Michigan
Michigan State
Wolverines Thump Spartans to Close Out Dual Season
2/24/2002 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The second-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team dominated intrastate rival Michigan State this afternoon (Sunday, Feb. 24), beating the 21st-ranked Spartans 29-7 in front of 1,147 fans at Cliff Keen Arena. The Wolverines won eight individual matches in the team victory, including the first five bouts, to close out the Big Ten dual meet season with seven consecutive wins.
| | Dowd |
At 197 pounds, fifth-ranked Kyle Smith (Butte, Mont./Butte HS) held a 9-5 edge entering the final period, but John Wechter battled back, recording three takedowns in the final period to tie the score at 13 and send the match into sudden victory overtime. With just 10 seconds underway in the extra period, Smith scored a takedown to take the victory by a 15-13 margin, extending the Wolverines' lead to 7-0.
Twelfth-ranked Matt Brink (Muskegon, Mich./Fruitport HS) pulled out a victory in his final appearance at Cliff Keen Arena with a 10-3 decision over Michael Keenan in the heavyweight bout. Dominating late in the match, Brink recorded two takedowns in each of the final two periods and held Keenan to only three escapes to earn his second consecutive win in Big Ten action.
At 125 pounds, ninth-ranked A.J. Grant (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston HS) squared off against 15th-ranked Chris Williams in their 10th collegiate meeting on the mat. Grant held the Spartan without a point in three periods of action, registering an escape, two takedowns and 1:55 in riding time to earn the 6-0 decision.
In the 133-pound bout, fifth-ranked Foley Dowd (Howell, N.J./The Peddie School) dominated in his match against Scott Pushman, earning a 22-7 technical fall. Dowd recorded nine takedowns to compile 5:09 in riding time and added a three-point near fall midway through the final period to give the Wolverines a commanding 18-0 lead heading into the halftime intermission.
After the break, Nick Velissaris (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North HS) made his collegiate dual match debut for the Wolverines, filling in for the injured Clark Forward (Archbold, Ohio/Archbold HS) against Charles Sageman in the 141-pound match. Sageman held the Wolverine to just three escapes and recorded five takedowns to earn the 11-3 major decision and put the Spartans on the board.
At 149 pounds, sixth-ranked Mike Kulczycki (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Edward HS) got the Wolverines back on track with a 20-9 victory over Michigan State's Matt McCarty to bring U-M's lead to 22-4. Kulczycki dominated in the bout, scoring seven takedowns and a reversal to earn the major decision.
With the score tied at five entering the final period in the 157-pound match, fifth-ranked Ryan Bertin (Broadview Heights, Ohio/St. Edward HS) earned a third-period takedown, but with Michigan State's 13th-ranked Karl Nadolsky scoring two escapes, the match was sent into sudden victory overtime. Twenty-one seconds into the extra period, Bertin scored a takedown, giving the redshirt freshman the 9-7 decision and the Wolverines a 25-4 advantage.
At the end of the 165-pound bout, 13th-ranked Charles Martelli (Naperville, Ill./North HS) had the 4-3 advantage over MSU's Anton Hall, but the Spartan was added a point for 1:33 of riding time to send the match into an extra period. Hall scored a takedown midway through the sudden victory overtime to earn the 6-4 decision and give the Spartans three additional team points.
In the final bout of the meet, at 174 pounds, top-ranked Otto Olson (Everett, Wash./Everett HS) maintained his perfect season with a 13-3 victory over Michigan State's 10th-ranked Rashad Evans. With a six-point advantage entering the final period, Olson scored three third-period takedowns and compiled 2:04 in riding time to earn the major decision.
The Wolverines will take a two-week break to prepare for the Big Ten Championships, which will take place on Saturday and Sunday, March 9-10, in Champaign, Ill.
#2 Michigan 29, #21 Michigan State 7
(Individual rankings from Intermat, 2/19/02)
| 184 -- #1 Andy Hrovat (U-M) major dec. Nathaniel Mesyn, 16-6 | U-M, 4-0 |
| 197 -- #5 Kyle Smith (U-M) dec. John Wechter, 15-13 (OT) | U-M, 7-0 |
| Hwt -- #12 Matt Brink (U-M) dec. Mike Keenan, 10-3 | U-M, 10-0 |
| 125 -- #9 A.J. Grant (U-M) dec. #15 Chris Williams, 6-0 | U-M, 13-0 |
| 133 -- #5 Foley Dowd (U-M) tech. fall Scott Pushman, 22-7 | U-M, 18-0 |
| 141 -- Charles Sageman (MSU) major dec. Nick Velissaris, 11-3 | U-M, 18-4 |
| 149 -- #6 Mike Kulczycki (U-M) major dec. Matt McCarty, 20-9 | U-M, 22-4 |
| 157 -- #5 Ryan Bertin (U-M) major dec. Karl Nadolsky, 9-7 (OT) | U-M, 25-4 |
| 165 -- Anton Hall (MSU) dec. #13 Charles Martelli, 6-4 (OT) | U-M, 25-7 |
| 174 -- #1 Otto Olson (U-M) major dec. #10 Rashad Evans, 13-3 | U-M, 29-7 |
N O T E S
In a pre-meet ceremony, Michigan's 10 seniors were honored in their last appearance at Cliff Keen Arena in the Wolverine singlet. Matt Brink, Mark Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS), Tony Holifield (Mount Morris, Mich./E.A. Johnson HS), Andy Hrovat, Charles Martelli, Otto Olson, Dan Seder (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson HS), Katsuhiko Sueda (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson HS), Malachi Walker (Cassopolis, Mich./Ross Beatty HS) and Aaron Walter (Jackson, Mich./East Jackson HS) were all recognized for their accomplishments while wrestling at Michigan.
With the Wolverines' 29-7 win over Michigan State, head coach Joe McFarland celebrated his 100th dual meet as a head coach on a high note.Prior to coming to Michigan, McFarland was the head coach at Indiana University for three season, where he led the Hoosiers to an undefeated season and a second-place finish at the Big Ten Championships in 1990. In his career as a head wrestling coach, McFarland has compiled a 69-29-2 (.700) record.
With his win against Rashad Evans, Otto Olson extended his consecutive win streak to 35 matches, dating back to last season's NCAA Championships, in which Olson took third place by winning his final two matches in the consolation bracket. The 35-match streak is the longest in Michigan wrestling history, passing Norvard "Snip" Nalen, who recorded 34 consecutive wins from 1952 to 1954.
Earning a victory in the final dual meet of his career, senior captain Andy Hrovat did not miss a single dual meet match at 184 pounds in his four years at the Michigan. In that time, Hrovat competed in 72 consecutive dual meets, compiling a career dual meet record of 79-13 (.859). Last season, Hrovat recorded 17 dual meet wins, which put him in a tie for ninth place for most dual meet wins in a season in Michigan wrestling history.
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Joe McFarland
On Michigan's win ... "Anytime you can get a win like that over Michigan State, it's nice. I thought the guys wrestled with a lot of intensity. We're going to use this to carry us into the Big Tens and NCAAs."
On the team's momentum heading into the Big Ten Championships ... "I think the guys are wrestling very hard and tough for seven minutes. That's what it's going to take to win the tough matches at the Big Tens and nationals. We're right where we want to be."
On the senior ceremony ... "We're going to miss all 10 of those guys. They've been a big part of this program's success and it was nice to see them recognized in that fashion this afternoon. It was an emotional day knowing that those guys were going to wrestle their last matches at Cliff Keen Arena. I know all of those guys will have a lot of memories about their time at Michigan."
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
