Rutgers University
No. 13 Nebraska
No. 13 Nebraska Tops No. 21 WRES, 26-9
Jan 25 | Wrestling
LINCOLN, Neb. - A pin by junior Ken Theobold (Toms River, N.J.) at 149 pounds sparked the Rutgers corner and cut the deficit to 10-6 against No. 13 Nebraska, but the Cornhuskers picked up wins in the next five matches on their way to a 26-9 victory Sunday afternoon at the Devaney Center.
Nebraska Play-By-Play
No. 21 RU (10-5, 1-5 Big Ten) closed the match on a high note with a sudden victory decision from No. 14/18/NR Billy Smith (Wantage, N.J.) over No. 17/NR/19 Collin Jensen at heavyweight. Smith drove through Jensen 20 seconds in to convert the takedown and improve to 10-4 on the year.
The win snapped a three-match losing streak for Smith, as four of his last five meetings have needed more than seven minutes to decide a winner. All four of those matches have come against ranked opponents.
Nebraska's No. 11/12/10 Tim Lambert won a 12-1 major decision against redshirt sophomore Sean McCabe (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) to start the dual at 125 pounds.
At 133, No. 20/17/NR Scott DelVecchio (South Plainfield, N.J.) surrendered a late defeat against Cornhusker Eric Montoya. Montoya got a takedown with 20 seconds remaining in the second to bring the match to a 4-4 tie.
Montoya kept his offense going to start the third, scoring a takedown 28 seconds into the period to take a 6-4 lead. He rode DelVecchio out to seal the 7-4 win, dropping the sophomore to 14-6 on the season.
No. 5/7/8 141-pounder Anthony Ashnault (South Plainfield, N.J.) dropped just his fourth match all season against No. 10/6/12 Anthony Abidin. A takedown with 23 seconds remaining put the match out of reach and gave Abidin the riding time point en route to a 5-2 win. The loss drops Ashnault to 17-4 overall and 13-2 in duals this season.
At 149 pounds, Theobold continued his streak of dominance Sunday. The junior got Cornhusker Justin Arthur cradled on his way to a pin in just 1:27. The win was his fifth in a row, improving him to 18-4 and 12-2 in duals this season.
All three of Theobold's pins in 2014-15 have come in dual action, with his win by fall in 1:27 Sunday marking his fastest on the year.
Following the pin, the Huskers took charge with five-straight wins.
No. 3/3/4 James Green handed No. 20/19/18 Anthony Perrotti (Roseland, N.J.) an 11-4 loss at 157 pounds in the redshirt junior's first action since Jan. 9 at Illinois. He falls to 12-6 this season.
Two more Nebraska (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten) decisions at 165 and 174 pounds grew the lead to 19-6 with three matches remaining.
Redshirt senior Nick Visicaro (Long Branch, N.J.) lost, 3-1, to Austin Wilson and No. 19/14/18 Phil Bakuckas (Hammonton, N.J.) dropped a 7-1 match against No. 1/1/1 Robert Kokesh.
Wilson got a takedown against Visicaro with 46 seconds left in the third period to cement a victory, while Kokesh got ahead early and never looked back versus Bakuckas.
Kokesh was the fifth top-five opponent in six matches for Bakuckas (16-8, 9-6). For Visicaro, the loss dropped him to 4-3 overall and 1-2 in duals.
After a 9-4 loss to Anthony Pafumi (Westfield, N.J.) at 184 pounds secured the dual win, the Huskers' run of five consecutive victories ended at 197 pounds with a 14-1 major decision.
Freshman 197-pounder Ralph Normandia (Somerset, N.J.) saw his first dual action since Dec. 21 at the "Grapple at the Garden," as the defeat brought his record to 11-8 on the year.
Rutgers returns home next weekend with a pair of matches at the College Ave. Gym against Navy on Saturday, Jan. 31 (2 p.m.) and No. 4 Ohio State on Sunday, Feb. 1 (Noon).
The matchup with Navy will stream live on RVision, presented by AT&T, with Danny Breslauer and Sean Dedeyn on the call. The Ohio State match will feature a one-camera stream with no commentators. Both are free to the public.
No. 13 Nebraska 26, No. 21 Rutgers 9
Dual started at 125 pounds
Officials: Jerry Middleton and Doug Hoops
125: No. 11/12/10 Tim Lambert (NEB) major dec. over Sean McCabe (RU), 12-1; Nebraska leads, 4-0
133: Eric Montoya (NEB) dec. over No. 20/17/NR Scott DelVecchio (RU), 7-4; Nebraska leads, 7-0
141: No. 10/6/12 Anthony Abidin (NEB) dec. over No. 5/7/8 Anthony Ashnault (RU), 5-2; Nebraska leads, 10-0
149: No. 17/16/17 Ken Theobold (RU) wins by fall over Justin Arthur (NEB), 1:27; Nebraska leads, 10-6
157: No. 3/3/4 James Green (NEB) dec. over No. 20/19/18 Anthony Perrotti (RU), 11-4; Nebraska leads, 13-6
165: Austin Wilson (NEB) dec. over Nick Visicaro (RU), 3-1; Nebraska leads, 16-6
174: No. 1/1/1 Robert Kokesh (NEB) dec. over No. 19/14/18 Phil Bakuckas (RU), 7-1; Nebraska leads, 19-6
184: No. 18/NR/17 TJ Dudley (NEB) dec. over Anthony Pafumi (RU), 9-4; Nebraska leads, 22-6
197: Aaron Studebaker (NEB) major dec. over over Ralph Normandia (RU), 14-1; Nebraska leads, 26-6
285: No. 14/18/NR Billy Smith (RU) dec. over No. 17/NR/19 Collin Jensen (NEB), 5-3 (SV); Nebraska wins, 26-9
Rankings (-/-/-): InterMat / The Open Mat / WIN Magazine (Jan. 20)
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