Michigan
Big Ten Championships
Abounader Advances to 184-Pound Final at Big Ten Championships
3/7/2015 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 7, 2015
| Site: Columbus, Ohio (St. John Arena)
Event: Big Ten Championships (Day 1 of 2)
U-M Team Standing: 4th Place of 14 Teams (80.5 points) after Day 1
Next U-M Event: Sunday, March 8 -- at Big Ten Championships - Day 2 (Columbus, Ohio), 1 p.m.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- With sophomore Domenic Abounader advancing to the 184-pound championship matches and eight more alive in the wrestlebacks, the 14th-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team holds the fourth spot (80.5 points) after the first day of competition at the 2015 Big Ten Conference Championships on Saturday (March 7) at Ohio State's St. John Arena. Eight Wolverines have already earned automatic qualifiers for the NCAA Championships.
Abounader, the second seed at 184 pounds, earned a pair of decisions wins to advance to his first Big Ten final, including a lopsided 6-1 win over Wisconsin's third-seeded Ricky Robertson in the semifinals. Abounader scored two takedowns, winning scrambles midway through the first and third periods, and rode for 1:17 advantage time. Abounader also defeated Illinois' seventh-seeded Nikko Reyes, 6-4, rallying from an early deficit with a second-period takedown and third-period rideout. Abounader, who finished third at last year's conference tournament, will be U-M's top finisher for the second straight season.
Freshman Alec Pantaleo and sophomore Adam Coon joined Abounader in the semifinal round at 149 pounds and heavyweight, respectively, but dropped close decisions to fall into the wrestlebacks.
Panatleo posted a 2-1 mark on the day, earning bonus in his opening two bouts before narrowly falling to Iowa's top-seeded Brandon Sorensen, 2-0, on a third-period escape and 1:52 riding time. The Wolverine rookie, seeded fifth, scored four takedowns and a reversal to cruise to an 11-2 major decision in his first-round match against Indiana's Trevor Moody and earned an injury default over Rutgers' fourth-seeded Ken Theobold at the 4:32 mark in the quarterfinals. Pantaleo was up 10-5 at the time after converting five takedowns.
Coon dropped a 7-6 semifinal heartbreaker to Northwestern's third-seeded -- and third-ranked -- Mike McMullan after leading for most of the match. Coon, seeded second and ranked sixth, spun behind for a quick takedown in the first and escaped quickly in the second. McMullan earned a quick reversal out of a scramble on the edge in the third and won another scramble to tie with 40 seconds remaining. Coon went for a throw but missed it, and McMullan spun behind for the winning takedown. The Wolverine heavyweight cruised to a 5-1 decision over Illinois' Brooks Black in the morning quarterfinal, scoring on takedowns in the first and third frames.
The Wolverines have four other alive in the consolation semifinals in junior Conor Youtsey (125 pounds), sophomore Brian Murphy (157), freshman Garrett Sutton (165) and fifth-year senior Max Huntley (197). Junior Rossi Bruno and junior/sophomore Taylor Massa are already slotted in the seventh-place matches at 133 and 174 pounds, respectively.
Youtsey, seeded sixth at 125 pounds, posted a 2-1 record, bouncing back from a close quarterfinal loss to Ohio State's third-seeded Nathan Tomasello with two wins in the consolation bracket. He rallied to defeat Minnesota's seventh-seeded Ethan Lizak, 5-3 in overtime, in the final match of the day. Essentially down 2-0 with Lizak's riding time late in the third, Youtsey converted on a single-leg takedown -- working for and scoring it -- in the waning seconds to force the extra period then stuck immediately in sudden victory, spinning behind the Gopher for a takedon just seven seconds in. Youtsey will need to win one match tomorrow to lock up his NCAA automatic qualifier.
Murphy, seeded fourth at 157 pounds, went 3-1 on the day, earning two pins and a major decision to pile on bonus points. After falling to Purdue's fifth-seeded Doug Welch, 3-2, on a late takedown in the quarterfinals, Murphy bounced back with two big wins, including a third-period fall against Maryland's Lou Mascola in his last bout. Murphy was up two takedowns entering the third when Mascola started down and tried to roll; Murphy caught him and earned the quick call. The pins were the second and third of Murphy's career.
Sutton, seeded 12th at 165 pounds, locked in his bid for his first NCAA Championships with a 3-1 record on the day. After just missing his upset bid against Illinois' fifth-seeded Jackson Morse, 6-3, in the first round, Sutton reeled off three straight wrestleback, including a 5-3 decision over Penn State's sixth-seeded -- and 17th-ranked -- Garett Hammond. The Wolverine rookie couldn't quite finish on several first-period attacks in a scoreless first period but struck late in the second, scoring an escape and quick takedown on the edge. He rode off Hammond's riding-time advantage in the third, added a takedown off a front headlock and rode out the bout.
Huntley, seeded sixth at 197 pounds, also just missed on his upset bid, narrowly falling to Minnesota's third-seeded Scott Schiller, 9-6, in the quarterfinals after giving up a late takedown and near fall. Huntley rebounded in the wrestlebacks, avenging an earlier-season loss to Nebraska's fifth-seeded Aaron Studebaker, 7-4, before closing the day with a 10-3 decision over Purdue's Braden Atwood, scoring on three takedowns, a reversal and 3:16 riding-time advantage.
Bruno, seeded eighth at 133 pounds, split his first-day matches, falling to Minnesota's top-seeded -- and No. 1-ranked -- Chris Dardanes, 8-3, in the quarterfinals before rallying with an 8-5 decision over Rutgers's Scott Delvecchio in his first wrestleback match to lock up his NCAA bid. Bruno scored three takedowns, including two in the first period.
Massa, seeded ninth at 174 pounds, also split his first-day matches, and similarly fell to the top-seeded and ranked wrestler in Nebraska's Robert Kokesh. He earned a fall in his first wrestleback match, sticking Purdue's seventh-seeded Chad Welch with a half at the 1:57 mark.
Michigan will wrap up action at the Big Ten Championships tomorrow (Sunday, March 8). The third session is slated to begin at 1 p.m., while the finals will start at 3 p.m. and be aired live on the Big Ten Network.
Team Standings (After Day 1)
1. Ohio State 102.5 2. Iowa 101 3. Minnesota 86.5 4. MICHIGAN 80.5 5. Illinois 79 6. Penn State 78.5 7. Nebraska 70.5 8. Wisconsin 64.5 9. Northwestern 56.510. Purdue 33.511. Rutgers 18.512. Michigan State 12.513. Indiana 11.514. Maryland 9.5
Michigan Results (Day 1)
Numbers listed are tournament seedings
125 -- #6 Conor Youtsey
First Round - Bye
Quarterfinals - dec. by #3 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State), 5-2
Consolations - dec. Sean McCabe (Rutgers), 2-1
Consolations - dec. #7 Ethan Lizak (Minnesota), 5-3 SV
Consolations - vs. #5 Jordan Conaway (Penn State)
133 -- #8 Rossi Bruno
First Round - dec. #9 Eric Montoya (Nebraska), 5-2
Quarterfinals - dec. by #1 Chris Dardanes (Minnesota), 8-3
Consolations - dec. #10 Scott Delvecchio (Rutgers), 8-5
Consolations - #4 Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State), 3-1
Seventh Place - vs. #9 Eric Montoya (Nebraska)
141 -- #10 George Fisher
First Round - dec. by #7 Jameson Oster (Northwestern), 7-2
Consolations - dec. by #8 Nick Lawrence (Purdue), 7-5 SV
Eliminated with a 0-2 record
149 -- #5 Alec Pantaleo
First Round - major dec. Trevor Moody (Indiana), 11-2
Quarterfinals - injury def. #4 Ken Theobold (Rutgers), 4:32
Semifinals - dec. by #1 Brandon Sorenson (Iowa), 2-0
Consolations - vs. #6 Zack Beitz (Penn State)
157 -- #4 Brian Murphy
First Round - pinned Ben Sullivan (Northwestern), 0:45
Quarterfinals - dec. by #5 Doug Welch (Purdue), 3-2
Consolations - major dec. Travis Curley (Michigan State), 9-1
Consolations - pinned Lou Mascola (Maryland), 5:16
Consolations - vs. #3 James Green (Nebraska)
165 -- #12 Garrett Sutton
First Round - dec. by #5 Jackson Morse (Illinois), 6-2
Consolations - dec. Roger Wildmo (Michigan State), 10-4
Consolations - dec. #6 Garett Hammond (Penn State), 5-3
Consolations - dec. #10 Pat Robinson (Purdue), 6-1
Consolations - vs. #4 Pierce Harger (Northwestern)
174 -- #9 Taylor Massa
First Round - dec. #8 Frank Cousins (Wisconsin), 14-7
Quarterfinals - pinned by #1 Robert Kokesh (Nebraska), 0:15
Consolations - pinned #7 Chad Welch (Purdue), 1:57
Consolations - dec. by #5 Zach Brunson (Illinois), 3-2
Seventh Place - vs. #8 Frank Cousins (Wisconsin)
184 -- #2 Domenic Abounader
First Round - Bye
Quarterfinals - dec. #7 Nikko Reyes (Illinois), 6-4
Semifinals - dec. #3 Ricky Robertson (Wisconsin), 6-1
Final - vs. #4 Brett Pfarr (Minnesota)
197 -- #6 Max Huntley
First Round - dec. #11 Jeff Koepke (Illinois), 8-2
Quarterfinals - dec. by #3 Scott Schiller (Minnesota), 9-6
Consolations - dec. #5 Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska), 7-4
Consolations - dec. #9 Braden Atwood (Purdue), 10-3
Consolations - vs. #4 Nathan Burak (Iowa)
Hwt -- #2 Adam Coon
First Round - Bye
Quarterfinals - dec. #10 Brooks Black (Illinois), 5-1
Semifinals - dec. by #3 Mike McMullan (Northwestern), 7-6
Consolations - vs. #5 Jimmy Lawson (Penn State)
Communications Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
