Michigan
Iowa
Wagner, Michigan Take Down Iowa in Big Ten Opener
1/23/2004 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 3-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team held on to win a 20-16 decision over No. 10 Iowa on Friday (Jan. 23) in its Big Ten dual-meet opener in front of 2,827 fans at Crisler Arena.
With the Wolverines (11-2, 1-0 Big Ten) holding just a one-point advantage heading into the final bout, junior/sophomore heavyweight Greg Wagner (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider HS) sealed the victory for the Michigan with a 4-1 decision over the Hawkeyes' Ryan Fuller. After a scoreless first period, Wagner took control with a takedown in the second period and added 1:03 in riding time in the night's deciding bout.
Also scoring important bonus points for the Wolverines was fifth-year senior captain Pat Owen (Polson, Mont./Polson HS), who notched his seventh fall of the season, pinning Cole Pape at the 0:47 mark in the 165-pound bout. Owen struck early, scoring a takedown just seconds into first period and quickly turning the Hawkeye to his back to collect the pin and six team points.
Iowa (6-3, 1-1 Big Ten) held the first advantage of the meet, taking the early lead with second-ranked Luke Eustice earning a 13-3 major decision over third-ranked sophomore/freshman Mark Moos (Lorain, Ohio/St. Edward HS) at 125 pounds. Eustice controlled the action throughout the match, scoring five takedowns and adding a two-point near fall in the final seconds of the third period.
Fifth-year senior captain Foley Dowd (Howell, N.J./The Peddie School) scored bonus points for the Wolverines with a 22-6 technical fall over the Hawkeyes' Trent Goodale. Dowd scored three takedowns and a two-point near fall to hold six-point advantage after the first period. The Wolverine captain put on a takedown show for the remainder of the match, taking down Goodale and letting him up to accumulate five more takedowns and a three-point near fall to end the match at the 5:52 mark.
At 141 pounds, Iowa's fifth-ranked Cliff Moore needed overtime to earn a 5-3 win over fifth-year senior Clark Forward (Archbold, Ohio/Archbold HS), scoring a takedown midway through the extra frame to collect the sudden-victory decision. After a scoreless opening period, Forward struck first with an escape early in the second frame. Moore earned an escape and a takedown in the third period to steal the lead but gave up two stalling points to knot the score at three apiece at the end of regulation.
The Wolverines headed into the halftime intermission with an 11-7 advantage in the team scoring after back-to-back wins at 149 and 157 pounds. Junior/sophomore Ryan Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS) earned a 4-3 decision over eighth-ranked Ty Eustice in the fourth tiebreaker. With the score knotted at two points apiece at the end of regulation and the sudden-victory overtime, each wrestler scored an escape in the first round of tiebreakers to bump the score to 3-3. After a second scoreless sudden-victory overtime, Churella earned a quick escape in third tiebreaker to gain the one-point advantage before riding out Eustice for the entire 30 seconds in the fourth tiebreaker to win the match.
At 157 pounds, senior/junior captain Ryan Bertin (Broadview Heights, Ohio/St. Edward HS) used an early lead to propel himself past Joe Johnston, 13-9. Bertin held a five-point advantage after the first period with a pair of takedowns and a two-point near fall. Johnston came back with three takedowns of his own in the final two periods, but the Wolverine captain held on, scoring another pair of takedowns to stay in front and win the match.
The Hawkeyes cut the Michigan lead to one point with three consecutive wins at 174, 184 and 197 pounds. Fourth-ranked Tyler Nixt came from behind to win a close 6-5 decision against sophomore/freshman Nick Roy (Wall, N.J./Wall HS). Roy struck first, scoring a first-period takedown to gain the initial advantage, Nixt rebounded in the second frame with a pair of takedowns to steal the lead. Roy pulled within one point after a quick escape in the third period but, despite several near-takedowns, could not score again against Nixt.
At 184 pounds, the Hawkeyes' Paul Bradley scored three takedowns, including two in the first period, en route to a 6-2 decision over freshman Joshua Weitzel (Lincoln University, Pa./Oxford HS) while Ryan Fulsaas narrowly squeezed past sophomore/freshman Chase Verdoorn (Platte City, Mo./Platte County HS) 5-3 after scoring a pair of takedowns early in the match.
The Wolverines close out the weekend by hosting No. 12 Minnesota at 7 p.m. Saturday (Jan. 24) in Crisler Arena.
#3 Michigan 20, #10 Iowa 16
(Individual rankings from Amateur Wrestling News)
| 125 -- #2 Luke Eustice (Iowa) major dec. #4 Mark Moos, 13-3 | Iowa, 4-0 |
| 133 -- #3 Foley Dowd (U-M) tech. fall Trent Goodale, 22-6 (5:52) | U-M, 5-4 |
| 141 -- #5 Cliff Moore (Iowa) dec. #20 Clark Forward, 5-3 SV | Iowa, 7-5 |
| 149 -- #7 Ryan Churella (U-M) dec. #8 Ty Eustice, 4-3 TB | U-M, 8-7 |
| 157 -- #2 Ryan Bertin (U-M) dec. #16 Joe Johnston, 13-9 | U-M, 11-7 |
| 165 -- #4 Pat Owen (U-M) pinned Cole Pape, 0:47 | U-M, 17-7 |
| 174 -- #4 Tyler Nixt (Iowa) dec. Nick Roy, 6-5 | U-M, 17-10 |
| 184 -- Paul Bradley (Iowa) dec. Joshua Weitzel, 6-2 | U-M, 17-13 |
| 197 -- #16 Ryan Fulsaas (Iowa) dec. Chase Verdoorn, 5-3 | U-M, 17-16 |
| Hwt -- #5 Greg Wagner (U-M) dec. Ryan Fuller, 4-1 | U-M, 20-16 |
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
