March 21, 2014

OKLAHOMA CITY - Senior Nestor Taffur of the Boston University wrestling team remains one win away from All-America status after falling to third-seeded Alex Dieringer of Oklahoma State, 18-11, in the NCAA quarterfinals on Friday at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

Taffur will need to earn a victory against Rutgers' Anthony Perotti on Friday night to secure a top-eight finish in the 157-pound bracket.

In the quarterfinals, Taffur took on Dieringer looking to become just the second BU wrestler to ever reach the national semifinals.

A wild opening period started off with a quick takedown by Taffur. Dieringer, however, responded with a five-point move to take a 6-2 lead. The Cowboy wrestler came back at Taffur and earned a four-point move to go up 10-3, but Taffur answered with one of his own to trail by a 10-8 count going into the second.

After Dieringer opened the second with an escape, Taffur came right back with a takedown to make the score 11-10, but that's as close as he would get. Dieringer added a takedown, back points and riding time to earn an 18-11 win and improve to 33-1 on the year.

Taffur is 2-0 against Perotti this season, earning a 6-5 win in the dual opener on Nov. 17 before topping him, 9-5, in the EIWA quarterfinals.