Michigan
Central Michigan
Churella's Fall Keys Wolverine Win at Central Michigan
12/11/2005 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- Fifth-year senior captain Ryan Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS) earned his fourth fall of the season to pace the No. 2-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team past No. 19 Central Michigan 22-14 on Sunday (Dec. 11) at the Chippewas' Rose Arena. U-M won six of 10 matches in the afternoon contest, including two with bonus points.
After dropping two of three opening weight classes, the Wolverines trailed early in the non-conference competition but rallied with back-to-back wins at 141 and 149 pounds. With the score knotted at 10 points apiece entering the 165-pound bout, Churella's pin against the Chippewas' Justin Petrone gave Michigan the lead for good as U-M won three of the final four matches.
The Wolverine captain took control midway through the first frame, scoring on a single-leg takedown on the edge of the mat. On the restart, Churella took ahold of Petrone's arm and used a guillotine to roll the Chippewa wrestler to his back, securing the quick fall at 1:32.
Senior/junior Nick Roy (Wall, NJ./Wall HS) and sophomore/freshman Tyrel Todd (Bozeman, Mont./Bozeman HS) locked up the win with decision victories at the following two weight classes to give the Maize and Blue an insurmountable lead. Roy needed riding time to defeat 16th-ranked Brandon Sinnott 7-6 at 174 pounds as the Chippewas wrestler evened the score in the closing seconds of the match. Roy struck first and controlled early with a pair of takedowns in the opening two frames. After several CMU escapes and a second stalling call on Roy late in the match, his 1:31 in riding time advantage made the difference.
In a close match at 184 pounds, Todd's takedown midway through the third period proved enough to defeat the Chippewas' Christian Sinnott 3-2. After each wrestler earned his escape to start the second and third periods, Todd's duck-under broke the tie to secure the freshman Wolverine's third dual victory.
The Wolverines kicked off the dual meet with a win at heavyweight as fifth-year senior captain Greg Wagner (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider HS) cruised to a 4-1 decision against 14th-ranked Bubba Gritter. Despite the narrow score, Wagner controlled throughout the match after scoring a takedown early in the opening period. The Wolverine captain rode out Gritter for the entire second period and added a quick escape to start the third en route to his seventh win of the season.
After U-M losses at 125 and 133 pounds, junior/sophomores Josh Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS) and Eric Tannenbaum (Naperville, Ill./North HS) started the U-M rally with big wins at the subsequent two weights. Churella scored four takedowns, a second-period reversal and four back points en route to a 15-3 major decision against Eric Kruger at 141 pounds.
At 149 pounds, Tannebaum gained an early advantage against sixth-ranked Mark DiSalvo, scoring a pair of first-period takedowns and adding another in the second to claim a 10-5 victory. The Wolverine allowed DiSalvo just five escapes and accumulated 1:43 in riding time to dominate the match.
Michigan (2-1, 1-0 Big Ten) will open up the new year with a pair of non-conference road duals in the Empire State. The Wolverines will travel to Hempstead, N.Y., to square off against Hofstra at 7 p.m. on Jan. 2, before heading to New York City the following day (Jan. 3) to face Cornell at the New York Athletic Club at 6 p.m.
#2 Michigan 22, #9 Central Michigan 14
(Individual rankings from NWCA/InterMat)
| Hwt -- #3 Greg Wagner (U-M) dec. #14 Bubba Gritter, 4-1 | U-M, 3-0 | |
| 125 -- Matt Steintrager (CMU) dec. Michael Watts, 9-3 | Tie, 3-3 | |
| 133 -- #12 Jason Borrelli (CMU) major dec. Jim Shutich, 10-2 | CMU, 7-3 | |
| 141 -- #5 Josh Churella (U-M) major dec. Eric Kruger, 15-3 | Tie, 7-7 | |
| 149 -- #5 Eric Tannenbaum (U-M) dec. #6 Mark DiSalvo, 10-5 | U-M, 10-7 | |
| 157 -- #14 Eric Neil (CMU) dec. #5 Steve Luke, 6-4 | Tie, 10-10 | |
| 165 -- #3 Ryan Churella (U-M) pinned Justin Petrone, 1:32 | U-M, 16-10 | |
| 174 -- #10 Nick Roy (U-M) dec. #16 Brandon Sinnott, 7-6 | U-M, 19-10 | |
| 184 -- #20 Tyrel Todd (U-M) dec. Christian Sinnott, 3-2 | U-M, 22-10 | |
| 197 -- #3 Wynn Michalak (CMU) major dec. Casey White, 13-2 | U-M 22-14 |
N O T E S
With the win, Michigan improves to 18-2 in the all-time series against Central Michigan.
Freshman Michael Watts made his U-M varsity debut at 125 pounds against Central Michigan. He is the fifth Wolverine -- the first true freshman -- to compete in his first collegiate dual meet this season.
Junior/sophomore Josh Churella and fifth-year senior captains Ryan Churella and Greg Wagner all remain undefeated this season with 8-0 records.
With his fall at 165 pounds, fifth-year senior captain Ryan Churella moved to ninth on Michigan's list of all-time pins leaders, where he is tied with Rob Rechsteiner (1981-84) with 31. He needs sixth more to reach the eighth position, currently held by Dave Porter (37, 1966-68).
Q U O T E S
Head Coach Joe McFarland
On the dual meet ... "They were excited about wrestling us. They had a nice crowd there, so it was important that we got things going early with Greg (Wagner) getting a win. I though Josh (Churella) and Eric Tannenbaum did a great job. Both those guys piled up a lot of points and really got the momentum on our side. There was a little upset at 157, but Ryan Churella came back and quieted the crowd again. I thought 174 and 184 were two huge matches for us. It was nice seeing Michael Watts in a Michigan uniform. I think he's going to have great career. He's a great competitor; he just needs to get a little more experience."
On rebounding from Friday's loss ... "I thought overall our guys wrestled really well. It was really important that we got this win before our break to get us back on track after Friday's loss to Nebraska. We wrestled with a lot more intensity than Friday. I think that loss got our attention a little bit. The guys were a little flat, but we rebounded very nice. I like the way the guys came back and responded it. Obviously, we feel good about ourselves going home. It's nice to go into a little break here off a win."
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
