The Panthers won nine of the 10 matches contested. UNI also tallied four falls and won the takedown battle, 21-5.
"It's probably the best we've wrestled to date," UNI head coach Brad Penrith said. "We are a good team and we proved that today. NDSU is a good team too, but we controlled all facets of the game today. We just took them out of their game plan. We have two weeks to get ready for regionals. We are all on the same page now."
Senior Alex Dolly (Mishawaka, Ind.) wrapped up his home career in quick fashion with a first-period fall over NDSU's Shannon Fettig at 174 pounds. Dolly netted two quick takedowns and then scored the pin with only 43 seconds left in the first stanza.
"I wanted to close out with a big win and this felt good," Dolly said. "I cranked him over, I thought I was going to lose it, but I got him on his back for the fall. It's good to get wins in the conference and it helps us get ready for the West Regional."
Redshirt freshman Andy O'Loughlin (Independence, Iowa) gave up an early takedown to NDSU's Matt Wetterling, but soon righted the ship and took it to the Bison's 184-pounder. O'Loughlin scored five takedowns including one in the final seconds of a 17-6 major decision.
"I came in planning on shooting the entire time and getting as many takedowns as I could," O'Loughlin said. "If I can do that, I know I can win matches pretty easily. It's a big boost to get a conference win. We just need to step it up and wrestle our best at the end of the year."
Junior Andrew Anderson (Sioux City, Iowa) kept the momentum going with a fall in the first period over the Bison's Jacob Bryce at 197 pounds.
"I have wrestled him a couple of times before, he has beaten me twice, but I beat him the last time we wrestled," Anderson said. "I'm wrestling really well lately. I had a good win at Omaha and brought some of that momentum with me today."
Redshirt freshman Dustin Bauman (Stratford, Wis.) pushed the Panthers' lead to 20-0 in the dual with a 10-0 major decision over NDSU's Tyler Hemmesch. The match was scoreless after one period, but Bauman scored a pair of three-point nearfalls in the second period to take a 6-0 lead on his way to the shutout victory.
"I just need to be smart on my feet and not give up takedowns," Bauman said. "Since I'm light at heavyweight, I just need to get them tired out on their feet. Matches like this are huge to get wins in because it helps with seeding at the regional."
The Bison cracked the scoreboard with a pin at 125 pounds when NDSU's Eric Hoffman defeated UNI's Caleb Flores (Rosemeade, Calif.) with only 26 seconds left in the third period.
Flores took it Hoffman early and scored the first takedown of the match. Flores then added his second takedown of the match in the second period to knot the match at 4-4. Hoffman tallied an escape later in the second period and added a takedown in the third before he earned the fall.
At 133 pounds, UNI's Josh Baldridge (Haysville, Kan.) got the Panthers back on the winning track with a 14-5 major decision against NDSU's Eric Sanders. Baldridge took it right to Sanders and opened up an 11-1 lead midway through the second period en route to the victory.
"I just wanted to go out there and wrestle," Baldridge said. "We were the only two undefeated in the conference, so the winner would be the number one seed at the regional. It was a big match for me to win."
Senior C.J. Ettelson (Hudson, Iowa) joined the Panthers' top-20 all-time win list with his 92nd career victory - a third-period fall over NDSU's Geoff Martin. Ettelson led 14-1 entering the third period and scored a takedown to begin the period, but used the takedown to throw Martin directly to his back and get the fall at the 5:17 mark of their 141-pound bout.
"I really wanted to go out and dominate like I did," Ettelson said. "I wanted to go out and wrestle a full match and have a big win for my last home match. This was a good dual going into the regional, and it was a good dual to end the season on."
Redshirt freshman Nick Pickerell (Albia, Iowa) may have had the most dominant effort of the day as he scored a 15-0 technical fall in the first period of his 149-pound bout with NDSU's Ryan Adams. Pickerell recorded a takedown 29 seconds into the match and then proceeded to five nearfalls before the match was stopped at the 2:01 mark.
"I just wanted to get the match over as fast as I could," Pickerell said. "He kept giving me the tilt and I kept using it. I guess the points added up pretty fast. He was a national qualifier last year so it was good to get the win. I just need to work hard this week and see where it takes me."
At 157 pounds, UNI's Tyson Reiner (Mitchell S.D.) scored a 6-4 decision over NDSU's Adam Aho. Reiner tallied the first takedown of the match and then used a late takedown in the second period to take control of the match. Reiner fended off Aho in the final seconds to record the two-point win.
Junior Moza Fay (Anamosa, Iowa) wasted little time in closing out the dual with a fall at the 1:33 mark of his 165-pound match with NDSU's Vince Salminen. Fay scored first with a takedown only six seconds into the match and then worked him over for the pin later in the period.
"I really didn't know a lot about my guy," Fay said. "I knew he had lost to a guy I had beaten. I knew he was a thrower, but I just went out and wrestled and that worked well for me. I'm really impressed by how our team is wrestling. I'm looking forward to nationals."
UNI closed its regular season with a dual mark of 7-5-1, including a perfect 4-0 mark in the WWC. NDSU fell to 11-9 overall and 4-2 in the league.
The Panthers will be in action next at the NCAA West Regional in Fargo, N.D., on March 8.
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