Dubuque picked up a takedown midway through the first period to grab an early 2-0 lead. Nickerson fought to escape and picked up the point less than 30 seconds later, cutting the deficit to 2-1.
Dubuque won the toss at the beginning of the second period and chose the down position. He escaped 10 seconds in, getting a two point lead back.
As time was winding down in the second, Dubuque executed a spin move from the neutral position and was able to control Nickerson for the takedown and the 5-1 lead.
Dubuque got another takedown in the third and was able to fend off Nickerson's shots. Nickerson did record two escapes in the period. The riding time point gave Dubuque the 8-3 win.
Nickerson advanced to the championship match with four wins, two over seeded wrestlers. In the opening round, he beat Missouri's Austin Devoe 10-5, in a match that was tightly contested and actually had Devoe in the lead early.
His second round match was against 12th-seeded Tanner Gardner of Stanford. Nickerson was able to grind out a 3-2 win.
Moving to the quarterfinals, Nickerson made quick work of Mike Sees of Edinboro, pinning him 33 seconds into the second period. The win was a sort of revenge for Nickerson, as his last high school loss came to Sees when Nickerson was a sophomore.
In the semifinal match, Nickerson used a late reversal to upset the No. 1 seed, Nick Simmons of Michigan State.
Helping the Big Red to its second top-10 finish was seniors Dustin Manotti and Joe Mazzurco and junior Jerry Rinaldi.
Manotti had a thrilling run to third place in the 157 pound bracket. After dropping his first match of the tournament, Manotti took the long road back to his fourth All-America honor, winning his next seven matches to take third place.
After falling to Oregon State's Tony Hook in the first round, Manotti beat Jacob Yost (Chattanooga), fourth-seeded Matthew Lebe (West Virginia), Christopher Bitetto (Northern Iowa), third-seeded Alex Tirapelle (Illinois), eighth-seeded Craig Henning (Wisconsin), ninth-seeded Joe Johnston (Iowa) and top-seeded Trent Paulson (Iowa State).
After beating Paulson, the crowd of over 16,000 recognized Manotti's performance in this tournament and his outstanding career with a standing ovation.
Mazzurco went 4-3 on the tournament, earning sixth-place and his second All-America honor. He is a three-time qualifier.
Rinaldi achieved All-American status for the first time in his third NCAA appearance finished fourth, upsetting second-seeded Kyle Cerminara of Buffalo in the quarterfinals. Rinaldi will be a key returner for the Big Red next season.
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