CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - The No. 2 Newberry College wrestling team defeated No. 3 University of Nebraska-Kearney, 22-13, to advance to the championship finals of the NWCA-Cliff Keen National Duals against No. 1 University of Nebraska at Omaha. The scarlet and gray won the finals two matches of the dual to secure the victory over the defending national champion Lopers.

For Newberry it was the biggest victory in the program's short-lived history with the previous best being a 22-17 victory over No. 8 University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown on Jan. 26, 2008.

No. 1 Nebraska-Omaha defeated No. 4 Minnesota State-Mankato, 29-9, by winning seven of the ten matches. UNO features nine nationally-ranked wrestlers; No. 2 Cody Garcia at 133 lbs., No. 6 Mario Morgan at 141 lbs., No. 6 Esai Dominquez at 149 lbs., No. 1 Todd Meneely at 157 lbs., No. 3 Aaron Denson at 165 lbs., No. 1 Ross Taplin at 174 lbs., No. 2 Austin Boehm at 184 lbs., No. 3 Jacob Marrs at 197 lbs. and No. 4 tony Lewis at 285 lbs.

Matt Oliver (Toms River, N.J.) started off the dual with his second-straight pin with his fall over Mike Abril at the 2:06 mark. The pin was Oliver's sixth of the season and gave Newberry an early 6-0 lead.

At 133 lbs., Sheridan Moran (Lafayette, La.) lost to Joey Morrison by a 10-6 decision. For Moran it was his fifth loss of the season all of which have been by a decision.

In the 141 pound match, Andrew Young (Summerville, S.C.) moved up from his normal weight of 133 lbs. to wrestle Tyler Baker and came away with a 3-2 decision. It was the first action Young has seen since the second annual Newberry Duals, where he went 3-0 in dual competitions.

The 149 pound match featured two nationally-ranked wrestlers as No. 7 Latra Collick (Berlin, Md.) upset No. 1 Ryan Etherton in another tight match by a 7-6 decsion. Collick extended his winning streak to five with the victory over the third place finisher from last year's national tournament.

Sean Byrnes (Jackson, N.J.) increased Newberry's lead to 15-3 as he defeated No. 7 Keenan McCurdy by a 3-0 decision in the 157 pound match. The victory gave Byrnes his third victory over a ranked opponent and his thirteenth victory of the year.

The 165 pound match was another closely-contested match as Brandon Kelly (Fort Myers, Fla.) lost to No. 5 Taylor May by a 10-9 decision. It was the second time in the tournament that Kelly has lost by a point to a nationally-ranked foe with the previous coming against Minnesota State-Moorhead's No. 4 Tyler Tubbs by a 8-7 decision.

The Lopers narrowed Newberry's lead as Josh Whitelock (Rhodesdale, Md.) was defeated by No. 2 Kamarudeen Usman by a 15-2 decision. The loss was Whitelock's fourth of the season and was the only match in which the Lopers scored bonus points in.

Newberry's lead fell to two as Bryant Blanton (Summerville, S.C.) lost to No. 8 Paul Sutton by a 7-1 decision. Blanton's record fell to 13-3 on the season and it was his first loss of the tournament.

Keeno Griffin (Jacksonville, Fla.) ended Newberry's three match losing streak as he defeated Matt Farrell by a 5-2 decision. Griffin moved his winning streak to five with the victory as he notched his 16th win of the season.

For the first time this year the decision of a match came down to the final weight class for Newberry. However, it was not to be for the Lopers as Cy Wainwright (Green Cove Spring, Fla.) recorded his seventh major decision of the season with his 14-6 major decision over Derek Ross. Ross, the seventh-ranked wrestler at 197 lbs., moved up to face Wainwright at 285 lbs.

Coach Jason Valek and his No. 2 Newberry squad will face off against No. 1 Nebraska-Omaha at 3 p.m. CST on Mat 3. The match will be webcasted live on http://www.livesportsvideo.com/. In order to view the selected matches a username must first be created.

Final - Newberry College (NC) 22, Nebraska-Kearney (UNK) 13
125 - No. 6 Matt Oliver (NC) pinned Mike Abril (UNK), 2:06
133 - Joey Morrison (UNK) dec. Sheridan Moran (NC), 10-6
141 - Andrew Young (NC) dec. Tyler Baker (UNK), 3-2
149 - No. 7 Latra Collick (NC) dec. No. 1 Ryan Etherton (UNK), 7-6
157 - Sean Byrnes (NC) dec. No. 7 Keenan McCurdy (UNK), 3-0
165 - No. 5 Taylor May (UNK) dec. Brandon Kelly (NC), 10-9
174 - No. 2 Kamarudeen Usman (UNK) maj. dec. Josh Whitelock (NC), 15-2
184 - No. 8 Paul Sutton (UNK) dec. Bryant Blanton (NC), 7-1
197 - No. 6 Keeno Griffin (NC) dec. Matt Farrell (UNK), 5-2
285 - No. 2 Cy Wainwright (NC) maj. dec. Derek Ross (UNK), 14-6