Wrestling

Northwestern started behind early this weekend dropping the first two matches in Lincoln, Nebraska, and couldn’t claw their way back into the dual.

The Wildcats (1-12, 0-8 Big Ten) lost their 11th-straight meet Friday, falling to No. 8 Nebraska (11-5, 5-4) 39-6 in yet another lopsided defeat. The team only recorded one win when senior and 141-pound wrestler Jameson Oster pinned his opponent in 3 minutes and 54 seconds to award NU six points.

Following Oster’s win, the Cats failed to pick up another win for the remaining seven matches of the dual.

Oster upset Anthony Abidin — the No. 19 wrestler in his weight class — after locking him in a cradle with the score tied at 2-2. The win will be vital for Oster’s resume for the upcoming 2016 Division I Championships. Prior to the match, FloWrestling ranked Oster No. 20 and InterMat had him unranked.

Meanwhile, the Cats’ superstar junior and No. 6 149-pound wrestler Jason Tsirtsis did not wrestle in the dual after a much awaited bout with Nebraska’s No. 4 Jake Sueflohn. Both wrestlers forfeited the match, and Nebraska’s replacement was credited with the victory.

NU senior Dominick Malone, who is currently ranked No. 20 in the 133-pound class, also suffered a tough defeat Friday, losing a close 4-1 match. With only a minute left in the match, Malone and his opponent were tied at 1-1, but the Cornhuskers’ wrestler was able to earn three points to come away with the win.

The Cats only have two matches remaining in the season before the Big Ten Championships. This weekend, the team will travel to Duke and Wisconsin — both unranked teams — where NU will get one final chance to avoid going winless in conference play in Madison.

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Twitter: @Dan_Waldman