Upper Iowa's Winston Robbins scores the winning points against top-ranked George Ivanov of Nebraska-Omaha. Photo by Matt Pfiffner, The Predicament.

KEARNEY, Neb. – The top-ranked Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks went 8-2 and grabbed the early lead at the NCAA Division II Championships.

But the Mavericks, seeking their third straight title, also suffered the biggest loss of the opening session on Friday at the University of Nebraska at Kearney

Top-ranked George Ivanov, second in this tournament last year, dropped an 11-9 first-round match to unranked Winston Robbins of Upper Iowa at 157 pounds.

Ivanov led 9-8 late in the match, but Robbins tilted Ivanov to his back in the closing seconds to win. He added a riding-time point for the final margin.

“My coach said there were 12 seconds left, so I was going for the tilt,” Robbins said. “I didn’t want to go into overtime because he’s pretty good on his feet. This builds my confidence. My goal is to be in the finals and win it.”

Seventh-ranked Western State is in second place with 10 points and five wrestlers in the quarterfinals. Fourth-ranked Augustana and No. 2 St. Cloud State are tied for third with nine points each. Augustana went 7-0 in the first round and St. Cloud State 5-3.

Third-ranked Newberry is in fifth with eight points and five in the quarters. Upper Iowa and Grand Canyon are tied for sixth with seven points apiece. Upper Iowa went 6-1 in the first session and Grand Canyon was 5-2.

The quarterfinals are set for 6 p.m. Thursday.

A key quarterfinal match will see NCAA runner-up Esai Dominguez of Nebraska-Omaha battling Augustana All-American Nate Herda at 149. The top-ranked Dominguez lost to the No. 4 Herda at the National Duals before Dominguez beat Herda in a dual meet.

Returning national champions Jay Sherer of Augustana (141), Bryant Blanton of Newberry (184) and Donovan McMahill of Western State (197) each won their first-round matches.

Team scoring after Session I
Nebraska-Omaha 12, Western State 10, Augustana 9, St. Cloud State 9, Newberry 8, Grand Canyon 7, Upper Iowa 7, Pitt-Johnstown 5, Wisconsin-Parkside 4.5.