Michigan
Michigan State
Wolverines Come Up Shy in Nail-Biter at Michigan State
2/9/2003 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The No. 7-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team lost a nail-biter Sunday afternoon (Feb. 9) against 16th-ranked intrastate rival Michigan State, falling 16-15 in front of 3,120 fans at Jenison Field House.
The meet starting at 174 pounds, and Rashad Evans gave the Spartans the first lead, earning a 6-1 decision over redshirt freshman R.J. Boudro (Richmond, Mich./Armada HS). After a scoreless first period, Evans jumped into the lead with an early escape and takedown in the second frame. Evans added another takedown in the third after countering a shot by Boudro and rode out the Wolverine to earn 1:12 in riding time advantage.
Redshirt freshman Willie Breyer (Oxford, Mich./Oxford HS) squared up the team score with an overtime victory over Nate Mesyn at 184 pounds. Breyer struck first with a late first-period takedown, but Mesyn responded quickly, scoring a reversal with only seconds remaining in the first to tie the score. Mesyn collected riding time advantage after Breyer was unable to escape after starting the period in the down position. Mesyn took the lead after a reversal midway through the final period, but Breyer responded late in the period, scoring a reversal of his own and hanging on long enough to erase the Spartan's riding time advantage. Breyer scored a takedown just 10 seconds into the extra frame to earn the 6-4 decision.
At 197 pounds, fifth-year senior captain Kyle Smith (Butte, Mont./Butte HS), ranked 17th, was only able to score a pair of escapes against the Spartans' sixth-ranked Nik Fekete and lost the bout by a 7-3 margin. Fekete collected takedowns in the first and second periods en route to his decision victory.
In a wild match at heavyweight, Michigan State built on its team lead as unranked Mike Keenan recorded a 11-3 major decision over redshirt freshman Greg Wagner (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider HS), ranked 10th. Keenan held the narrow one-point advantage heading into the third period after scoring a pair of takedowns matched to Wagner three escapes. Late in the final period, Wagner got the Spartan up on his shoulder, but as both wrestlers crashed to the mat, it was Keenan who had Wagner on his back as the Wolverine wrestler yelled out in pain. The referee signaled the pin, but after several minutes of deliberations, he called off the fall and wrestling continued for another 30 seconds, during which Wagner stayed in the down position for the remainder of the bout.
Senior captain A.J. Grant (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston HS), ranked fifth by InterMat, sent the Wolverines into the halftime intermission with a bang, scoring a reversal against seventh-ranked Nick Simmons with three seconds remaining in the bout to take the 4-3 decision and cut the Spartans' lead to four points. Grant took the first lead with a takedown late in the first period but was unable to escape after starting down in the second, giving Simmons nearly two minutes in riding time advantage. Simmons took the lead with a third-period takedown and remained in control for most of the period
Senior/junior Foley Dowd (Howell, N.J/The Peddie School), ranked seventh, continued Michigan's momentum after the break, earning a 13-7 decision over Shane Martin at 133 pounds. Dowd controlled the action throughout the match, scoring three takedowns in the first period and adding one in the second and two in the third.
Senior/junior Clark Forward (Archbold, Ohio/Archbold HS) put up a strong third period against the Spartans' Ryan L'Amoreaux but was unable to pull off the win, falling 9-8. In an explosive first period, both wrestlers scored a takedown, two-point near fall and escape to keep the score close before L'Amoreaux broke the tie with a takedown late in the period. With only an escape by Forward scored in the second period, L'Amoreaux held the narrow one-point lead heading into the final frame. Forward scored the only offensive points in the third with a takedown but was matched by the Spartan's two escapes.
Redshirt freshman Ryan Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS), ranked 16th, cut the Spartans lead to one point after collecting a 4-1 decision over 12th-ranked Karl Nadolsky at 149 pounds. After a scoreless first period, Churella jumped out into the lead with an escape followed by a quick takedown in the second. The Wolverine was awarded an additional point for riding time advantage at the end of the match in the upset victory.
Junior/sophomore Ryan Bertin (Broadview Heights, Ohio/St. Edward HS), ranked fifth, lost a close 4-4 match in the tiebreaker to sixth-ranked Gray Maynard at 157 pounds.
With the score tied a four points apiece at the end of regulation and through the extra period, Maynard was able to escape midway through the tiebreaker to collect the decision victory, putting the Spartans up 16-12 heading into the final bout.
Senior/junior Pat Owen (Polson, Mont./Polson HS) closed the meet with a win, but his 5-0 decision over Arsen Aleksanyan was not enough for the Wolverines as Michigan State ended the dual with the 16-15 advantage. After scoring a takedown in the first period, Owen spent the remainder of the period and the entire second period trying to put the Spartan wrestler on his back. Unable to score any near fall points, Owen was awarded a point after Aleksanyan's second stalling call as well as one for riding time advantage in the win.
The Wolverines will return to the mat next weekend for a pair of home Big Ten dual meets. Michigan will square off against No. 12-ranked Penn State at 6 p.m. on Saturday (Feb. 15) and return the following day to face No. 4-ranked Ohio State at 1 p.m. Both meets will be held at Cliff Keen Arena.
#16 Michigan State 16, #7 Michigan 15
(Individual rankings from Intermat)
| 174 -- Rashad Evans (MSU) dec. R.J. Boudro, 6-1 | MSU, 3-0 |
| 184 -- Willie Breyer (U-M) dec. Nate Mesyn, 6-4 OT | Tie, 3-3 |
| 197 -- #6 Nik Fekete (MSU) dec. #17 Kyle Smith, 7-3 | MSU, 6-3 |
| Hwt -- Mike Keenan major dec. #10 Greg Wagner, 11-3 | MSU, 10-3 |
| 125 -- #5 A.J. Grant (U-M) dec. #7 Nick Simmons, 4-3 | MSU, 10-6 |
| 133 -- #7 Foley Dowd (U-M) dec. Shane Martin, 13-7 | MSU, 10-9 |
| 141 -- Ryan L'Amoreaux (MSU) dec. Clark Forward, 9-8 | MSU, 13-9 |
| 149 -- #17 Ryan Churella (U-M) dec. #12 Karl Nadolsky, 4-1 | MSU, 13-12 |
| 157 -- #6 Gray Maynard (MSU) dec. #5 Ryan Bertin, 4-4 TB | MSU, 16-12 |
| 165 -- Pat Owen (U-M) dec. Arsen Aleksanyan, 5-0 | MSU, 16-15 |
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
