The Panthers and Badgers each won five matches in the dual. UNI moved to 0-0-1 on the season, while Wisconsin's record went to 4-0-1.
UNI head coach Brad Penrith said he was happy with the result of Saturday's dual against the highly-ranked Badgers.
"We had our opportunities against a top-rated Wisconsin team that is well-coached," head coach Brad Penrith said. "We made some mistakes in our first dual meet that we need to improve on, but we also took a lot of positives away from this too. Sometimes in the first dual meet you have a lot of jitters and nerves. But the team came out and wrestled well. We'll learn from our mistakes. This shows we could have a good team by the end of the season."
Senior Alex Dolly got the dual underway with a 7-3 win over Wisconsin's Justin Peterson at 174 pounds. Dolly secured the victory with a takedown in the final 30 seconds of the third period.
Dolly said the difference in the match came down to scoring on the edge of the mat.
"All three of my takedowns came at the edge of the line," Dolly said. (Peterson) always wanted to try and get out of bounds real quick but I was able to hold him in and get the takedown. I started getting down and getting under him. After the first takedown I knew I wouldn't have any trouble taking him down especially after he got tired."
The Badgers' Trevor Brandvold notched a 6-4 win over UNI's Andy O'Loughlin in the 184-pound match. Brandvold jumped out to a 5-0 lead, but had to hang on in the final minute for the two-point victory.
UNI's Andrew Anderson scored the night's biggest upset with a thrilling 4-3 victory over No. 3-ranked Dallas Herbst at 197 pounds. The match was knotted at 2-2 in the third period when Herbst was whistled for locking hands and a point was awarded to Anderson. Herbst still had a riding time point in tow, before Anderson netted an escape with only eight seconds left in the match.
"I knew (Herbst) was going to be tough on top and he had me tied up real good," Anderson said. "I was working the whole time and at one point he let up a little. I took advantage of his mistake and snuck out for the win. It was a pretty big match and the highest ranked wrestler I've ever wrestled. I had a good feeling about it coming in because I've wrestled him before. I knew it was going to be close."
Penrith pointed to Anderson's effort as a key to the Panthers' total team effort.
"Andrew hadn't beaten his opponent (No. 4-ranked Dallas Herbst) and toward the end it didn't look promising but Andrew exploded and he kept wrestling," Penrith said. "Andrew really earned his win."
Wisconsin's Kyle Massey secured the Badgers' only bonus point of the night with a 12-0 major decision over UNI's Dustin Bauman in the heavyweight match. Massey led 5-0 after the first and increased his lead to 9-0 at the end of two periods.
At 125 pounds, the Badgers' Drew Hammen scored a takedown with only three seconds left in the match to earn a 6-5 win over UNI's Caleb Flores. Flores led 5-2 entering the third period, but Hammen rallied for the victory with an escape, takedown and riding time point.
"Flores went for the offensive shot, made a mistake and showed his youth," Penrith said. "But he'll continue to grow and get better."
UNI freshman Trent Washington tallied a big win for the Panthers at 133 pounds with a triumph over Wisconsin's No. 18-ranked Zach Tanelli. Washington wasted little time in setting the tone for the match as he secured a takedown only three seconds into the match. Washington eventually scored five takedowns in the match before hanging on for a 14-11 win.
Washington said his approach was to score early and often against the junior Tanelli.
"That's the kind of wrestler I am," Washington said. "I want them to know right away that I will wrestle, especially since I was a freshman and he was a junior in this match. I wanted him to know that I was here to wrestle and was not going to be intimidated."
At 141 pounds, Wisconsin's Kyle Ruschell scored a last-second victory over UNI's C.J. Ettelson. The two were battling to what appeared to be a 4-4 tie and overtime would have to settle this match. However, Ruschell used a takedown with only one second left to earn the win.
"It was a tough loss for C.J., but we'll learn from it and get it fixed for the next dual," Penrith said.
UNI's Charlie Ettelson saw his brother lose in the closing seconds before he took the match and knew he had to turn the momentum back to the Panthers' side. Ettelson did not disappoint as he racked up the Panthers' lone bonus point with a 13-0 major decision over Wisconsin's Kendall Vogel at 149 pounds.
"Whenever I wrestle after my brother, I try and use what he did to motivate me," Charlie said. "When he loses, I want to go out there and make up for the loss. I want to get our there and make things happen - it helps motivate me."
Ettelson's major decision tied the dual at 13-13 with two matches left.
Wisconsin's No. 3-ranked Craig Henning was able to tally the Badgers' final win of the night - a 4-0 victory over the Panthers' Jarion Beets at 157 pounds. Henning was a national runner-up last season at 157 pounds but led only 1-0 entering the final period. Henning was able to notch a takedown at the 1:38 mark of the third period and added a riding time point to close out the 4-0 win.
UNI's Moza Fay then closed out the dual with a 9-5 win over the Badgers' Jake Donar. Fay looked like he might end the match early with a four-point move in the first period, but Donar battled back and almost pinned Fay in the second period with a five-point move of his own. But Fay settled down in the third period and rode out Donar for the victory.
"I wasn't happy with the way I wrestled," Fay said. "I wrestled well but I wasn't happy with the throw he got on me. But tying the 10th-ranked team in the nation is saying something about how good this team can be."
The Panthers will be in action again Thursday in Iowa City against the Iowa Hawkeyes at 6:30 p.m. UNI's next home meet will come next Sunday in the McLeod Center against the No. 1-ranked Iowa State Cyclones. The UNI-Iowa State dual will begin at 2 p.m.
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