2006-07 WRM at Lehigh -- Notes & Quotes

N O T E S

The Wolverines improved to 22-11 in the all-time series against Lehigh.

With tonight's victory over Lehigh, Michigan boasts a 55-25-2 record in its first contest of the season. The Wolverines extended thier winning streak in the season opener to 10 consecutive matches.

Tonight's victory was nearly a replay of last season's contest against the Mountain Hawks when U-M overcame a nine-point deficit at halftime with wins in four of the final five matches to claim a 20-15 victory.

Senior/junior Josh Churella earned his 70th career win with his 7-0 decision over Lehigh's ninth-ranked Trevor Chinn. He owns a career mark of 70-9 during his four-year tenure at Michigan.

Senior/junior Jeff Marsh, who competed for the Wolverines in limited action last season, extended his dual-meet winning streak to four matches. He posted a 3-2 record last year in such contests. Senior/junior Josh Churella owns the Wolverines' longest winning streak in dual competition with 13 straight wins.

Q U O T E S

Michigan Head Coach Joe McFarland
On the Wolverines' season-opening performance ... "We got off to a slow start, but I thought that Josh Churella did a good job of getting that turned around, and then we won six in a row. I thought all six of those guys did a really good job and put us in a position to win. Everyone of those matches were important, and we won some close ones. Anytime you can leave here with a win, it's nice because this is a really tough place to wrestle."

On the U-M wins ... "I thought Josh (Churella) wrestled hard. Jeff Marsh wrestled a good match and won some close scramble situations that really won him the match. (Eric) Tannenbaum wrestled hard. We won two really close matches at 174 and 184, and, obviously, those were critical. I thought Casey wrestled a heck of a match at 197. That was a really nice win for him against (Matt) Cassidy. He was in the same situation as a couple guys were where it came down to a couple close scrambles, and he won those scrambles because he kept wrestling."

On things to take away from the match ... "I saw some things that we definitely have to go back and work on, and, sometimes, that can be a little bit frustrating. We're working on certain situations and areas in our room, and it didn't seem like we were applying those things in a coupe of these matches tonight. That's early season stuff, but we've got to get their attention in a few of these areas."

U-M Senior/Junior Captain Josh Churella
On keying the Wolverine rally... "It is an individual sport, so I do the same thing to get myself ready every time because I want to win my match. But, at the same time, I knew our team needed me to step it up and it get something going. So, I kind of started off, and the team responded, wrestled tough and brought our team back in it."

On his match ... "I'm trying to just keep shooting more than I did last year. I just wanted to to break open the match, and finally, I got a takedown with no time left in the first and set the pace from there."

U-M Senior/Junior Captain Eric Tannenbaum
On growing stronger from the top position ... "It's hard to tell off of one match. He didn't seem great on bottom, but, maybe, it is the weight difference, and, maybe, I have gotten better. I did feel pretty strong on top and felt a lot better up there than I have in the past."

On a nightmare travel experience ... "I think the whole team was a little flatter than what we can be and what we're working toward. Our flight got in at 3 a.m. yesterday. I'm not making excuses, and I don't know if that played a part in it or not. Our flight was delayed until 11:45, and when we got in here, the airport was empty and Avis was closed down. So, we didn't get to our hotel until past 3 a.m."
 
U-M Junior/Sophomore Steve Luke
On his 174-pound match ... "I felt really good during the whole match. I felt strong and didn't feel out of shape, so I think I could have pushed that match more than I did. It seemed like every time he came back from the timeouts, he was revived. I think if my nose hadn't kept bleeding, I could have kept pressuring and gotten a few more takedowns. More importantly, I need to work on my setups a little more. I was taking a lot of shots and was really deep on a lot of them, but he got scrambles and stalemates. So, I just need to improve my setups and pick my shots a little better."

On drawing energy from the environment ... "The whole atmosphere was so intense. The crowd was really into it, and they were right on top of us. That actually got me really fired up. Everytime something bad happened to us, the crowd just went crazy. I think I just fed off the atmosphere, and when things started going our way, I was ready to wrestle."

On the slow U-M start ... "It's our first dual meet. Coming out a little flat for our first dual meet certainly doesn't mean that the rest of our season is ruined. Stuff like that happens. A lot of the guys pushed hard, and, even if they were a little flat, they kept working and pressuring their matches. So, I don't feel that this was a bad performance on our part. We won."

University of Michigan Athletics

Players Mentioned

Steve Luke

Jeff Marsh

Eric Tannenbaum

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