Notes & Quotes: #10 Michigan 23, #19 Central Michigan 14
1/22/2012 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Jan. 22, 2012
N O T E S
• With today's win, Michigan improves to 21-5 in the all-time series against Central Michigan. The Wolverines have claimed the last two meetings.
• Senior/junior heavyweight Ben Apland has posted nine consecutive wins stretching back to his seventh-place finish at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, which were held Dec. 2-3.
• Ben Apland's pin was his fifth of the season and the 21st of his collegiate career.
• Fifth-year senior Kellen Russell improved to 121-12 in his collegiate career to move to 16th among Michigan's all-time career wins leaders, where he is tied with former three-time All-American Tyrel Todd (2006-09). Russell needs just three more wins to reach the 15th spot, currently held by Josh Churella (124, 2005-08).
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Joe McFarland
On Michigan's win ... "It was nice to get this win today, but we're not very satisfied with it. We think we could have wrestled much better then what we did. We allowed too many of their guys to keep themselves in these matches. They were tying us up at times, and we didn't get our attacks off. We need to do a better job of learning how to fight through some of that stuff. It was nice that we were able to dig down deep and beat a good Central Michigan team. Those guys are always prepared when they come in here to wrestle. It's a big dual for them, and it's a big dual for us. In the end, we prevailed, but it wasn't how we had hoped it would go."
On heavyweight Ben Apland ... "He wrestled with a lot of pop. I thought he did a great job. His hands were moving, his feet were moving, and he was constantly improving position and getting to where he wanted to be. It was good to see. I felt good, with the meet close, that he'd be able to go out and put it out of reach."
On the Wolverines' upcoming schedule ... "We just have to keep doing what we're doing and keep making some improvements from week to week. We have a tough stretch coming up with four Big Ten duals; three of those against highly ranked teams. Those duals are going to be dogfights. We're going to have to wrestle better than we did today for us to have a good finish, and I'm expecting that we will."
U-M Senior/Junior Ben Apland
On beating Peter Sturgeon in the last match ... "I had wrestled him before, and I remembered how that match went. I'd had a good week in practice coming in, and I felt confident that if I got to what I wanted to get to, I'd dominate him. As soon as it started, I felt pretty good. Earlier this season, I'd let a match against Pitt [with the dual on the line] slip away, so I wasn't going to let the team down again."
U-M Junior/Sophomore Eric Grajales
On scoring several counter takedowns ... "When someone shoots on me right away and I'm able to score off it, it definitely makes me more comfortable. I sometimes have a bad habit of wrestling defensively. It's something I brought along with me from high school. It's nice to whether I'm going after him or he's coming after me, I still can score."
On the Wolverines' mentality ... "We're really concentrating on really hard hand fighting and being aggressive. It's not a sport that you can just sit back and expect to win in tough matches against good people. You have to be the aggressor, you have to go after your opponent and be on your toes, always moving forward. That's what our coaches are instilling in us, and every match, I'm working to be better at it. It's working, and my success has shown that."
Players Mentioned
