Michigan
Ohio State
Early Lead Propels Wolverines to Victory at Ohio State
2/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 3-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team withstood a late surge by No. 21 Ohio State to remain undefeated in the Big Ten with a 22-15 victory over the Buckeyes on Friday (Feb. 6) at St. John Arena. After winning the first five bouts of the contest to build a 19-0 advantage, the Wolverines dropped four of the last five.
Sophomore/freshman Mark Moos (Lorain, Ohio/St. Edward HS) and fifth-year senior Foley Dowd (Howell, N.J./The Peddie School) earned back-to-back major decisions at 125 and 133 pounds, respectively. Dowd improved his season record to 13-0 with a 12-3 victory over Jesse Leng.
Fifth-year senior Clark Forward (Archbold, Ohio/Archbold HS) rebounded after giving up the first takedown, scoring four of his own to defeat the Buckeyes' Theo Dotson 11-5. At 149 pounds, junior/sophomore Ryan Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS) rallied in the third period to score an escape and takedown to squeeze past Jeff Ratliff 5-4.
Senior/junior Ryan Bertin (Broadview Heights, Ohio/St. Edward HS) earned bonus points for the Wolverines with a 23-8 technical fall over Ryan Rhodes. Bertin scored 10 takedowns and added two back points to dominate the Buckeye wrestler.
Fifth-year senior captain Pat Owen (Polson, Mont./Polson HS) suffered a rare loss at 165 pounds, falling to Johnny Clark by a 8-5 margin. After leading early in the match, Owen was taken down following a second-period scramble and put on his back for a three-point near fall. Sophomore/freshman Nick Roy (Wall, N.J./Wall HS) collected his second dual-meet win of the season, posting a 4-2 decision over Anthony Magistrelli.
The Buckeyes won the last three matches, including a fall for second-ranked Tommy Rowlands at heavyweight. The Buckeye wrestler controlled the match, scoring three takedowns before locking a half-nelson on junior/sophomore Greg Wagner (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider HS) to collect the pin at 2:37.
The Wolverines (14-2, 4-0 Big Ten) will continue their Big Ten Conference road trip on Sunday (Feb. 8) with a dual meet against No. 8 Penn State. The meet is slated for 1 p.m. at Rec Hall in State College, Pa.
#3 Michigan 22, #21 Ohio State 15
(Individual rankings from Amateur Wrestling News)
| 125 -- #4 Mark Moos (U-M) major dec. Jermaine Jones, 12-3 | U-M, 4-0 |
| 133 -- #2 Foley Dowd (U-M) major dec. Jesse Leng, 12-3 | U-M, 8-0 |
| 141 -- #8 Clark Forward (U-M) dec. Theo Dotson, 11-5 | U-M, 12-0 |
| 149 -- #7 Ryan Churella (U-M) dec. Jeff Ratliff, 5-4 | U-M, 15-0 |
| 157 -- #2 Ryan Bertin (U-M) tech. fall Ryan Rhodes, 23-8 | U-M, 19-0 |
| 165 -- #4 Johnny Clark (OSU) dec. #4 Pat Owen, 8-5 | U-M, 19-3 |
| 174 -- Nick Roy (U-M) dec. Anthony Magistrelli, 4-2 | U-M, 22-3 |
| 184 -- Blake Kaplan (OSU) dec. Joshua Weitzel, 4-0 | U-M, 22-6 |
| 197 -- J.D. Bergman (OSU) dec. Chase Verdoorn, 9-2 | U-M, 22-9 |
| Hwt -- #2 Tommy Rowlands (OSU) pinned #5 Greg Wagner, 2:37 | U-M, 22-15 |
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
