Weekly Release #3

Upcoming Schedule
Friday, Dec. 10 -- vs. Cleveland State (Cliff Keen Arena), 6:30 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 2 -- vs. Central Michigan (Cliff Keen Arena), 1 p.m.

This Week: vs. Cleveland State
The No. 5-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team (0-1, 0-0 Big Ten) will open the home portion of its schedule against Cleveland State on Friday (Dec. 10) in its final event before the holiday break. The match is slated for a 6:30 p.m. start at Cliff Keen Arena.

Scouting the Vikings
Michigan leads the all-time series with Cleveland State by a 4-1 margin, dating back to 1980. U-M is 2-0 against the Vikings in Ann Arbor. In the last meeting between the two schools -- on Dec. 14, 2002 -- the Wolverines rallied from an early deficit to win the last eight bouts and cruise to a 25-6 victory at Cliff Keen Arena. Junior Pat Owen tallied the only bonus points for either team, earning a 10-2 major decision over Jason Effner at 165 pounds. Michigan head coach Joe McFarland owns a perfect 3-0 record against the Vikings while CSU head coach Jack Effner, in his seventh season with the Viking program, is 0-3 against Michigan. Cleveland State on the Internet: www.csuvikings.com.

Probable Michigan Starting Lineup

Wgt.	Wrestler	Yr./Elig.
125	Mark Moos	Jr./So.
133	Craig Gillison	Fr./Fr.
141	J.R. Muldoon	Jr./So.
149	Eric Tannenbaum	So./Fr.
157	Ryan Bertin	5th/Sr.
165	Ryan Churella	Sr./Jr.
174	Nick Roy	Jr./So.
184	Joshua Weitzel	So./So.
197	Willie Breyer	Sr./Jr.
Hwt	Greg Wagner	Sr./Jr.

Recapping the Cliff Keen Invitational
The Wolverines captured the team title (148 points) at the Cliff Keen Invitational (Dec. 3-4) for the second time in four seasons while behind the performances of four individual champions and six placewinners. Junior/sophomore Mark Moos (Lorain, Ohio/St. Edwards HS), senior/junior Ryan Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS), fifth-year senior Ryan Bertin (Broadview Heights, Ohio/St. Edwards HS) and senior/junior Greg Wagner (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider HS) all registered perfect 6-0 records to claim individual crowns while sophomore/freshman Eric Tannenbaum (Naperville, Ill./North HS) placed third at 149 pounds and junior/sophomore Nick Roy (Wall, N.J./Wall HS) earned fifth-place at 174.

Todd, White Claim Individual Titles at Cleveland State Open
Freshmen Tyrel Todd (Bozeman, Mont./Bozeman HS) and Casey White (Commerce Twp., Mich./Walled Lake Central HS) each posted perfect 3-0 records at the Cleveland State Open (Dec. 4) en route to individual titles at 174 and 197 pounds, respectively. Both U-M newcomers are registering solid redshirt seasons with Todd accumulating a 14-3 record and White owning a 10-5 mark. Freshman Cody Waters (Adrian, Mich./Adrian HS) also competed at the Kent State tournament, registering a 2-2 mark.

In the Bonus
The Wolverines proved their ability to dominate the opposition at the Cliff Keen Invitational (Dec. 3-4), scoring with big points from major decisions, technical falls and pins. U-M earned bonus points in 53.8 percent (21/39) of its wins at the annual tournament with six falls, seven technical falls and eight major decisions. On the other side of the coin, Michigan allowed bonus points in only 27.3 percent (3/11) of its losses.

Climbing the Charts
Registering a perfect 6-0 mark en route to the 157-pound title at the Cliff Keen Inivtational (Dec. 3-4), fifth-year senior Ryan Bertin improved his career record to 118-20, moving him into the 13th spot on U-M's all-time wins list. Bertin is just two wins shy of the 12th spot, currently held by two-time All-American Lanny Green (120, 1990-93). Four-time All-American John Fisher holds the Wolverine career win record with a 183-21 mark during his five seasons at Michigan (1985-89).

The Fall Guy
Fifth-year senior Jeremiah Tobias has registered a team-leading seven falls already this season with his first-place and third-place performances at the Michigan State Open (Nov. 20-21) and EMU Open (Nov. 6), brining his career total to 51 during his five seasons at Michigan. Tobias ranks second on U-M's all-time falls list, just four shy of record-holder Jeff Catrabone (55, 1994-98). Tobias also holds the Wolverines' single-season falls record with 17 (2001-02).

Home Sweet Home
Since moving into Cliff Keen Arena in 1989, Michigan has posted a record of 72-23-3 in its promary home facility. Last season, Lehigh snapped a 17-match U-M winning streak with its 18-12 victory in the season-opening tri-meet, but the Wolverines won the remainder of their home duals to start up a new five-meet streak. In their first home dual meet of the season, the Wolverines are 65-14-3 overall and 13-2 in home openers at Cliff Keen Arena.

Strength of Schedule
Michigan faces a tough field of competitors again this season, with 10 of the Wolverines' 14 dual meet opponents ranked among the top 25 teams in the National Wrestling Coaches Association's preseason poll, including three of the top five ranked teams. No. 2 Lehigh leads the pack of ranked opponents, which also includes No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 Illinois, No. 7 Minnesota, No. 9 Iowa, No. 13 Central Michigan, No. 17 Penn State, No. 18 Wisconsin, No. 21 Purdue and No. 25 Stanford.

A Look at the Polls
With their team victory at the Cliff Keen Invitational (Dec. 3-4), the Wolverines moved up a position to the No. 5 spot in the most recent National Wrestling Coaches Association's poll, released Dec. 7. U-M also boasts six ranked individuals, including four listed among the top-five wrestlers at their respective weights by Amateur Wrestling News.

NWCA/InterMat Division I Team Rankings (12/7/04)

RANK, TEAM POINTS 1. Oklahoma State (11) 440 2. Iowa State 427 3. Illinois 417 4. Nebraska 401 5. MICHIGAN 394 6. Lehigh 390 7. Minnesota 372 8. Hofstra 371 9. Iowa 352 10. Oklahoma 340 11. Cornell 323 12. West Virginia 311 13. Missouri 309 14. Central Michigan 297 15. Wisconsin 280 16. Northern Iowa 268 17. Penn State 263 18. Arizona State 246 19. Edinboro 245 20. Purdue 242 21. Pennsylvania 221 22. Navy 217 23. Rider 196 24. Cal State Bakersfield 185 25. Army 166

Individual Rankings by InterMat and Amateur Wrestling News

Wgt.	Wrestler	InterMat	AWN
125	Mark Moos	6th	4th
149	Eric Tannenbaum	8th	7th
157	Ryan Bertin	5th	3rd
165	Ryan Churella	3rd	4th
174	Nick Roy	12th	11th
Hwt	Greg Wagner	3rd	3rd

On the Horizon
The Maize and Blue will resume competition after the holidays against intrastate rival Central Michigan on Sunday, Jan. 2. The dual meet is slated for a 1 p.m. start at Cliff Keen Arena.

Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423