Michigan
NCAA Championships (Day 3)
Wolverines Place Fourth at NCAAs Behind Five All-Americans
3/17/2018 11:49:00 PM | Wrestling
» Michigan claimed a tie for fourth place (80 points) to earn a team trophy at the NCAA Championships -- the Wolverines' highest team finish since 2005.
» Stevan Micic (133 pounds) and Adam Coon (heavyweight) dropped decision losses in the championship finals to South Dakota State's Seth Gross and Ohio State's Kyle Snyder, respectively.
» Alec Pantaleo (157), Myles Amine (174) and Domenic Abounader (184) all earned wins in their morning medal matches.
Site: Cleveland, Ohio (Quicken Loans Arena)
Event: NCAA Wrestling Championships (Day 3 of 3)
U-M Team Standing: Fourth-place of 58 teams (80 points)
Next U-M Event: Season Completed
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- University of Michigan junior/sophomore Stevan Micic and graduate student Adam Coon fell short in their bids for individual national titles at 133 pounds and heavyweight, respectively, on Saturday night (March 17) in front of crowd of 113,743 at Quicken Loans Arena. With five NCAA All-Americans, the Wolverines claimed fourth place (80 points) in the finals team standings -- their highest NCAA finish in 13 seasons.
Micic could not overcome a sizable early deficit against South Dakota State's top-seeded Seth Gross, but stormed back with three takedowns but fell, 13-8, in the 133-pound championship bout. Micic couldn't finish on a deep leg attack early in the first period, and Gross scored on the subsequent restart and added a four-point tilt to secure a 6-0 lead. Micic scored a takedown of his own in the second and added three more in the third but could not make up the deficit.
Coon fell to Ohio State's top-seeded Kyle Snyder, 3-2, in the heavyweight final -- the final bout of the evening -- and season rubber-match between the two. After trading little more than escapes and half shots through the first 6:41 of the contest, Snyder hit a slide by on a Coon single shot for the deciding takedown. Coon escaped quickly but had little time to mount a comeback. Coon finishes his collegiate career as a three-time NCAA All-American and two-time finalist. His 116-15 record ranks him sixth in program history with a .885 career winning percentage.
Michigan's other NCAA All-Americans closed out the morning session with wins in their medal matches, as junior/sophomore Myles Amine claimed third place at 174 pounds, and senior/junior Alec Pantaleo and fifth-year senior Domenic Abounader took fifth at 157 and 184 pounds, respectively.
Amine knocked off Missouri's second-seeded Daniel Lewis, 4-2, in overtime in the third-place bout. Down two points late in regulation after Lewis' second-period rideout and third-period escape, Amine hit a high crotch late and won the ensuing scramble for the takedown and rode out the final 35 seconds to force overtime. He shot in on a high crotch just eight seconds into the sudden-victory frame and finished it quickly for the winning takedown.
Amine, who outplaced his seed to place top four in both of his NCAA tournament appearances, also defeated Ohio State's sixth-seeded Bo Jordan, 6-2, in the consolation semifinals -- his third straight win over the Buckeye after he lost the first two collegiate matchups between the two. Amine scored on a single leg early in the first and rode out the period, then added another takedown and 3:22 of riding-time advantage to ice it.
Pantaleo rebounded from a consolation semifinal loss to defeat Ohio State's seventh-seeded Micah Jordan, 6-3, in the fifth-place contest. Pantaleo finished on two takedowns -- a first-period single leg and an explosive third-period double -- and rode for 1:21. It was his fourth win over the Buckeye this season
Abounader could not overcome an early deficit in his consolation semifinals loss, a one-pointer decided on a technical violation point, but rebounded with an 8-2 decision against Virginia Tech's sixth-seeded Zack Zavatsky in the fifth-place bout -- Abounader's final collegiate match. He built an early lead in the first period on a quick takedown and subsequent reversal and rideout and iced the win with a go-behind on the edge in the third, riding out the match to earn 1:30 in advantage time. An NCAA All-American and 2015 Big Ten champion, Abounader finished his collegiate career with a 96-30 record.
The Wolverines have boasted 192 NCAA All-Americans in program history, including 60 during head coach Joe McFarland's 19-year tenure. Michigan has boasted at least one All-American in 25 of the last 27 seasons and put at least three on the podium each of the last four years.
Top 10 Teams (Final)
1. Penn State          141.5 2. Ohio State          133.5 3. Iowa                97.0 T4. MICHIGAN             80.0 T4. NC State            80.0 6. Missouri             61.5 7. Cornell              48.0 8. Virginia Tech        47.5 9. Nebraska             47.0 10. Arizona State        43.0
Michigan Results (Day 3)
Numbers listed are tournament seedings
133 Pounds -- #2 Stevan Micic
First Place - dec. #1 Seth Gross (South Dakota State), 13-8
Finished in second place with a 4-1 record
157 Pounds -- #5 Alec Pantaleo
Consolation Semis - dec. by #6 Michael Kemerer (Iowa), 6-1
Fifth Place - dec. #7 Micah Jordan (Ohio State), 6-3
Finished in fifth place with a 4-2 record
174 Pounds -- #5 Myles Amine
Consolations Semis - dec. #6 Bo Jordan (Ohio State), 6-2
Third Place - dec. #2 Daniel Lewis (Missouri), 4-2 SV
Finished in third place with a 5-1 record
184 Pounds -- #5 Domenic Abounader
Consolations Semis - dec. by #10 Emory Parker (Illinois), 6-5
Fifth Place - dec. #6 Zack Zavatsky (Virginia Tech), 8-2
Finished in fifth place with a 4-2 record
Heavyweight -- #2 Adam Coon
First Place - vs. #1 Kyle Snyder (Ohio State), 3-2
Finished in second place with a 4-1 record
Players Mentioned
