Michigan
Minnesota
Wolverines Drop One-Point Heartbreaker at No. 2 Minnesota
1/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Jan. 10, 2015
Site: Minneapolis, Minn. (Sports Pavilion)
Scores: #2 Minnesota 20, #15 Michigan 19
Records: U-M (2-2, 0-1 Big Ten), Minnesota (7-0, 3-0 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Jan. 11 -- at Michigan State (East Lansing, Mich.), 3 p.m.
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- With the dual meet coming down to the final bout for the second straight year, the No. 15-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team dropped a 20-19 heartbreaker at No. 2 Minnesota on Friday evening (Jan. 9) at the Golden Gophers' Sports Pavilion. The teams split matches evenly with five apiece, but Minnesota claimed three bonus wins to Michigan's two.
The Wolverines trailed throughout the dual until late, earning back-to-back wins at heavyweight and 125 pounds, including a fast pin in the former to carry a narrow 19-17 advantage into the final bout at 133 pounds. Junior Rossi Bruno, ranked eighth in the latest InterMat poll, was knotted up with top-ranked Chris Dardanes late into the third period when the Golden Gopher wrestler scored the bout's only offensive points off a snap down and underhook. Bruno escaped, but not before Dardanes secured 1:00 riding-time advantage to seal a 4-2 decision and clinch the dual win.
Michigan won three of four bouts following the intermission break to put itself in a strong position for the upset bid.
Sophomore Domenic Abounader, ranked 13th at 184 pounds, hung on to win a wild match against 10th-ranked Brett Pfarr, 8-7, scoring the bulk of his points off a five-point move late in the first period. Pfarr struck first, converting on a double leg midway through the period, but Abounader stole the lead late in the frame, reversing the Golden Gopher wrestler to his back but could not earn the fall before time ran out. Abounader rode out the second period to erase Pfarr's time advantage but lost two scrambles in the third, including a contested one on the edge of the mat, to tighten the score and held off Pfarr's late charge in the waning seconds. It was his second straight win over a top-10 opponent.
After fifth-year senior Chris Heald used a last-second escape to hold top-ranked Scott Schiller to a 10-3 decision, the Wolverines pulled within one point on a first-period fall from sophomore heavyweight Adam Coon. Coon, ranked eighth nationally, immediately locked up 13th-ranked Michael Kroells and tossed him to his back just eight seconds into the bout, working for and securing the pin at the 0:28 mark. It was Coon's sixth fall of the season. He improved to 4-0 in dual competition.
Junior/sophomore Conor Youtsey earned a 10-7 decision over Jordan Bremer in the subsequent bout at 125 pounds to give U-M its first lead of the dual. After the wrestlers traded a takedown and escape apiece in the first period, Youtsey surged ahead with a reversal and single leg in the second. Both wrestlers reversed in the third, while Youtsey tacked on another point for 1:28 in time advantage.
With the dual starting at 141 pounds, the Golden Gophers claimed three of the opening five matches, earning bonus points in all three, including a second-period fall at 157 pounds, where top-ranked Dylan Ness cradled up 19th-ranked sophomore Brian Murphy -- off of Murphy's own single-leg attack -- to secure the pin at the 4:33 mark.
Michigan earned early wins from freshman Alec Pantaleo and junior/sophomore Taylor Massa at 149 and 165 pounds, respectively, to stay within striking distance.
Pantaleo , ranked 13th nationally, rallied from an early deficit to defeat Jake Short, 8-4, at 157 pounds. After giving up a quick high crotch and more than 90 seconds riding time in the first, Pantaleo initiated his rally early in the second, driving through a double-leg takedown to plant Short on his back. The Golden Gopher wrestler looked to be flat for several seconds, but Pantaleo didn't get the call, settling instead for two near-fall points. He added another takedown on a third-period single leg and rode out the bout to seal the win.
Massa, ranked 10th, cruised to a 12-2 major decision over Brandon Kingsley to earn a bonus point back for the Wolverines. Massa scored quickly off a front headlock and added three back points on a head-and-arm tilt in the first period and repeated the scoring sequence in the second. He rode for 1:52 time advantage. Massa improved to 4-0 in dual competition.
The Wolverines will close out the weekend road trip on Sunday (Jan. 11), traveling to East Lansing, Michigan, to face in-state rival Michigan State at 3 p.m. at Jenison Field House.
#2 Minnesota 20, #15 Michigan 19
Individual rankings from InterMat
| Match | Score |
| 141 -- #4 Nick Dardanes (Minn) major dec. George Fisher, 5-2 | Minn, 4-0 |
| 149 -- #13 Alec Pantaleo (U-M) dec. Jake Short, 8-4 | Minn, 4-3 |
| 157 -- #1 Dylan Ness (Minn) pinned #19 Brian Murphy, 4:33 | Minn, 10-3 |
| 165 -- #10 Taylor Massa (U-M) major dec. Brandon Kingsley, 12-2 | Minn, 10-7 |
| 174 -- #3 Logan Storley (Minn) major dec. Connor Brancheau, 8-0 | Minn, 14-7 |
| 184 -- #13 Domenic Abounader (U-M) dec. #10 Brett Pfarr, 8-7 | Minn, 14-10 |
| 197 -- #1 Scott Schiller (Minn) dec. Chris Heald, 10-3 | Minn, 17-10 |
| Hwt -- #8 Adam Coon (U-M) pinned #13 Michael Kroells, 0:26 | Minn, 17-16 |
| 125 -- Conor Youtsey (U-M) dec. Jordan Bremer, 10-7 | U-M, 19-17 |
| 133 -- #1 Chris Dardanes (Minn) dec. #8 Rossi Bruno, 4-2 | Minn, 20-19 |
N O T E S
• With tonight's loss, the Wolverines fell to 31-30-2 in the all-time series against Minnesota.
• Junior/sophomore Taylor Massa has earned bonus points in six of his 10 wins this season.
• Both sophomore Adam Coon and junior Rossi Bruno wrestled their Golden Gopher opponents for the second time this season. Coon defeated Minnesota's Michael Kroells, 3-2, in the third-place match at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (Dec. 5-6), while Bruno fell to Nick Dardanes, 8-3, in the CKLV championship match.
• Four Wolverines remain unbeaten in dual-meet competition this season -- Massa and Coon are 4-0, fifth-year senior Max Huntley is 3-0, and sophomore Domenic Abounader is 2-0. Freshman Davonte Mahomes, who is out for the remainder of the season with injury, also posted a 3-0 dual record.
• Abounader has earned two straight wins over top-10 opponents. He defeated Missouri's ninth-ranked Willie Miklus, 4-3, in the fifth-place match at the Southern Scuffle (Jan. 1-2). Abounader owns three wins over ranked opponents this season.
• With six pins this season, Coon is already just one pin shy of his 2013-14 season total.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Joe McFarland
On the dual meet ... "I was really proud of the guys. I told them that after the dual. We felt that if we put forth a great effort that we could come away with a win. We almost did. We were right there with them. It came down to the last minute of the last match to decide the dual. It was a great dual for the fans and for wrestling. We just need to refocus and concentrate on getting ready for Sunday."
On Alec Pantaleo's comeback win ... "He's a gamer. He's been a great addition to our game -- just the way he approaches everything. He fought through that first period. [Jake] Short had momentum on his side, and Alec just kept plugging away. He scored that big takedown to put himself in the driver's seat and just kept piling on the points. It was fun to watch."
On Rossi Bruno's last match ... "He's closing the gap on some of these guys. He just needs to keep his nose to the grindstone and keep working. It's a long season. He's going to have an opportunity to face that kid again."
U-M Sophomore Adam Coon
On his quick pin ... "I just wanted to go out there and dig that underhook that I like so much. I got a nice hip toss off it and got him right to his back. If I can finish the match right there, that'd be ideal. I'm very happy with the way it went."
On the Wolverines' team effort ... "We were in the match the whole time. Everyone wrestled as hard as they could throughout the entire match. Some bonus points hurt us. We're disappointed with the loss. We definitely have work to it. But we all know we wrestled our butts off, and we know we're right there."
U-M Freshman Alec Pantaleo
On his comeback win ... "I could have been a little more prepared to start the match. That first takedown took me by surprise. I knew right away that I needed to pick up my intensity and really focus on scoring as many points as I could. When I hit that double leg, I made sure I took him right to his back to help with points. He felt pretty flat."
On the dual ... "I think even if we had won that dual, I'd be more focused on the things we can improve. We can always get better. We can look at every match and look for ways we could have done a little better. Win or lose, I'm not satisfied. We just need to keep working hard and getting better."
Communications Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
