Michigan
Ohio State
Big Wins Propel Michigan Past No. 4-Ranked Buckeyes
2/10/2002 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The third-ranked University of Michigan wrestling squad completed a successful weekend road trip this afternoon (Sunday, Feb. 10), winning six individual matches to earn the 23-12 team victory over the fourth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes and giving the Wolverines their fourth straight conference win.
| | Kulczycki |
In the 165-pound match, ninth-ranked Charles Martelli (Naperville, Ill./North HS) lost a close match to seventh-ranked John Clark, who took the 9-5 decision to put the Buckeyes on the board and cut the Wolverines' lead to four points, 7-3.
Michigan took the next two matches in strong fashion, with top-ranked Otto Olson (Everett, Wash./Everett HS) earning his second consecutive technical fall with a 22-7 victory over Ryan Hieber at 174 pounds. Olson's win earned the Wolverines five team points and extended the sixth-year senior's perfect season to 30-0. In the 184-pound match, Michigan's Andy Hrovat (Gates Mills, Ohio/St. Edward HS), ranked first by InterMat, earned the major decision victory, beating 17th-ranked Anton Talamantes 22-8 to extend the Michigan lead to 16-3.
The Buckeyes responded by winning the next two weight classes, at 197 pounds and heavyweight, to cut the Wolverine lead to seven points, 16-9. In the 197-pound match, fifth-ranked Kyle Smith (Butte, Mont./Butte HS) squared off against fourth-ranked Nick Preston, who took the 9-3 decision over Smith. At heavyweight, second-ranked Tommy Rowlands narrowly defeated No. 14 Matt Brink (Muskegon, Mich./Fruitport HS), earning the 4-3 decision.
At 125 pounds, eighth-ranked A.J. Grant (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston HS) dominated the Buckeyes' Jesse Leng, earning the 12-3 major decision and giving the Wolverines another four team points. In the 133-pound match, seventh-ranked Foley Dowd (Howell, N.J./The Peddie School) sealed up the team victory for Michigan by defeating 11th-ranked Jeff Ratliff by a 9-4 margin. The Buckeyes were able to take three more team points in the final match of the dual meet, at 141 pounds. Seventh-ranked Robert Sessley recorded two points in the overtime period to squeeze past Michigan's Clark Forward (Archbold, Ohio/Archbold HS) to make the final score 23-12 in Michigan's favor.
Next weekend the Wolverines will again hit the road with conference dual meets against the University of Iowa and the University of Wisconsin. On Friday (Feb. 15), Michigan will travel to Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City to take on the Hawkeyes at 7 p.m. CST. The following Sunday (Feb. 17), the Wolverines will be in Madison to square off against the Badgers at 2 p.m. CST.
#3 Michigan 23, #4 Ohio State 12
(Individual rankings from Intermat, 2/5/02)
| 149 -- #7 Mike Kulczycki (U-M) major dec. Josh Daugherty, 17-7 | U-M, 4-0 |
| 157 -- #5 Ryan Bertin (U-M) dec. #8 Josh Janson, 12-6 | U-M, 7-0 |
| 165 -- #7 John Clark (OSU) dec. #9 Charles Martelli, 9-5 | U-M, 7-3 |
| 174 -- #1 Otto Olson (U-M) tech. fall Ryan Hieber, 22-7 | U-M, 12-3 |
| 184 -- #2 Andy Hrovat (U-M) major dec. #17 Anton Talamantes, 22-8 | U-M, 16-3 |
| 197 -- #4 Nick Preston (OSU) dec. #5 Kyle Smith, 9-3 | U-M, 16-6 |
| Hwt -- #2 Tommy Rowlands (OSU) dec. #13 Matt Brink, 4-3 | U-M, 16-9 |
| 125 -- #8 A.J. Grant (U-M) major dec. Jesse Leng, 12-3 | U-M, 20-9 |
| 133 -- #7 Foley Dowd (U-M) dec. #11 Jeff Ratliff, 9-4 | U-M, 23-9 |
| 141 -- #7 Robert Sessley (OSU) dec. Clark Forward, 5-3 (OT) | U-M, 23-12 |
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
