Wrestling: OU falls to Wisconsin

OU’s wrestling team needed redshirt freshman Nathan Fernandez to knock off No. 13-ranked Kyle Massey in the heavyweight bout to give Oklahoma the win over Wisconsin.

But Massey proved to be too much for the freshman, defeating Fernandez by a final of 4-2 and giving the Badgers (9-2-1) an 18-15 victory over the Sooners.

The loss halted a seven match win streak for the Sooners, now 11-2 on the season.

“I am proud of our team for battling back after being down early,” head coach Jack Spates said.  “We didn’t seal the deal and that is really disappointing to us.”

The Badgers opened the match with No. 18 Collin Cudd recording a 7-4 decision over 125-pound Sooner Joey Fio, giving Wisconsin a 3-0 team lead. Fio leads the team with 42 takedowns, but was only able to score escapes in the loss.

John Starzyk scored the opening takedown in the 133 pound bout but was unable to sustain the lead. Badger Zach Tanelli, ranked 12th, took control at the conclusion of the first period by posting a reversal and nearfall in the 10-5 decision.

No. 8-ranked Kyle Ruschell then made the score 9-0 in favor of the Badgers after recording a 1-3 decision over No. 11 Zack Bailey at 141 pounds. No. 9 Will Rowe posted OU’s first points of the evening in the 141 pound match, scoring eight takedowns in a 19-6 major decision. The win brought the Sooners within five, 9-4.

UW’s No. 2-ranked Craig Henning then blanked 157-pound Chad Terry, winning by a final of 4-0 to extend the Badger lead to 12-4.

Sooner redshirt sophomore Shane Vernon, filling in for the injured Max Dean, scored a reversal with 16 seconds left to defeat Jake Donar by an 8-7 decision at 165 pounds to bring OU within five, 12-7.

“Shane (Vernon) was wrestling up a weight and really came to battle,” Spates said. “He came in and stepped up for this team, and we are proud of that.”

Jeff James won OU’s second straight match after dominating 174-pound Justin Peterson by a 10-1 major decision to make it a 12-11 match in favor of UW.