Michigan
NCAA Championships
Four Wolverines Advance to NCAA Quarterfinal Round
3/16/2006 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Site: Oklahoma City, Okla. (Ford Center)
Event: NCAA Championships
U-M Standing: Tie-5th Place (22 Points) After Day 1
Next U-M Event: Friday, March 17 -- Day 2 at NCAA Championships (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- The No. 3-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team advanced four individuals into the quarterfinal round at the 2006 NCAA Championships on Thursday (March 16) at the Ford Center. With a pair of wrestlers also still alive in the wrestlebacks, the Wolverines sit tied for fifth place (22 points) after the first day of competition. Oklahoma State leads the team race with 36.5 points.
All four U-M returning All-Americans -- junior/sophomores Josh Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS) and Eric Tannenbaum (Naperville, Ill./North HS) and fifth-year senior captains Ryan Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS) and Greg Wagner (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider HS) -- advanced to the quarterfinal round for the second straight season with perfect first-day records.
The Wolverine captains set the early tone, both earning bonus points with back-to-back dominant victories. Wagner, seeded third at heavyweight, scored a pair of falls -- his sixth and seventh of the season -- to cruise into the quarterfinals, pinning Indiana's Dave Herman at 2:19 in the evening session after taking out Slippery Rock's Matthew Burkholder at 3:43 earlier in the day. Squaring off against the Hoosier wrestler for the third consecutive weekend of competition, Wagner put on his best performance, improving on a pair of close decisions to stick Herman with a headlock late in the first frame. The U-M heavyweight dominated his morning bout against Burkholder, building up a seven-point advantage before using a leg turk to roll him over and pick up a couple extra points.
Top-seeded Ryan Churella also made little work of his opening-day competition, shutting out Hofstra's Christopher Vondruska 10-0 in the second round after earning a quick first-period fall against Pittsburgh's Justin Nestor in the morning session. The Wolverine captain scored a takedown in each frame against Vondruska and built up 5:27 in riding time to move into the quarterfinal round. Vying Nestor in the first round, Churella built up a sizable early lead, scoring on a quick takedown before using a banana split to turn his opponent for three back points. After allowing the Panther wrestler to his belly, Churella moved to a different technique, using a half to turn Nestor to his back and end the bout at the 2:02 mark.
Josh Churella, seeded fifth at 141 pounds, controlled throughout his second-round bout against The Citadel's Sean Markey, scoring takedowns in the first and third periods en route to a 5-1 decision. The Wolverine allowed just an escape point early in the final frame but shot in on a low single immediately after Markey squared off, securing two points after a quick tussle on the mat. Churella held him down for the remainder of the match to advance to the quarterfinals. The U-M sophomore cruised to a pair of early victories in the morning session, defeating Rutgers' Steve Adamcsik 6-1 in the pigtail before returning just an hour later to beat Air Force's Jacob Kriegman 6-0. Churella built up a quick lead in both matches, each time scoring the only points he would need early in the first period.
Eighth-seeded Tannenbaum avenged an early-season loss to Wisconsin's ninth-seeded Tyler Turner with a sound victory in the 149-pound second round, defeating the Badger wrestler 5-1 to advance to the quarterfinals. Tannenbaum took the lead late in the opening period on a single-leg takedown on the edge of the mat and added another single-leg effort midway through the second frame to secure the win. The Wolverine dominated Wyoming's Carter Downing in the morning session, scoring a pair of takedowns and accumulating 2:19 in riding time to earn a 6-0 shutout.
Senior/junior Mark Moos (Lorain, Ohio/St. Edward HS) and sophomore/freshman Tyrel Todd (Bozeman, Mont./Bozeman HS) earned wins in the evening consolation bracket to rebound from disappointing first-round losses. Moos, seeded 12th, accepted a medical forfeit to pick up extra points in the 133-pound wrestlebacks and stay alive after a falling 13-12 against Northern Iowa's Christopher Helgeson in the morning session. In what seemed like one long seven-minute scramble, a UNI takedown late in the third period proved the deciding factor.
Todd soundly defeated UC Davis' Tyler Bernacchi 6-1 in the 184-pound wrestlebacks to rally from a tight overtime defeat in the opening round. Todd scored takedowns in the first two periods against Bernacchi, including a late counter-shot with just five seconds remaining in the middle frame, and rode the Aggie wrestler for nearly the entire third period to build up 2:06 in riding time. In Todd's opening-round match against Central Michigan's Christian Sinnott, a takedown midway through the sudden-victory frame proved the difference in a 6-4 decision. The Wolverine had held the initial lead after scoring on a single leg in the second, but Sinnott neutralized the score with a takedown of his own late in the same period.
The Wolverines lost three wrestlers on the first day as freshman Michael Watts (Riverton, Utah/Riverton HS), sophomore/freshman Steve Luke (Massillon, Ohio/Perry HS) and fifth-year senior Willie Breyer (Oxford, Mich./Oxford HS) were all eliminated after suffering a pair of losses. Breyer earned a 2-0 victory against Pittsburgh's Mike Heist in the pigtail round on the strength of a third-period escape point and 1:49 in riding-time advantage. He also elicited considerable crowd approval after locking up a cradle against Oklahoma State's fourth-seeded Jake Rosholt and turned the Cowboy wrestler for two points. Breyer lost the match, however, 21-9.
The Wolverines will return for the NCAA Championships third session at 10 a.m. CST on Friday (March 17) at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, Okla. The morning session will feature quarterfinal matches and continued wrestleback competition.
Team Standings (After Day 1)
1. Oklahoma State 36.5
2. Oklahoma 24.5
3. Edinboro 22.5
Hofstra 22.5
5. MICHIGAN 22
Nebraksa 22
Minnesota 22
8. Iowa 21.5
9. Penn State 20.5
10. Arizona State 19.5
Michigan Results (Day 1)
Numbers listed are tournament seedings
125 pounds -- Michael Watts
First Round - major dec. by Obenson Blanc (Lock Haven), 13-5
Consolation - pinned by Sean Wright (Northern Iowa), 0:27
Eliminated with a 0-2 record
133 pounds -- #12 Mark Moos
First Round - dec. by Christopher Helgeson (Northern Iowa), 13-12
Consolation - won by medical forfeit over Zachary Cunliffe (Rider)
Consolation - vs. Gabe Flores (Illinois)
141 pounds -- #5 Josh Churella
Pigtail Round - dec. Steve Adamcsik (Rutgers), 6-1
First Round - dec. Jacob Kriegman (Air Force), 6-0
Second Round - dec. Sean Markey (The Citadel), 5-1
Quarterfinals - vs. #Andy Simmons (Michigan State)
149 pounds -- #8 Eric Tannenbaum
First Round - dec. Carter Downing (Wyoming), 6-0
Second Round - dec. #9 Tyler Turner (Wisconsin), 5-1
Quarterfinals - vs. #1 Dustin Schlatter (Minnesota)
157 pounds -- #12 Steve Luke
First Round - dec. by William Rowe (Oklahoma), 6-4 SV
Consolation - dec. by Kevin Ward (Oklahoma State), 3-1
Eliminated with an 0-2 record
165 pounds -- #1 Ryan Churella
First Round - pinned Justin Nestor (Pittsburgh), 2:02
Second Round - major dec. Christopher Vondruska (Hofstra), 10-0
Quarterfinals - vs. #8 Travis Paulson (Iowa State)
184 pounds -- Tyrel Todd
First Round - dec. by Christian Sinnott (Central Michigan), 6-4 SV
Consolation - dec. Tyler Bernacchi (UC Davis), 6-1
Consolation - vs. #8 Kurt Backes (Iowa State)
197 pounds -- Willie Breyer
Pigtail Round - dec. Mike Heist (Pittsburgh), 2-0
First Round - major dec. by #4 Jacob Rosholt (Oklahoma State), 21-9
Consolation - dec. by Jeff Foust (Missouri), 9-1
Eliminated with a 1-2 record
Heavyweight -- #3 Greg Wagner
First Round - pinned Matthew Burkholder (Slippery Rock) 3:43
Second Round - pinned Dave Herman (Indiana), 2:19
Quarterfinals - vs. #6 Tanner Garrett (Navy)
N O T E S
• Tomorrow's quarterfinal and semifinal rounds will be aired live by ESPNU and picked up in syndication by Comcast Local in the metro Detroit area. Live television coverage will begin at 11 a.m. EST for the quarterfinals and 7 p.m. EST for the semifinals.
• Fifth-year senior Ryan Churella was one of eight undefeated wrestlers entering the NCAA Championships. All remained undefeated after the opening day of competition.
• Ryan Churella extended his season winning streak to 27 matches and climbed to the seventh spot on Michigan's consecutive wins list, where he is tied with his father, Mark Churella Sr. Ryan also owns the second spot on the list after registering 34 straight wins last season.
• Only four seeded wrestlers advanced to the quarterfinal round at 165 pounds: Ryan Churella (No. 1), Oklahoma State's Johny Hendricks (No. 2), American's Muzaffar Abdurakmanov (No. 3) and Iowa State's Travis Paulson (No. 8).
• Five recent U-M graduates were in attendance at the NCAA Championships as assistant coaches for opposing Division I schools: Jeff Catrabone (Buffalo), Damion Logan (Penn), A.J. Grant (North Carolina), Foley Dowd (Northwestern) and Jeremiah Tobias (Wyoming).
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
