Huskers Squash Scarlet Knights, 31-9

Piscataway, N.J. -- The No. 6 Nebraska Cornhuskers displayed strong performances up and down the lineup on Friday night as they came away with a 31-9 victory over the #14 Rutgers Scarlet Knights. NU took eight of the ten bouts with five of the victories coming courtesy of bonus points.

 

The Huskers won four matches by major decision, three by decision and one by pinfall. For the third time in four matches, NU tallied at least four bonus-point wins in a dual victory.

 

"Our guys put forth a great effort against Rutgers tonight," Nebraska Head Coach Mark Manning said. "Up and down the lineup they fought hard and are competing hard for each other."

 

#16 Zeke Moisey (125) got the Huskers going immediately with a 10-0 major decision to put the team up 4-0. Moisey has now won four of his last five matches and sits just six wins away from reaching the 100-win mark in his career.

 

In the next match, true freshman Jevon Parrish (133) was defeated by #5 Nick Suriano of Rutgers. Suriano was the national runner-up at 125 pounds last year after posting a 25-1 record. His 12-2 major decision over Parrish knotted the team score up at four.

 

#19 Chad Red Jr. (141) put four more points on the board for the Huskers with a major decision of his own over Peter Lipari. A second period takedown and a four-point nearfall gave Red Jr. a significant cushion and he was able to notch his third major of the season.

 

Rutgers held its final lead of the dual at 9-8 after #2 Anthony Ashnault defeated NU’s Jordan Shearer (149) by tech. fall, 16-1. Ashnault is now a perfect 18-0 on the year.

 

In the final match before intermission, Huskers senior #2 Tyler Berger (157) withstood a strong effort from RU’s #15 John Van Brill to take a 7-3 decision and improve to 18-2 on the season.

 

#6 Isaiah White won his 12th match in his last 13 duals by earning a 3-2 decision over Stephan Glasgow at 165-pounds. A first-period takedown by White was the only offense of the dual as the NU junior held off a couple last-second attacks by Glasgow.

 

Easton, Pa., native #9 Mikey Labriola (174) picked up his third major decision since 2019 began after taking a 16-5 major decision over Anthony Oliveri. Two four-point nearfalls by the Husker redshirt freshman after takedowns proved to be too much for Oliveri to handle as Labriola put his team up 18-9 with three bouts to go.

  

Redshirt sophomore and returning All-American #4 Taylor Venz notched his third pin in his last four duals when he got Rutgers’ 184-pounder John Ciaramella on his back and pinned him just 1:53 into the match. Venz is a perfect 6-0 since falling to N.C. State’s #3 Nick Reenan on Dec. 16.

 

NU’s #11 Eric Schultz continued to wrestle at a high level, taking down Matthew Correnti by major decision, 21-8. Schultz has won five of his last six duals and now has six bonus-point victories on the year.

 

Husker heavyweight #14 David Jensen put the nail in the Scarlet Knights coffin as he worked a 6-1 decision over Christian Colucci to push the Huskers margin of victory to 22 points at 31-9. Jensen is 12-2 (6-2 in duals) on the year.

 

"We need Husker nation to turn out at noon on Sunday to see us battle a tough Iowa team," Manning said. "It's going to be very exciting and it will get you ready for the Super Bowl!"

 

With the win, the Huskers move to 10-3 (4-2 B1G) on the season and Rutgers drops to 8-5 (2-3 B1G). The Scarlet Knights will take on a top-20 Princeton team on Sunday afternoon to cap off their weekend.

 

Match Results:

125: #16 Zeke Moisey (NEB) major dec. Shane Metzler (RU), 10-0 (NEB 4, RU 0)

133: #5 Nick Suriano (RU) major dec. Jevon Parrish (NEB), 12-2 (NEB 4, RU 4)

141: #19 Chad Red Jr. (NEB) major dec. Peter Lipari (RU), 16-5 (NEB 8, RU 4)

149: #2 Anthony Ashnault (RU) tech. fall Jordan Shearer (NEB), 16-1 (4:05) (RU 9, NEB 8)

157: #2 Tyler Berger (NEB) dec. #15 John Van Brill (RU), 7-3 (NU 11, RU 9)

165: #6 Isaiah White (NEB) dec. Stephan Glasgow (RU), 3-2 (NEB 14, RU 9)

174: #9 Mikey Labriola (NEB) major dec. Anthony Oliveri (RU), 16-5 (NU 18, RU 9)

184: #4 Taylor Venz (NEB) pinned John Ciaramella (RU), (1:53) (NU 24, RU 9)

197: #11 Eric Schultz (NEB) major dec. Matthew Correnti (RU), 21-8 (NU 28, RU 9)

285: #14 David Jensen (NEB) dec. Christian Colucci (RU), 6-1 (NU 31, RU 9)

   

Up Next:

The team will fly home to prepare for the #3 Iowa Hawkeyes. Nebraska will host the Hawkeyes at the Devaney Center on Sunday, Feb. 3 at noon. Tickets are on sale at Huskers.com/tickets or by phone at 800-8BIGRED.

 

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