Michigan
Ohio State
Bonus Point Influences Michigan's Defeat at OSU
2/10/2008 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Site: Columbus, Ohio (St. John Arena)
Score: #7 Ohio State 16, #6 Michigan 15
Records: Michigan (15-6, 2-3 Big Ten), OSU (18-3, 6-1 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Feb. 15 -- at Wisconsin (Madison, Wis.), 7 p.m. CST
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Rallying from an early decifit with three wins at the middleweights, the No. 6-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team came up just short against No. 7 Ohio State, falling 16-15 on Sunday afternoon (Feb. 10) in St. John Arena. The matches were evenly split 5-5, but an Ohio State major decision at 149 pounds made the difference.
With the dual starting at 141 pounds and the Wolverines trailing by seven points after the opening two matches, fifth-year senior Jeff Marsh(Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS) keyed Michigan's rally with a 6-0 decision over Jason Johnstone at 157 pounds. Marsh struck first with a carry midway through the opening frame and nearly put Johnstone on his back before the OSU wrestler bellied out. The Wolverine added a duck-under midway through the third period and accumulated 2:16 in riding time complete the decisive performance.
Fifth-year senior Eric Tannenbaum(Naperville, Ill./North HS) cruised to a 10-4 victory over eighth-ranked Colt Sponseller at 165 pounds, handing the Buckeye wrestler his first defeat of the season. Tannenbaum, ranked third, scored on nearly every shot he took, converting an early double leg before adding a single in the second and third periods. The Wolverine captain built up 2:07 in riding time and appeared to have finished another takedown on the edge of the mat at the final buzzer, but he did not get the call and had to settle for the decision.
Senior/junior Steve Luke(Massillon, Ohio/Perry HS) dominated the 174-pound contest from start to finish against Alex Picazo but had to settle to a 6-1 decision and three team points. Luke immediately took control with a quick single leg, lift and dump just 25 seconds into the match. Luke rode out the rest of the period and, after adding another single leg in the second, rode out the third frame to accumulate 4:47 in riding-time advantage.
After Michigan claimed the three at the middleweights to take a 9-7 lead into halftime, the two teams swapped the remaining matches after the break. The Wolverines victories came at 197 and 125 pounds as sophomore/freshman Anthony Biondo(Clinton Twp., Mich./Chippewa Valley HS) and junior Michael Watts(Riverton, Utah/Riverton HS) claimed narrow decision victories. Biondo avenged his season-opening loss to the Buckeyes' John Weakley, using a single-leg trip to scoring the match's only takedown late in the first period. The wrestlers traded escapes in the final two periods, and, after getting his head knocked on the floor pretty hard, Biondo held off a couple late OSU shots for a 3-1 decision.
Watts built up a significant lead against Nikko Triggas at the lightest weight and held off a late OSU surge to hold on for a 9-8 win. The Wolverine dominated the first period, converting on an early single leg before using a cement mixer late in the frame to put Triggas on his back for five points. The OSU wrestler came back with a strong second period and a four-point move that narrowed the score to just two points. Watts earned a quick escape in the third and was twice called for stalling but maintained his lead.
With Watts' decision, the dual meet came down to the final bout, at 133 pounds, as Michigan hung to a narrow two-point advantage. The Buckeyes' 14th-ranked Reese Humphrey scored three takedowns en route to a 7-2 decision over sophomore Chris Diehl(Burton, Mich./Flint Kearsley HS), sealing the win for Ohio State.
The Wolverines dropped both marquee matches of the afternoon, suffering heartbreaking one-point defeats at 141 and 184 pounds in bouts that featured a pair of top-10 ranked wrestlers. A first-period Ohio State takedown proved the different in the former as freshman Kellen Russell(High Bridge, N.J./Blair Academy) fell to ninth-ranked J Jaggers 3-2. The Wolverine, ranked fourth, rode Jaggers for the first half of the final frame and nearly earned riding time before Jaggers escaped to take the one-point advantage. Russell shot deep on a low single leg in the final seconds of the match but could not finish as Jagger scurried out of bounds.
Trailing by one point late in the 184-pound contest, senior/junior captain Tyrel Todd(Bozeman, Mont./Bozeman HS) chased third-ranked Mike Pucillo all over the mat for the final minute of the third period but could not corral the Buckeye wrestler and fell by a 6-5 margin. Pucillo struck first, taking advantage of a Todd misstep early in the match to take him down on the edge. The Wolverine captain, ranked third, continued to push the pace and took the only shots -- one of which Pucillo countered to add another takedown in the second. Todd evened the score in the third with an early single-leg takedown but cut Pucillo free to give away the advantage.
Michigan continues its road swing, traveling to Madison, Wis., Friday (Feb. 16) to take on Wisconsin. The match is set for a 7 p.m. CST start.
#7 Ohio State 16, #6 Michigan 15
(Individual rankings from NWCA/InterMat)
| 141-- #9 J Jaggers (OSU) dec. #4 Kellen Russell, 3-2 | OSU, 3-0 |
| 149-- #6 Lance Palmer (OSU) major dec. Justin Chrzanowski, 10-2 | OSU, 7-0 |
| 157 -- Jeff Marsh (U-M) dec. Jason Johnstsone, 6-0 | OSU, 7-3 |
| 165 -- #3 Eric Tannenbaum (U-M) dec. #8 Colt Sponseller, 10-4 | OSU, 7-6 |
| 174-- #4 Steve Luke (U-M) dec. Alex Picazo, 6-1 | U-M, 9-7 |
| 184-- #3 Mike Pucillo (OSU) dec. #2 Tyrel Todd, 6-5 | OSU, 10-9 |
| 197-- #14 Anthony Biondo (U-M) dec. John Weakley, 3-1 | U-M, 12-10 |
| Hwt-- #2 J.D. Bergman (OSU) dec. Chad Bleske, 9-2 | OSU, 13-12 |
| 125 -- Michael Watts (U-M) dec. Nikko Triggas, 9-8 | U-M, 15-13 |
| 133-- #14 Reece Humphrey (OSU) dec. Chris Diehl, 7-2 | OSU, 16-15 |
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
