Michigan
Big Ten Session I
Five Wolverines Gain Berths in Big Ten Semifinal Round
3/8/2003 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
MADISON, Wis. -- Five individuals advanced to the semifinal round and led the University of the Michigan wrestling team to a fourth-place standing after the first session of the Big Ten Championships on Saturday (Dec. 8) at the UW Field House.
Redshirt freshman Ryan Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS), junior/sophomore Ryan Bertin (Broadview Heights, Ohio/St. Edward HS) and fifth-year senior captain Mike Kulczycki (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Edward HS) won back-to-back bouts in the first and quarterfinal rounds, while senior captain A.J. Grant (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston HS) and fifth-year senior captain Kyle Smith (Butte, Mont./Butte HS) won their quarterfinal matches after receiving first-round byes.
At 125 pounds, Grant, seeded second in the tournament, scored a takedown and three-point near fall in the final 10 seconds of his quarterfinal bout against Penn State's seventh-seeded Adam Smith to earn the 9-1 major decision.
Making his first appearance at the conference tournament, Churella, the fourth seed, has been dominant against the 149-pound field, posting back-to-back falls in his first pair of matches. Facing Indiana's Matt Cooper in the first round, Churella scored a takedown about one minute into the match before rolling the Hoosier over to his back moments later for the first-period pin at 1:24. In the quarterfinals, Churella held a narrow one-point lead over Illinois' fifth-seeded Tony Pedrosa after the first frame but struck early in the second with another takedown and another pin at 4:39.
Bertin, seeded sixth at 157 pounds, cruised through first-round opponent Adam Turner of Wisconsin, scoring seven takedowns and a three-point near fall in the first period en route to a 20-6 major decision. In the quarterfinals, Bertin collected an upset victory over Illinois' third-seeded Alex Tirapelle, avenging his loss to the Illini wrestler in the dual meet season. In the close bout, Bertin's takedown in the first frame proved the clincher as he held on to win 3-2.
Kulczycki, seeded seventh at 165 pounds, made his return to the mat after being sidelined with injury since early February. The Wolverine captain looked as though he had never been gone with dominant wins over Michigan State's Arsen Aleksanyan and Ohio State's second-seeded John Clark. Kulczycki issued a balance attack against Aleksanyan in the first round en route to a 9-2 decision and dominated Clark in the third period of their quarterfinal bout, scoring a pair of takedowns to earn the 10-5 upset.
Smith collected a big upset of his own at 197 pounds, defeating Iowa's third-seeded Ryan Fulsaas in the quarterfinals. Smith scored takedowns in the first and third periods and held the Hawkeye to just one escape in the 4-1 victory.
The remainder of the Wolverine lineup is still alive in the consolation bracket. Junior/sophomore Shaun Newton (Davison, Mich./Davison HS), who replaced season-long starter senior/junior Foley Dowd (Howell, N.J./The Peddie School) at 133 pounds, was overpowered by Wisconsin's sixth-seeded Tom Clum 18-3 in the first round, ending the match at the 3:52 mark.
Senior/junior Clark Forward (Archbold, Ohio/Archbold HS), seeded seventh at 141 pounds, could not muster an aggressive attack against Penn State's second-seeded Scott Moore and, after falling behind late in the first-period, went on to lose 5-1.
Senior/junior Pat Owen (Polson, Mont./Polson HS), who jumped up to 174 pounds for the conference tournament after splitting time with Kulczycki at 165 pounds this season, got off to an explosive start, collecting a takedown and two-point near fall before pinning first-round opponent Andrew Curran of Northwestern at 2:57. In the quarterfinals, Owen, seeded seventh, squared off against top-seeded Tyler Next from Iowa. After a scoreless first period, Nixt collected two minutes of riding time in the second period when Owen could not score the escape from the down position. The Wolverine scored a reversal with just one second remaining but to no avail as Nixt won 5-2.
At 184 pounds, redshirt freshman Willie Breyer (Oxford, Mich./Oxford HS) fell 19-7 to Penn State's second-seeded Mark Becks in the first round, while redshirt freshman Greg Wagner (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider HS), seeded fifth, gave up a takedown and three-point near in the first period against fourth-seeded Pat Cummins, also from Penn State, as he went on to lose by a 10-1 margin.
The Wolverines will return to the mat tonight at 6 p.m. CST for the second session of the Big Ten Championships.
Team Standings (After Session I)
1. Minnesota 65 2. Iowa 58.5 3. Illinois 54 4. MICHIGAN 52 5. Penn State 44 6. Ohio State 41 7. Purdue 40 8. Michigan State 28 9. Indiana 18 10. Wisconsin 14.5 11. Northwestern 3
Michigan Results (Session I)
Numbers listed are tournament seedings
#2 A.J. Grant (125)
Quarterfinals -- major dec. #7 Adam Smith (Penn State), 9-1
Semifinals -- vs. #6 Tony Black (Wisconsin)
Shaun Newton (133)
First Round -- tech. fall by #6 Tom Clum (Wisconsin), 18-3 (3:52)
Consolation -- vs. #5 Greg Schaefer (Indiana)
#7 Clark Forward (141)
Quarterfinals -- dec. by #2 Scott Moore (Penn State), 5-1
Consolations -- vs. John Giacche (Northwestern)
#4 Ryan Churella (149)
First Round -- pinned Matt Cooper (Indiana), 1:24
Quarterfinals -- pinned #5 Tony Pedrosa (Illinois), 4:39
Semifinals -- vs. #1 Jared Lawrence (Minnesota)
#6 Ryan Bertin (157)
First Round -- major dec. Adam Turner (Wisconsin), 20-6
Quarterfinals -- dec. Alex Tirapelle (Illinois), 3-2
Semifinals -- vs. #2 Luke Becker (Minnesota)
#7 Mike Kulczycki (165)
First Round -- dec. Arsen Aleksanyan (Michigan State), 9-2
Quarterfinals -- dec. #2 John Clark (Ohio State), 10-5
Semifinals -- vs. #3 Jacob Volkmann (Minnesota)
#8 Pat Owen (174)
First Round -- pinned Andrew Curran (Northwestern), 2:57
Quarterfinals -- dec. by #1 Tyler Nixt (Iowa), 5-2
Consolation -- vs. Dan Waters (Penn State)
Willie Breyer (184)
First Round -- major dec. by #2 Mark Becks (Penn State), 19-7
Consolation -- vs. #8 Nate Mesyn (Michigan State)
#6 Kyle Smith (197)
Quarterfinals -- dec. #3 Ryan Fulsaas (Iowa), 4-1
Semifinals -- vs. #2 Damion Hahn (Minnesota)
#5 Greg Wagner (Hwt)
Quarterfinals -- major dec. by Pat Cummins (Penn State), 10-1
Consolations -- vs. winner of Chris Little (Illinois)/#8 John Wechter (Michigan State)
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Joe McFarland
On the first session ... "We really got off on the right foot, and that's really important at this tournament. Several guys beat higher seeds, and they wrestled hard. Mike Kulczycki beat the No. 2 seed, Ryan Bertin beat a kid that he lost to earlier in the season, and I thought Kyle (Smith) looked tough against his first-round opponent. We showed a lot of intensity, and I'm really happy about that, but it's going to get tougher the farther these guys advance, and we need to continue wrestling hard and continue winning these close matches."
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
