Michigan
Buffalo
Wolverines Earn Three Wins to Sweep Wolverine Quad
12/30/2007 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Event: Wolverine Quad
Scores: #7 Michigan 35, Buffalo 6; #7 Michigan 33, Eastern Michigan 6;
#7 Michigan 33, Lehigh 9
Records: U-M (7-1), Buffalo (2-2-1), EMU (7-3), Lehigh (4-9)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Jan. 5 -- at Lone Star Duals (South Grand Prairie, Texas)
Complete Results: Buffalo | EMU | Lehigh
Notes & Quotes | Photo Gallery
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 7-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team kicked off the second half of its 2007-08 campaign in impressive fashion, defeating Buffalo (35-6), Eastern Michigan (33-6) and Lehigh (33-9) en route to a Wolverine Quad sweep on Sunday afternoon (Dec. 30) in front of 1,087 fans at Cliff Keen Arena.
Six Wolverine wrestlers -- freshman Kellen Russell(High Bridge, N.J./Blair Academy), fifth-year senior Josh Churella(Northville, Mich./Novi HS), fifth-year senior Eric Tannenbaum(Naperville, Ill./North HS), senior/junior Steve Luke(Massillon, Ohio/Perry HS), senior/junior Tyrel Todd(Bozeman, Mont./Bozeman HS) and sophomore/freshman Anthony Biondo(Clinton Twp., Mich./Chippewa Valley HS) -- posted unblemished 3-0 records as Michigan outscored its opposition 101-21 on the day. U-M earned 16 total wins with bonus points and boasted at least two fall in each dual, including two from Todd at 184 pounds.
The Wolverines opened the competition with their most dominant performance of the afternoon, capturing the first nine bouts against Buffalo before requiring an injury default at heavyweight. Junior Michael Watts(Riverton, Utah/Riverton HS) gave Michigan the only lead it would need at 125 pounds, using a first-period takedown and second-period reversal to claim a 5-1 decision over Dan Bishop. Sophomore Chris Diehl(Burton, Mich./Flint Kearsley HS) earned his first collegiate fall in the subsequent match at 133 pounds. Diehl carried a 7-0 advantage against Joe Wilson at the time of the pin, which he secured with a half nelson at the 4:18 mark.
Russell, the nation's top-ranked 141-pounder in the latest NWCA/InterMat poll, picked up his first of three wins over the Bulls' Andrew Stella with takedowns in the first and second frames en route to a 6-0 shutout. Churella, ranked eighth, did the same with a dominant performance against Dana Gingerich at 149 pounds. The Wolverine captain scored four takedowns in the match, including two in the opening period, and earned the 10-2 major decision after tacking on a point for nearly four minutes in riding-time advantage.
Fifth-year senior Jeff Marsh(Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS) earned a pair of wins on the day -- the first an 8-1 decision over Buffalo's John Cummings at 157 pounds. Marsh earned takedowns in the first and third periods and added a second-period reversal to control the match from start to finish. Tannenbaum, ranked No. 1 at 165 pounds, secured the Wolverines' second fall of the contest, bringing a quick end to his match with Scott Rendos after using a tie-up bundle to throw Rendos to his back and stick him on the edge of the mat just 51 seconds in the opening frame.
Luke, ranked second, needed just a quick first-period single leg and a subsequent fleeing the mat call to claim a 4-2 decision over Mike Ragusa at 174 pounds, while Todd used a third-period game of catch-and-release to earn a 14-4 major decision over Mickey Moran. Todd, ranked fourth at 184 pounds by NWCA/InterMat, scored six total takedowns in the match -- four of which came in the final frame.
Biondo scored his only points in the third frame of the 197-pound contest, breaking open a scoreless bout against Jimmy Hamel with counter off a Buffalo ankle pick while accumulating nearly three minutes of riding time to take a 4-0 shutout decision. Looking to wrap up a shut-out Wolverine performance, sophomore/freshman heavyweight Matt Guhn(Clyde, Ohio/Clyde HS) carried a 1-0 advantage over Jeff Parker through the midway point of the second period but was suddenly knocked unconscious by a head butt and forced to default at 4:11.
The Wolverines posted equally dominant scores against Eastern Michigan and Lehigh in their latter two dual competitions, winning eight of 10 bouts against the Eagles and seven against the Mountain Hawks to extend their winning streak to six straight duals.
Six Wolverines tallied bonus points to pace the U-M effort against Washtenaw County rival Eastern Michigan, most notable Churella, who earned a 22-7 technical fall over Drew Lesko, and Todd, who earned his first of back-to-back falls against the Eagles' Charlie Pienaar. Churella built up his sizable advantage with takedowns, converting of seven of them until adding a three-point near fall in the closing seconds of the match to obtain his second technical-fall victory in three matches. Todd led 5-0 at the time of his pin -- at 3:29 -- and used a quick half nelson to turn Pienaar and stick him early in the second frame. Sophomore/freshman Chad Bleske(Washington, Mich./Romeo HS) capped the Wolverines' showing with a heavyweight victory in the first varsity match of his career. After a scoreless first period, Bleske scored three takedowns -- two in the third period -- to claim an 8-3 decision over David Wade.
Michigan won three of the first five bouts against Lehigh, earning bonus points in all three with a technical fall from Watts in the opening match, a major decision from Russell at 141 and a second-period fall from Churella at the 149-pound contest. The Wolverine captain gained the early advantage with a first-period takedown against Trevor Chinn, and, with the wrestlers scrambling on the mat after a U-M double-leg shot in the middle frame, he rolled up Chinn from a defensive position to earn his first pin of the season at 4:13.
Todd and Biondo also picked up falls at the 184 and 197 pounds, respectively, to tack on another 12 team points to Michigan's score late in the dual. Todd nearly earned a pin in the opening frame after turning Kadeem Samuels with double arm bars but had to settle for four points when the Mountain Hawk wrestler called for injury time. After adding five takedowns in the latter two periods, Todd converted on his next pinning attempt, again using a quick half nelson to stick Samuels at the 6:43 mark. Biondo built up a 10-1 first-period lead against Alex Iacocca with a pair of takedowns and six back points and, starting the second frame on top, threw in the legs and used a power half to turn Iacocca for a third time -- this time securing the fall at 3:32.
In the three Wolverine Quad matches that did not involve Michigan, Eastern Michigan picked up wins against Lehigh (20-16) and Buffalo (21-12), and Buffalo earned a 22-9 victory over Lehigh.
Michigan will travel south next weekend for its third appearance in five years at the Lone Star Duals on Saturday (Jan. 5) in South Grand Prairie, Texas. The Wolverines will wrestle three non-conference dual meets at the annual competition, kicking off against Harvard at 8 a.m. CST before facing Columbia at 4 p.m. and Appalachian State at 8 p.m. at the South Grand Prairie Warrior Coliseum.
#7 Michigan 35, Buffalo 6
(Individual rankings from NWCA/InterMat)
| 125 -- Michael Watts (U-M) dec. Dan Bishop, 5-1 | U-M, 3-0 | |
| 133 -- Chris Diehl (U-M) pinned Joe Wilson, 4:18 | U-M, 9-0 | |
| 141 -- #1 Kellen Russell (U-M) dec. Andrew Stella, 6-0 | U-M, 12-0 | |
| 149 -- #8 Josh Churella (U-M) major dec. Dana Gingerich, 10-2 | U-M, 16-0 | |
| 157 -- #18 Jeff Marsh (U-M) dec. John Cummings, 8-1 | U-M, 19-0 | |
| 165 -- #1 Eric Tannenbaum (U-M) pinned Scott Rendos, 0:51 | U-M, 25-0 | |
| 174 -- #2 Steve Luke (U-M) dec. Mike Ragusa, 4-2 | U-M, 28-0 | |
| 184 -- #4 Tyrel Todd (U-M) major dec. Mickey Moran, 14-4 | U-M, 32-0 | |
| 197 -- #19 Anthony Biondo (U-M) dec. Jimmy Hamel, 4-0 | U-M, 35-0 | |
| Hwt -- Jeff Parker (UB) injury def. Matt Guhn, 4:11 | U-M, 35-6 |
#7 Michigan 33, Eastern Michigan 6
| 125 -- Andrew Novak (EMU) dec. Michael Watts, 8-7 | EMU, 3-0 | |
| 133 -- Sean Clair (EMU) dec. Chris Diehl, 5-2 | EMU, 6-0 | |
| 141 -- #1 Kellen Russell (U-M) major dec. Zach Donofrio, 11-2 | EMU, 6-4 | |
| 149 -- #8 Josh Churella (U-M) tech. fall Drew Lesko, 22-7 (6:14) | U-M, 9-6 | |
| 157 -- #18 Jeff Marsh (U-M) dec. Cory Mancuso, 5-0 | U-M, 12-6 | |
| 165 -- #1 Eric Tannenbaum (U-M) major dec. Justin Brandel, 14-3 | U-M, 16-6 | |
| 174 -- #2 Steve Luke (U-M) major dec. Derek Foore, 19-7 | U-M, 20-6 | |
| 184 -- #4 Tyrel Todd (U-M) pinned Charlie Pienaar, 3:29 | U-M, 26-6 | |
| 197 -- #19 Anthony Biondo (U-M) major dec. John McClure, 8-0 | U-M, 30-6 | |
| Hwt -- Chad Bleske (U-M) dec. David Wade, 8-3 | U-M, 33-6 |
#7 Michigan 33, Lehigh 9
| 125 -- Michael Watts (U-M) tech. fall Mitch Berger, 17-2 (5:17) | U-M, 5-0 | |
| 133 -- Seth Ciasulli (LU) dec. Chris Diehl, 5-3 | U-M, 5-3 | |
| 141 -- #1 Kellen Russell (U-M) major dec. Jeff Santo, 10-1 | U-M, 9-3 | |
| 149 -- #8 Josh Churella (U-M) pinned Trevor Chinn, 4:13 | U-M, 15-3 | |
| 157 -- Dave Nakasone (LU) dec. #18 Jeff Marsh, 4-3 | U-M, 15-6 | |
| 165 -- #1 Eric Tannenbaum (U-M) dec. Mike Galante, 4-1 | U-M, 18-6 | |
| 174 -- #2 Steve Luke (U-M) dec. Alex Caruso, 3-2 | U-M, 21-6 | |
| 184 -- #4 Tyrel Todd (U-M) pinned Kadeem Samuels, 6:43 | U-M, 27-6 | |
| 197 -- #19 Anthony Biondo (U-M) pinned Alex Iacocca, 3:32 | U-M, 33-6 | |
| Hwt -- Justin Allen (LU) dec. Chad Bleske, 3-2 | U-M, 33-9 |
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
