Michigan
Purdue
Churella, Wagner Pin to Headline Road Win Over Purdue
2/5/2006 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Fifth-year senior captains Ryan Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS) and Greg Wagner (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider HS) earned falls as the No. 4-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team cruised to a 27-11 victory over Purdue on Sunday (Feb. 5) at the Intercollegiate Athletic Facility. The Wolverines won seven individual matches to improve to a perfect 5-0 in Big Ten Conference competition.
Churella tallied his seventh pin of the season, against Dan Bedoy at 165, to all but seal the victory for the Wolverines, giving them a 14-point edge just past the meet's halfway point pounds. The U-M captain built up a quick advantage, scoring an early takedown and turning the Boilermaker three times in the first period. Churella had similar success on top in the second, using a power half to collect three more back points before converting to a deep half for the fall at 4:40.
Capping the Wolverine rout in the final match of the contest, Wagner posted his second fall of the weekend, pinning Purdue's Aaron Anspach at the 2:41 mark. Wagner took the Boilermaker to the mat just 19 seconds into the opening frame and went to work, using a leg turk to get the turn before stepping over to end the match early. With the falls, both Wolverine captains improved to 20-0 on the season.
Freshman Michael Watts (Riverton, Utah/Riverton HS) put the Wolverines on the board early with a 12-7 decision against Brandon Tucker at 125 pounds. Watts scored a pair of takedowns and turned Tucker for six points to earn his second dual win of the season.
Purdue stole away the lead at 133 pounds as fifth-ranked Chris Fleeger earned a 17-8 major decision against senior/junior Mark Moos (Lorain, Ohio/St. Edward HS). Moos, ranked 12th, held the initial lead in the match behind a pair of first-period takedowns and a two-point near fall, but Fleeger rallied back in the third, making the most of scramble situations to break open the match.
Junior/sophomore Josh Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS), ranked fourth, kicked off a stretch of five straight wins at the middle with a 9-4 decision against Jake Patacsil at 141 pounds. Churella controlled the match from start to finish, scoring three takedowns and a quick reversal early in the second to claim his ninth consecutive win.
Junior/sophomore Eric Tannenbaum (Naperville, Ill./North HS) used his quickness from the standing position to post an 8-4 decision against seventh-ranked Doug Withstandley, avenging an earlier loss to the Boilermaker at the Cliff Keen Invitational. Tannenbaum scored a takedown in each period and accumulated 1:45 in riding time.
Junior/sophomore Jeff Marsh (Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS) stepped into the lineup at 157 pounds and earned his second straight dual win with a 7-3 decision over Jake Murphy. Marsh converted on a takedown midway through the first period to take early control before adding a second-period reversal and late third-period takedown.
At 174 pounds, senior/junior Nick Roy (Wall, N.J./Wall HS) cruised to a 10-4 decision against Barry Jackson, scoring three takedowns and a second-period reversal to put away the match for the Wolverines.
The Wolverines will return to the road next Sunday (Feb. 12) for a conference dual against rival Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio. The match is slated for a 1 p.m. start at St. John Arena.
#4 Michigan 27, Purdue 11
(Individual rankings from NWCA/InterMat)
| 125 -- Michael Watts (U-M) dec. Brandon Tucker, 12-7 | U-M, 3-0 |
| 133 -- #5 Chris Fleeger (PU) major dec. #12 Mark Moos, 17-8 | PU, 4-3 |
| 141 -- #4 Josh Churella (U-M) dec. Jake Patacsil, 9-4 | U-M, 6-4 |
| 149 -- #6 Eric Tannenbaum (U-M) dec. #7 Doug Withstandley, 8-4 | U-M, 9-4 |
| 157 -- Jeff Marsh (U-M) dec. Jake Murphy, 7-3 | U-M, 12-4 |
| 165 -- #1 Ryan Churella (U-M) pinned Dan Bedoy, 4:40 | U-M, 18-4 |
| 174 -- #7 Nick Roy (U-M) dec. Barry Jackson, 10-4 | U-M, 21-4 |
| 184 -- #3 Ben Wissel (PU) tech. fall Hassen Berri, 23-8 | U-M, 21-8 |
| 197 -- #20 Nathan Moore (PU) dec. Casey White, 3-2 | U-M, 21-11 |
| Hwt -- #3 Greg Wagner (U-M) pinned Aaron Keough, 4:41 | U-M 27-11 |
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
