
Devaney Center, Lincoln, Neb.
Attendance: 1,255
Results
125: #11 Tim Lambert (NEB) by major dec. over Sean McCabe (RUT), 12-1 (NEB 4, RUT 0)
133: Eric Montoya (NEB) by dec. over #17 Scott DelVecchio (RUT), 7-4 (NEB 7, RUT 0)
141: #10 Anthony Abidin (NEB) by dec. over #7 Anthony Ashnault (RUT), 5-2 (NEB 10, RUT 0)
149: #17 Ken Theobold (RUT) by pin over Justin Arthur (NEB), 1:27 (NEB 10, RUT 6)
157: #3 James Green (NEB) by dec. over #20 Anthony Perrotti (RUT), 11-4 (NEB 13, RUT 6)
165: Austin Wilson (NEB) by dec. over Nick Visicaro (RUT), 3-1 (NEB 16, RUT 6)
174: #1 Robert Kokesh (NEB) by dec. over #20 Phil Backukas (RUT), 7-1 (NEB 19, RUT 6)
184: #18 TJ Dudley (NEB) by dec. over Anthony Pafumi (RUT), 9-4 (NEB 22, RUT 6)
197: Aaron Studebaker (NEB) by major dec. over Ralph Normandia (RUT), 14-1 (NEB 26, RUT 6)
HWT: #14 Billy Smith (RUT) by sudden victory over #17 Collin Jensen (NEB), 5-3 (NEB 26, RUT 9)