Although University students are just returning from vacation, the Oregon wrestling team has had anything but a break during the past three weeks.
Oregon’s lessons moved from the classroom to the mat, with matches against then No. 1 Oklahoma State and No. 5 Nebraska — both Big 12 Conference powerhouses — over the winter break.
The Ducks’ most recent loss came Saturday in a 44-0 decision to Nebraska. Oregon dropped to 0-3 on the season.
It was the second time in 20 years that the Ducks failed to score a single point in a match.
Coincidentally, Oregon was also held scoreless against Oklahoma State two weeks prior, 41-0, but before that, the team hadn’t been held scoreless in a match since 1983.
“Nebraska is a tough team and they came out and wrestled hard,” Oregon head coach Chuck Kearney said. “We came out a little tentative and again we made some beginner mistakes that we will need to work out.”
Patience is being preached with a young Oregon squad this season, but the Ducks still feature several experienced wrestlers, including No. 16 Jason Harless.
Harless is the only Duck ranked nationally and provided one of Oregon’s most closely contested matches Saturday, facing off against No. 18 Matt Keller in the 133-pound weight class. Harless lost a 9-3 decision.
Sophomore Chet McBee proved to be the toughest Oregon wrestler for the Cornhuskers. McBee was edged out by James Pummel in the 174-pound match, 10-7.
“(The Cornhuskers) are a No. 5-ranked team and tonight they showed us why,” Kearney said. “We will get back in the practice room and get ready for next week’s tournament.”
If Oregon hopes to use the lessons it learned from a tough December schedule, it will need to do so soon. The Ducks travel to Redmond on Jan. 9 for the Oregon Classic.
Oregon will face off with Army, Air Force and Cal State-Fullerton next week. The Ducks have five matches between Jan. 9 and Jan. 23.
In the meantime, Oregon hits the books along with the mats, hoping to show that its biggest lessons came not during finals week, but during winter break.