Michigan
Big Ten Championships
Abounader Wins Big Ten Title at 184 Pounds
3/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 8, 2015
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Site: Columbus, Ohio (St. John Arena)
Event: Big Ten Championships (Day 2 of 2)
U-M Team Standing: 4th Place of 14 Teams (102.5 points)
Next U-M Event: Thu-Sat., March 19-21 -- at NCAA Championships (St. Louis, Mo.)
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Sophomore Domenic Abounader used a late takedown to capture the 184-pound individual title and headline the No. 14-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team's fourth-place finish (102.5 points) at the 2015 Big Ten Conference Championships on Saturday (March 8) at Ohio State's St. John Arena. The Wolverines boasted nine individual placers and nine automatic qualifiers for the NCAA Championships.
Abounader claimed U-M's first conference title in three seasons and was the Wolverines' top Big Ten finisher for the second straight season after posting a 7-6 decision over Minnesota's fourth-seeded -- and 13th-ranked -- Brett Pfarr in the championship match. Abounader struck first, scoring on a pair of single-leg takedowns in the first period, but Pfarr evened the score with a takedown of his own at the period buzzer. The wrestlers traded escapes to keep the score deadlocked midway through the third when Abounader got a single leg high and returned Pfarr hard to the mat with just 26 seconds remaining. Pfarr escaped but could not reach Abounader's legs as the Wolverine held on for the win.
Sophomore heavyweight Adam Coon avenged an earlier-season loss en route to third place, scoring a pair of third-period takedowns to defeat Wisconsin's top-seeded -- and second-ranked -- Connor Medbery, 5-2, in the placing bout. With the score deadlocked at one apiece, Coon finished on a single-leg attack with a minute remaining and added another off a bodylock in the waning seconds.
Coon, seeded second, rallied from an early deficit to earn a 9-5 decision over Penn State's fifth-seeded, seventh-ranked Jimmy Lawson in the consolation semifinals. After giving up a quick takedown, Coon finished two of his own in the first and second frames and rode for 2:40 advantage time.
Freshman Alec Pantaleo took fourth place in his Big Ten debut at 149 pounds after dropping a frustrating 9-7 sudden-victory decision to Illinois' Kyle Lagenderfer in the placing bout. Pantaleo, seeded fifth, finished on three takedowns, including a quick throw by in the first, but Lagenderfer countered a shot to score out of a scramble and add a pair of near-fall points soon after. With the score tied 7-7, Pantaleo could not finish on several leg attacks, drawing only one stall warning. Lagenderfer scored out of a scramble midway through the overtime frame.
Pantaleo avenged an earlier-season loss with a 3-1 decision over Penn State's sixth-seeded Zack Beitz in the morning consolation semifinals, scoring on a second-period throw by for the bout's only offensive points.
Junior/sophomore Conor Youtsey took fifth place at 125 pounds -- locking up the conference's final NCAA automatic qualifier at the weight -- with a 2-1 decision over Nebraska's fourth-seeded, 11th-ranked Tim Lambert in the placing bout. After a scoreless first period, Youtsey earned a quick escape in the second and rode for 1:05 riding-time advantage in the third. It was his second win over Lambert this season. Youtsey, seeded sixth, just missed in his upset bid over Penn State's 10th-ranked Jordan Conaway in the consolation semifinals, falling 2-1 in the first tiebreaker.
Sophomore Brian Murphy claimed fifth place at 157 pounds, avenging his quarterfinal loss to Purdue's fifth-seeded Doug Welch with an 8-3 decision over the Boilermaker in the placing bout. Murphy built up an early and sizable lead with a single-leg takedown and three-point near fall late in the first period. The wrestlers traded reversals in the second before Murphy rode out the third to accumulate 1:07 in time advantage.
Fifth-year senior Max Huntley, seeded sixth at 197 pounds, cruised to fifth place in his third Big Ten appearance, scoring four takedowns en route to a 10-1 major decision over Illinois' 11th-seeded Jeff Koepke. He finished on a variety of shots, including a pair of singles and an ankle pick, and rode for 3:57 time advantage. Huntley sacrificed an early lead in a close 4-3 loss to Iowa's fourth-seeded, sixth-ranked Nathan Burak in the consolation semifinals. The Wolverine struck first on an early single leg but gave up one in the waning seconds of the period.
Freshman Garrett Sutton took sixth place 165 pounds -- one of the conference's toughest weights -- after narrowly falling to Illinois' fifth-seeded, eighth-ranked Jackson Morse, 2-0, in the fifth-place contest. Sutton, seeded 12th, rode for much of the second period before giving up an escape on a restart midway through but was ridden out in the third, as Morse accumulated 1:12 in time advantage.
Junior Rossi Bruno and junior/sophomore Taylor Massa earned big bonus points with back-to-back first-period pins in seventh-place matches at 133 and 174 pounds. Bruno, seeded eighth at 133, stuck Nebraska's ninth-seeded Eric Montoya at the 2:44 mark, finishing on a leg attack on the edge late in the frame before tilting Montoya quickly off the restart to earn the five count then the pin -- his first of the season. Massa, seeded ninth at 174, earned his pin against Wisconsin's eighth-seeded Frank Cousins even quick, working for and scoring an early single leg being using a crushed to stick the Badger wrestler at the 1:46 mark. It was Massa's second fall of the tournament and fifth of the season.
The Wolverines will take a two-week break to prepare for the NCAA Championships, scheduled for March 19-21 in St. Louis, Missouri. Michigan will send at least nine wrestlers to the national event and have an opportunity to add another when NCAA at-large selections, seeds and full brackets are announced on Wednesday (March 11).
Team Standings (Final)
1. Iowa 120.0 Ohio State 120.0 3. Minnesota 108.0 4. MICHIGAN 102.5 5. Penn State 96.5 6. Illinois 96.0 7. Nebraska 85.5 8. Wisconsin 73.0 9. Northwestern 72.010. Purdue 37.511. Rutgers 20.512. Indiana 16.013. Michigan State 12.514. Maryland 10.5
Michigan Results (Day 2)
Numbers listed are tournament seedings
125 -- #6 Conor Youtsey
Consolations - dec. by #5 Jordan Conaway (Penn State), 2-1 TB
Fifth Place - dec. #4 Tim Lambert (Nebraska), 2-1
Finished in fifth place with a 3-2 record
133 -- #8 Rossi Bruno
Seventh Place - pinned #9 Eric Montoya (Nebraska), 2:44
Finished in seventh place with a 3-2 record
149 -- #5 Alec Pantaleo
Consolations - dec. #6 Zack Beitz (Penn State), 3-1
Third Place - dec. by Kyle Langenderfer (Illinois), 9-7 SV
Finished in fourth place with a 3-2 record
157 -- #4 Brian Murphy
Consolations - pinned by #3 James Green (Nebraska), 2:56
Fifth Place - dec. #5 Doug Welch (Purdue), 8-3
Finished in fifth place with a 4-2 record
165 -- #12 Garrett Sutton
Consolations - major dec. by #4 Pierce Harger (Northwestern), 9-0
Fifth Place - dec. by #5 Jackson Morse (Illinois), 2-0
Finished in sixth place with a 3-3 record
174 -- #9 Taylor Massa
Seventh Place - pinned #8 Frank Cousins (Wisconsin), 1:46
Finished in seventh place with a 3-2 record
184 -- #2 Domenic Abounader
Final - dec. #4 Brett Pfarr (Minnesota), 7-6
Finished as 184-pound champion with a 3-0 record
197 -- #6 Max Huntley
Consolations - dec. by #4 Nathan Burak (Iowa), 4-3
Fifth Place - major dec. #11 Jeff Koepke (Illinois), 10-1
Finished in fifth place with a 4-2 record
Hwt -- #2 Adam Coon
Consolations - dec. #5 Jimmy Lawson (Penn State), 9-5
Third Place - dec. #1 Connor Medbery (Wisconsin), 5-2
Finished in third place with a 3-1 record
Communications Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
