Weekly Release #11

Upcoming Schedule:
Saturday, Feb. 22 -- at Purdue (West Lafayette, Ind.), 7 p.m.
March 8-9 -- Big Ten Championships (Madison, Wis.)
March 20-22 -- NCAA Championships (Kansas City, Mo.)

Wolverines Close Regular Season Against Purdue
The No. 9-ranked Michigan wrestling team (10-6, 5-2 Big Ten) will close out its dual meet season on the road against No.15-ranked Purdue (14-4, 3-3 Big Ten). The teams will square off on Saturday (Feb. 22) in West Lafayette, Ind., in a dual slated for 7 p.m. at the Intercollegiate Athletic Facility. The Wolverines are fourth in Big Ten standings after collecting back-to-back wins over Penn State and Ohio State last weekend.

The Series vs. Purdue
Michigan leads the all-time series by a 50-12-1 margin, dating back to 1923. The Wolverines are 7-3 in the last 10 meetings, and owns a record of 21-6 in West Lafayette. Michigan head coach Joe McFarland owns a 2-0 mark against Purdue since taking the helm of the Wolverine wrestling team.

Last Meeting vs. Purdue
Michigan battled back from an early deficit and cruised to a 27-9 victory when the Wolverines last faced Purdue on Jan. 27 last season at Cliff Keen Arena.  After dropping two close decisions in the first two matches, the Wolverines won seven of the final eight matches to take the win in their second conference dual of the season.  Sophomore Clark Forward (Archbold, Ohio/Archbold HS) gave Michigan the lead for good with a 15-6 major decision at 141 pounds, while junior 149-pounder Mike Kulczycki (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Edward HS) and senior captain Andy Hrovat also earned major-decision victories.

About the Boilermakers
Purdue enters Saturday's dual meet with a 14-4 record and stands sixth in the Big Ten with a 3-3 conference mark. The Boilermakers kicked off their Big Ten schedule with losses to Penn State (Jan.26, 21-15) and Illinois (Jan. 31, 20-15), but rebounded to defeat Indiana (Feb. 7, 30-15) and Ohio State (Feb. 9, 21-17). Last weekend, Purdue split a pair of dual, dominating Wisconsin (Feb. 14, 32-6) before falling to Iowa (Feb. 16, 33-7). The Boilermakers are led by returning All-American Chris Fleeger at 125 pounds and returning NCAA qualifiers Oscar Santiago (165) and Ryan Lange (174). Head coach Jesse Reyes owns a 119-78-3 career mark in his 11th season at the helm and is 2-7 against Michigan. Purdue on the web: http://www.purduesports.com/

Michigan Posts a Pair Big Ten Wins
The Wolverines earned another pair of home wins last weekend, beating Penn State 25-17 on Saturday (Feb. 15) and upsetting fifth-ranked Ohio State 26-17 on Sunday (Feb. 16). Michigan jumped out to an early lead against Penn State and, despite losing three of the last five matches, held on for the win. Bonus points played a pivotal role against Ohio State with each team winning five matches; the Wolverines earned two falls, an injury default and a technical fall to catapult them into the lead.

Big Ten Milestone
In what many consider the premiere collegiate wrestling conference, Michigan has always been a top contender among the Big Ten schools. With a win over Purdue on Saturday, the Wolverines will collect their 400th Big Ten Conference victory in their 81st year as a varsity program. With wins last weekend over Penn State and Ohio State, Michigan improved its all-time conference record to 399-157-15.

Home Sweet Home
With its pair of wins over Penn State and Ohio State last weekend, Michigan wrapped up its home schedule with a perfect 5-0 record at Cliff Keen Arena this season. Despite suffering a 22-10 home loss last season to Minnesota at Crisler Arena, the Wolverines have not been beaten in their regular home venue since Feb. 11, 2000 when they fell to Minnesota 23-18. Michigan holds a 16-meet winning streak within the confines of Cliff Keen Arena.

A Pair of Milestones for McFarland
After earning his 50th victory at Michigan with the Wolverines' 26-14 win over Northern Iowa in the consolation round of the National Duals (Jan. 18), head coach Joe McFarland collected his 75th career win with U-M's 19-13 upset victory over Illinois (Jan. 24). Prior to Michigan, McFarland was the head coach at Indiana University, where he compiled a 24-20 record in three seasons.

Climbing up the Charts
Senior captain A.J. Grant (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston HS) collected his 100th career victory with a 4-0 decision over Iowa's Luke Eustice in the quarterfinal round of the National Duals (Jan. 18), making him the 22nd member of Michigan's prestigious 100-win club. Grant added another pair of wins last weekend with a 12-4 major decision over Penn State's Adam Smith and a 26-11 technical fall against the Buckeyes' Nathan Costello to improve his career record to 110-54. The two wins moved Grant into the 14th spot on Michigan's all-time wins list, where he is tied with two-time All-American Bill Lacure (110-40; 1994-98). Fifth-year senior captain Mike Kulczycki sits in the 16th spot on the list with a career record of 108-36, tied with Fritz Lehrke (108-43-5; 1987-91) and Brian Harper (108-53-2; 1991-94).

Fresh Faces in the Lineup
With redshirt freshman Tony Grygorzyk (Grand Rapids, Mich./West Catholic HS) making his collegiate debut in last weekend's duals against Penn State and Ohio State, nine Wolverines have now competed in their first collegiate dual meet this season. Other Wolverines who broke into the starting lineup for the first time are redshirt freshman R.J. Boudro (Richmond, Mich./Armada HS), redshirt freshman Willie Breyer (Oxford, Mich./Oxford HS), redshirt freshman Ryan Churella, redshirt freshman Tommy Garza (Southgate, Mich./Anderson HS), freshman Rob Sulaver (Dearborn, Mich./Dearborn HS), senior/junior Matt Thomas (Ada, Mich./Forest Hills Central) junior/sophomore Jeremiah Tobias (Manchester, Mich./Manchester HS) and redshirt freshman Greg Wagner (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider HS).

The Fall Guy
Junior/sophomore Jeremiah Tobias doubled his season falls mark by collecting five pins at the Edinboro Open (Feb. 8). With his first-place finish at the open tournament, Tobias brings his career falls total to 42 in his brief time at Michigan. After posting 15 falls in his first season and a Michigan-record 17 falls last year, Tobias ranks fifth on Michigan's career falls list, only one fall shy of the fourth spot, held by John Fisher (1985-89). 

Season	Wins	Falls	Pct.
2000-01	19	15	.789
2001-02	24	17	.708
2002-03	18	10	.556
Career	61	42	.689

NWCA Division I Coaches Poll (2/12/03)

Rank, Team Points Prev. 1. Oklahoma State (11) 275 1 2. Iowa 263 2 3. Minnesota 252 3 4. Lehigh 241 5 5. Ohio State 223 4 6. Cornell 210 6 7. Michigan State 201 16 8. Illinois 195 8 9. MICHIGAN 182 7 10. Oklahoma 173 9 11. Arizona State 153 10 12. Penn State 144 12 13. West Virginia 140 11 Missouri 140 15 15. Northern Iowa 113 13 Purdue 113 21 17. Nebraska 106 14 18. Boise State 96 17 19. Iowa State 82 18 20. Central Michigan 62 19 21. Pennsylvania 56 22 22. Wisconsin 43 20 23. Edinboro 35 24 24. Northern Illinois 28 25 25. Fresno State 15 NR

Individual Rankings by Intermat and Amateur Wrestling News (2/18/03)

Wgt.	Wrestler	Intermat	AWN
125	A.J. Grant	4th	4th
133	Foley Dowd	7th	5th
141	Clark Forward	NR	18th
149	Ryan Churella	17th	12th
157	Ryan Bertin	8th	6th
165	Pat Owen	NR	16th
165	Mike Kulczycki	NR	18th
197	Kyle Smith	14th	12th
Hwt	Greg Wagner	13th	9th