CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- With a dominant 42-0 blanking of No. 8 Oklahoma City, Notre Dame has advanced to the semi-final round of the 2010 NAIA National Duals. (Results | Brackets)

The top-ranked NAIA squad (Coaches' Poll, Dec. 22) went 10-0 against the Stars, picking up two pins, three majors, a forfeit and four decisions. Notre Dame, the top seed in the tournament, is now slated to face No. 4-seed McKendree (also ranked fourth nationally) when matches resume on Sunday. The Falcons and Bearcats are scheduled to begin their match at 12 p.m. ET.

McKendree advanced on Saturday with wins over Northwestern-Iowa (31-12) and three-time defending NAIA-champ Lindenwood-Mo. (35-12). The Stars head into Sunday's action with a 4-3 mark in dual meets this season. Notre Dame is 4-1 after their win over Oklahoma City.

Notre Dame received a bye in the opening round of Saturday's action at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

In the match against Oklahoma City, NDC got pins from #Dante Rini# (141) and #Ashtin Primus# (149). #Tyler Savage# (133), #Thomas Straughn# (157) and #Kevin Hardy# all won by major decisions. The wins by Savage and Straughn were notable - Savage destroyed No. 2-ranked Cameron Reed, 19-6, and Straughn bested Nikolas Turner, 12-4. The Straughn-Turner bout was a match-up of the NAIA's No. 1 and No. 2 at 157 pounds.

Sunday's Notre Dame-McKendree tilt will feature nine grapplers ranked among the Top-3 in their respective weight classes (NDC 5, MU 4).


NOTES FROM THE NEST …

BIG SIX: With his win over No. 2 Nikolas Turner, Thomas Straughn has now won six consecutive bouts. Straughn (13-2) has three majors and one fall among those six straight. The Massillon, Ohio, native has won three tournament titles this season and has been ranked No. 1 at 157 since the NAIA Coaches' Preseason Poll was released on Oct. 20.

NINE-PIN: Ashtin Primus collected his 10th win of the season with a pin of OCU's Will Shelton in 2:39. The sophomore from Connellsville, Pa., has won by fall in nine of those 10 victories and is currently ranked No. 8 in the NAIA Coaches Poll.