CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - The No. 2 Newberry College wrestling team beat its second ranked opponent of the day with a 30-9 victory over No. 8 Upper Iowa Peacocks. The scarlet and gray won seven of the ten matches to advance to the semifinals of the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals.

Coach Jason Valek's squad will face off against No. 3 University of Nebraska at Kearney tomorrow at 11 a.m. CST on Mat 1. The Lopers of Nebraska Kearney have six nationally-ranked grapplers; No. 1 Ryan Etherton at 149 lbs., No. 7 Keenan McCurdy at 157 lbs., No. 5 Taylor May at 165 lbs., No. 2 Marty Usman at 174 lbs., No. 8 Paul Sutton at 184 lbs. and No. 7 Derek Ross at 197 lbs.

Earlier in the day, the Lopers defeated the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown by one point, 18-17, in the opening round and then beat Western State College, 26-6, in the championship quarterfinals. No. 3 Nebraska-Kearney, the defending national champions, will be the highest ranked opponent for Newberry since last year, when the scarlet and gray fell to No. 2 Minnesota State-Mankato 16-22 at the Newberry Duals.

The dual against Upper Iowa started off great for Newbery as Matt Oliver (Toms River, N.J.) pinned Kyle Pedretti at the 4:03 mark. For Oliver it was his fifth pinfall of the season as he improved his record to 15-2 on the season.

In the 133 pound match, Sheridan Moran (Lafayette, La.) lost his first dual match of the season by an 8-1 decision to Trevor Franklin. The loss snapped a five-match winning streak for Moran.

The Peacocks were able to tie the match as No. 8 Tony Washington (Georgetown, S.C.) was defeated by Steven Baker by a slim 3-2 decision. The loss was Washington's fifth loss of the season by four points or less.

With the match tied at 6-6, Newberry would win the next three matches to extend their lead over Upper Iowa.

Seventh ranked Latra Collick (Berlin, Md.) put Newberry back on the winning path as he claimed a 5-2 decision over Derek Stolarzlk. The decision gave Collick his eighth decision victory of the season as he gave Newberry a 9-6 lead.

Freshman Sean Byrnes (Jackson, N.J.) was not intimidated by the nationally ranked No. 2 Travis Eggers as he defeated the highly-ranked 157 pounder with a 3-1 decision. Byrnes improved his season dual record to 11-2 with his second victory over a top-four opponent this season.

The 165 pound match needed extra time to be decided as Brandon Kelly (Fort Myers, Fla.) scored a 11-9 sudden victory decision in overtime over Brett Hakeman. Kelly reached a career milestone with the victory as he recorded his 70th career victory, which places him third all-time at Newberry.

No. 8 Mitch Norton snapped the twelve match-winning streak of Josh Whitelock (Rhodesdale, Md.) as he barely beat the sophomore with a 5-4 decision. Whitelock's record fell to 13-3 on the season as he suffered only his second dual loss of the season.

Bryant Blanton (Summerville, S.C.) pinned his sixth opponent of the season with his pinfall of Tony Gehling at the 2:36 mark. Blanton improved his dual record to 10-1 on the season and also moved into a tie for most pins this season.

Keeno Griffin (Jacksonville, Fla.) clinched the victory over the eighth ranked Peacocks with his 17-1 technical fall over Matt Norton. The five-point technical fall gave Newberry an insurmountable 26-9 lead. Griffin, an All-American at 184 lbs., garnered his fifteenth win of the season and his first technical fall.

In the duals final match, Cy Wainwright (Green Cove Spring, Fla.) continued his dominance this year with a 16-5 major decision over Arron Cramer. The major decision was his team-leading sixth major decision of the season and the thirteenth of his career tying him with Assistant Coach Kelly Anundson for most in Newberry history.

Newberry will face the winner/loser of the Minnesota State-Mankato and University of Nebraska at Omaha match. The scarlet and gray will be looking for their thirteenth victory of the season and twelfth straight win.

Final - No. 2 Newberry College 30, No. 8 Upper Iowa 9
125 - No. 6 Matt Oliver (NEW) pinned Kyle Pedretti (UIU), 4:03
133 - Trevor Franklin (UIU) dec. Sheridan Moran (NEW), 8-1
141 - Steven Baker (UIU) dec. No. 8 Tony Washington (NEW), 3-2
149 - No. 7 Latra Collick (NEW) dec. Derek Stolarzyk (UIU), 5-2
157 - Sean Byrnes (NEW) dec. No. 2 Travis Eggers (UIU), 3-1
165 - Brandon Kelly (NEW) dec. Brett Hakeman (UIU), 11-9; SV1
174 - No. 8 Mitch Norton (UIU) dec. Josh Whitelock (NEW) 5-4
184 - Bryant Blanton (NEW) pinned Tony Gehling (UIU), 2:36
197 - No. 6 Keeno Griffin (NEW) tech. fall Matt Norton (UIU), TF-5, 17-1; 6:31
285 - No. 2 Cy Wainwright (NEW) maj. dec. Arron Cramer (UIU), 16-5