Michigan Caps Dual Schedule with Rout of Northwestern

Sunday, February 22

Evanston, Ill.

1:00 PM CT

Michigan

Northwestern

Michigan Caps Dual Schedule with Rout of Northwestern

2/22/2004 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling

EVANSTON, Ill. -- The No. 3-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team closed its dual-meet season with a dominant 37-7 victory over Northwestern on Sunday (Feb. 22). The Wolverines won eight individual bouts in the contest, including five with bonus points.

Junior/sophomore Greg Wagner (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider HS), junior/sophomore Ryan Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS) and senior/junior captain Ryan Bertin (Broadview Heights, Ohio/St. Edward HS) all recorded falls to lead Michigan (17-3, 7-1 Big Ten) in the season finale. With the Wolverines holding just a narrow one-point advantage, Wagner's pin against Mike Little at the 2:47 mark of the heavyweight bout gave U-M a substantial lead in the team scoring.

It was a career-high ninth fall of the season for Churella, who used an arm bar to pin Josh Ballard with 2:36 underway in the 149-pound bout. Bertin was dominating at 157 pounds when early in the third period he finished an outside carry to take the Wildcats' Mike Kimberlin straight to his back, collecting the pin at 5:53.

Freshman Joshua Weitzel (Lincoln University, Pa./Oxford HS) gave the Wolverines the only advantage they would need with a 12-1 victory over Joseph Gullota at the opening weight of 184 pounds. Weitzel jumped to an early lead in the bout, scoring a takedown and five back points in the first period. The Wolverine freshman added a second-period reversal and another takedown in the third frame to collect the major decision.

U-M also collected big points at 125 pounds, where senior/junior Shaun Newton (Davison, Mich./Davison HS) earned the second varsity win of his career by forfeit.

After a loss at 133 pounds, the Wolverines wrapped up the meet with five consecutive victories. Fifth-year senior Clark Forward (Archbold, Ohio/Archbold HS) put U-M back into the win column with a 4-2 decision over Paul Augle. After the back-to-back falls at 149 and 157 pounds to seal the Michigan victory, fifth-year senior captain Pat Owen (Polson, Mont./Polson HS) and sophomore/freshman Nick Roy (Wall, N.J./Wall HS) added a pair of decisions to add to the Wolverines' score.

The Wolverines will take a two-week hiatus to prepare for the Big Ten Championships, scheduled for Saturday and Sunday (March 6-7) in Columbus, Ohio.

#3 Michigan 37, Northwestern
(Individual rankings from Amateur Wrestling News)

184 -- Joshua Weitzel (U-M) major dec. Joseph Gullota, 12-1	U-M, 4-0
197 -- Matt Delguyd (NU) dec. Chase Verdoorn, 8-5	U-M, 4-3
Hwt -- #5 Greg Wagner (U-M) pinned Mike Little, 2:47	U-M, 10-3
125 -- Shaun Newton (U-M) won by forfeit	U-M, 16-3
133 -- Jon Ott (NU) major dec. Chase Metcalf, 9-0	U-M, 16-7
141 -- #20 Clark Forward (U-M) dec. Paul Augle, 4-2	U-M, 22-7
149 -- #6 Ryan Churella (U-M) pinned Josh Ballard, 2:36	U-M, 25-7
157 -- #2 Ryan Bertin (U-M) pinned Mike Kimberlin, 5:53	U-M, 31-7
165 -- #4 Pat Owen (U-M) dec. Nick Hayes, 9-2	U-M, 34-7
174 -- #18 Nick Roy (U-M) dec. Nolan Walther, 8-6	U-M, 37-7