Huskers Defeat Rider, 23-16
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Janet Walsh (Nebraska Sports Information)
11/11/2000
Lawrenceville, N.J. The sixth-ranked Nebraska wrestling team won six of 10 bouts to defeat Rider in Lawrenceville, N.J., Saturday afternoon. With the win, NU improves to 2-0 on the season, while Rider drops to 0-1. For the second day in a row, 133-pounder Todd Beckerman, the second-ranked individual in his weight class, scored six team points for the Huskers with a pin of Rider's Rick Bauer just 2:04 into the match, to give NU an early 6-0 lead. Rider bounced back in the next two weights with a decision at 141 pounds and a fall at 149 pounds to take a 9-6 lead. Two-time All-American Bryan Snyder got the Huskers back on the right track with a dominating 24-9 victory over R.J. Haynes, putting NU back on top, 10-9. At 165 pounds, senior Ryan Schultz picked up his first victory of the year with a 3-2 decision over Nick Catone. Senior Ati Conner then gave the Huskers another three points at 174 pounds, with a convincing 10-3 win over Bob Pizzuto, putting the team tally to 16-9. "I was really impressed with Ati Conner," Coach Mark Manning said. "He is starting to understand how aggressive we want him to be out on the mat." At 184 pounds, senior All-American Shawn Scannell of Rider defeated an overmatched Matt Fletcher, 10-1, to cut the NU lead to three. Fletcher, who is a natural 174 pounder, is filling in for the injured Charles McTorry, who is out with a nerve condition NU sealed the team victory at the next two weights with a major decision from NCAA champion Brad Vering at 197 pounds and a double-overtime win from sophomore Pat Miron at heavyweight. With the Huskers leading 23-13, No. 12 Jerold Limongelli of Rider narrowly defeated NU's redshirt freshman Jason Powell at 125 pounds, 4-3, putting the final score to 23-16. "Our guys wrestled really hard," Manning said. "We need to keep wrestling like we are as we grow and learn, especially when we are on the road."