Michigan
Arizona State
Wolverines to Open Season against No. 11 Arizona State at DCC
11/7/2017 5:38:00 PM | Wrestling
» Michigan will host Arizona State in its 2017-18 dual opener at 7 p.m. on Friday (Nov. 10) at Detroit Catholic Central High School in Novi, Michigan.
» Eight Wolverines are ranked in at least one national poll at their respective weight classes, most notably No. 2 Stevan Micic (133 pounds), No. 2 Adam Coon (Hwt) and No. 3 Logan Massa (165).
» Michigan is 63-30-2 all time in season openers and 15-3 in openers under head coach Joe McFarland; the Wolverines own a narrow 4-3 edge in the all-time series against Arizona State.
THIS WEEK
Friday, Nov. 10 -- vs. Arizona State (Novi, Mich.), 7 p.m.
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The No. 4-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team (0-0) will kick off its 2017-18 dual schedule against No. 11 Arizona State at7 p.m. on Friday (Nov. 10) at Detroit Catholic Central High School in Novi, Michigan. DCC is the alma mater of current Wolverines Malik Amine, Myles Amine and Kevin Beazley.
Michigan and Detroit Catholic Central will honor former Wolverine great Mike Rodriguez during intermission of Friday's dual meet. An Ann Arbor native, Rodriguez was a two-time NCAA runner-up and three-time Big Ten champion (1955, '56, '57) at Michigan, earning the conference's Most Outstanding Wrestler honor as a senior. He later spent 40 years at the helm of the DCC program and retired in 2007 as the winningest coach in the history of U.S. high school wrestling with more than 730 dual-meet victories.
Michigan's Projected Starting Lineup
|
Wgt. |
Name |
Year/Elig. |
Hometown (High School) |
|
125 |
Jr./So. |
Northfield, Ohio (Brecksville) |
|
|
or |
Fr./Fr. |
Delta, Mich. (Delta) |
|
|
or |
Fr./Fr. |
Chesterfield, Mich. (Anchor Bay) |
|
|
133 |
Jr./So. |
Cedar Lake, Ind. (Hanover Central) |
|
|
141 |
Jr./So. |
Monroe Twp, N.J. (Monroe Township) |
|
|
149 |
Sr./Jr. |
Brighton, Mich. (Detroit Catholic Central) |
|
|
157 |
Sr./Jr. |
Canton, Mich. (Canton) |
|
|
165 |
Jr./So. |
St. Johns, Mich. (St. Johns) |
|
|
174 |
Jr./So. |
Brington, Mich. (Detroit Catholic Central) |
|
|
184 |
5th/Sr. |
Gates Mills, Ohio (St. Edward) |
|
|
197 |
Jr./So. |
Orono, Minn. (Orono) |
|
|
or |
Gr./Sr. |
Highland, Mich. (Detroit Catholic Central) |
|
|
Hwt |
Gr./Sr. |
Fowlerville, Mich. (Fowlerville) |
WOLVERINE BITES
• Through 95 years of U-M wrestling history, Michigan has posted a 63-30-2 record in its first dual meet of the season. Last season, the Wolverines claimed seven of 10 bouts, earning major decisions in three, to defeat Viriginia, 24-9, in their season open at Cliff Keen Arena. Under head coach Joe McFarland, Michigan is 15-3 in season openers.
• Michigan returns eight starters from its young squad a season ago and, with the addition of its four wrestlers coming off redshirt and an offseason transfer, the Wolverines' 2017-18 roster includes six All-Americans in junior/sophomore Stevan Micic (133 pounds), senior/junior Alec Pantaleo (157), junior/sophomore Logan Massa (165), junior/sophomore Myles Amine (174), graduate student Kevin Beazley (197) and graduate student Adam Coon (Hwt), as well as a Big Ten champion in fifth-year senior Domenic Abounader (184).
• Seven Wolverines are ranked among the nation's top 10 at their respective weight classes, including consecutive weights from 157 pounds to heavyweight. Michigan's highest-rated wrestlers are No. 2 Micic (133) and No. 2 Coon (Hwt).
• The Wolverines boasted six individual champions and 10 total placewinners at last Sunday's Michigan State Open (Nov. 5). Massa (165 pounds), Amine (174), Abouander (184), Beazley (197) and Coon (Hwt) won at consecutive weights in the open division -- all defeating ranked opponents in the champion round -- while freshman Andrew Davison claimed a freshman/sophomore title at 197 pounds in his collegiate debut.
• Massa defeated Arizona State's sixth-ranked Anthony Valencia, 6-0, in the MSU Open champion bout at 165 pounds -- in a preview of Friday's dual meet matchup. Massa also earned two major decisions against the Sun Devil wrestler last season.
• Amine captured the 174-pound title at the season-opening MSU Open, outscoring his three opponents, 42-6. He defeated Michigan State's eighth-ranked Drew Hughes, 20-6, on seven takedowns -- four in the first period -- and reversal and 2:17 in riding-time advantage.
• Adding his three wins at the MSU Open, Coon upped his career record to 90-13 over his four seasons at Michigan. Coon needs just 10 more wins to become the 36th Wolverine wrestler to reach 100 in his career. Abounader is the next closest to the milestone with a career mark of 73-23.
• Michigan welcomed a big 12-man freshman class to Ann Arbor this fall. The class, which ranked as high as No. 3 in the national recruiting rankings, combined for 17 state titles over their high school careers and includes four wrestlers who listed among the top 60 national recruits by InterMat and FloWrestling, while five were ranked among the top 20 at their respective weight classes.
• Head coach Joe McFarland enters his 19th season at the helm of the Michigan program. Under his guidance, the Wolverines have recorded 10 top-10 NCAA finishes and claimed three Big Ten dual-meet titles. McFarland has led 31 student-athletes to five NCAA individual titles, 55 All-America citations and 17 Big Ten individual crowns.
• Nine of the Wolverines' 14 dual-meet opponents ranked among the top 25 teams in the National Wrestling Coaches Association's preseason poll, most notably five top-10 teams in No. 1 Penn State, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 6 Minnesota, No. 7 Iowa and No. 10 Lehigh. FloWrestling identified the Wolverines' 2017-18 dual-meet schedule as the second toughest in the nation.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Arizona State: The Sun Devils will make their dual debut against Michigan on Friday. They boasted one champion and 10 total placewinners at last weekend's MSU Open (Nov. 5), with Josh Shields captured the 157-pound final, and split a pair of bouts at the NWCA All-Star Classic. Arizona State owns six nationally ranked wrestlers, most notably No. 1 Zahid Valencia (174 pounds), No. 4 Tanner Hall (Hwt) and No. 6 Anthony Valencia (165). Michigan narrowly leads, 4-3, in the all-time series against Arizona State and has claimed each of the last two meetings -- a 24-16 win in 2005 and 24-12 decision in 2006, both at the NWCA National Duals.
U-M Individual Rankings
|
Wt. |
Wrestler |
InterMat |
TW |
Flo |
TOM |
|
133 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
|
|
141 |
NR |
20 |
17 |
NR |
|
|
157 |
7 |
8 |
8 |
6 |
|
|
165 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
|
|
174 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
|
|
184 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
|
|
197 |
6 |
5 |
6 |
3 |
|
|
Hwt |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
UP NEXT
Sunday, Nov. 19 -- at Lehigh (Bethlehem, Pa.), 2 p.m.
Players Mentioned
