SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – No. 1-ranked Nebraska-Omaha won seven of 10 matches en route to a 22-9 victory over No. 2 Augustana Wednesday night in front of a record crowd of 2,003 in Sioux Falls, S.D.
UNO improves to 12-1, while Augustana falls to 14-2. The dual marked the end of the regular season for both squads.
Augustana’s 14 dual wins this season ties a school record; the Vikings also collected 14 wins in 2004-05. Both of those campaigns were under Jason Reitmeier.
The Mavericks picked up wins in all matches except for 133, 165 and 197 pounds.
Jason Jeremiason, ranked No. 3 in Division II, immediately went to work at 133 pounds for the Vikings. He topped UNO’s Trent Cox 7-3.
The Mavericks, though, used Mario Morgan as a rebuttal at 141 pounds. No. 1-ranked Morgan snuck past No. 4-ranked Jay Sherer, but not before the defending national champion made it interesting. Sherer trailed by just two points with less than a minute to go, and Morgan was charged a point for stalling. Nothing materialized in the closing moments as Morgan went on to win 5-4.
No. 1-ranked Esai Dominguez pushed the Maverick advantage to 6-3 with his 3-2 win over Nate Herda, ranked No. 5, at 149 pounds.
In a No. 1/No. 3 tilt at 157 pounds, top-ranked George Ivanov edged out a 4-3 decision over Augustana’s Marcus Edgington.
Gavin Nelson cut back into the UNO lead in the ensuing bout; No.4-ranked Nelson logged a 6-3 victory at 165 pounds over Nathan Sigman.
No. 3-ranked Aaron Denson took a 12-3 major decision from the Vikings’ Tom Davies at 184 pounds.
In desperate need of points, the Vikings used an overtime victory by No. 2-ranked Ty Copsey at 174 pounds to trim the deficit to 16-9. Copsey’s takedown of No. 4 Matt Baker at the 37-second mark of the overtime period gave him the sudden victory.
The Mavericks effectively put the contest of out of reach in the heavyweight bout as Taylor Escamilla beat Augustana’s Lance Peters 5-0. The win extended the Maverick lead to 19-9.
UNO’s Josh Keszler closed the dual with a 4-2 overtime victory over Al Meger at 125 pounds.
The Vikings will host the NCAA Super Regional Three Tournament on Feb. 27. To view the official tournament home page, follow this link:http://www.goaugie.com/sports/
UN-Omaha 22, Augustana 9
125: Josh Keszler (UNO) dec. Al Meger (Augie), 4-2 (SV1)
133: Jason Jeremiason (Augie) dec.Trent Cox (UNO), 7-3
141: Mario Morgan (UNO) dec. Jay Sherer (Augie), 5-4
149: Esai Dominguez (UNO) dec. Nate Herda (Augie), 3-2
157: George Ivanov (UNO) dec. Marcus Edgington (Augie), 4-3
165: Gavin Nelson (Augie) dec. Nathan Sigman (UNO), 6-3
174: Ryan Pankoke (UNO) dec. Carl Serck (Augie), 3-1
184: Aaron Denson (UNO) major dec. Tom Davies (Augie), 12-3
197: Ty Copsey (Augie) dec. Matt Baker (UNO), 3-1 (SV1)
285: Taylor Escamilla (UNO) dec. Lance Peters (Augie), 5-0