Michigan
Illinois
Wolverines to Host No. 19 Illinois in Return to Crisler Center
1/9/2019 2:46:00 PM | Wrestling
» No. 6 Michigan will host No. 19 Illinois at 7 p.m. on Saturday (Jan. 12) at Crisler Center.
» The Wolverines remain undefeated in duals this season with a 5-0 record and have outscored their dual opposition by a combined 141-52 margin.
» All 10 Wolverine starters are ranked nationally by at least one media outlet; No. 2 Stevan Micic, who is 5-0 this season at 133 pounds, leads the Michigan squad.
THIS WEEK
Saturday, Jan. 12 -- vs. #19 Illinois (Crisler Center), 7 p.m.
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The No. 6-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team (5-0, 1-0 Big Ten) will return home and resume its Big Ten Conference dual slate on Saturday (Jan. 12) when it hosts No. 19 Illinois (1-1, 0-0 Big Ten) at 7 p.m. at Crisler Center.
Michigan will hold its annual Alumni Night in conjunction with Saturday's dual meet and will specially recognize several former Wolverine standouts. Two-time All-American Mark Johnson ('77), formerly the head coach at Illinois from 1992-2009, will serve as honorary captain during the pre-meet disc flip. Adam Coon ('18), along with fellow Fowlerville, Michigan, native Dalton Roberts, will receive USA Wrestling's Jacob Curby Memorial Award from David Curby ('75). U-M will also honor the 30th anniversary of its 1988-89 team that defeated Iowa en route to the Great American Wrestling Classic title.
Promotions
• MAIZE OUT, rally towel giveaway, post-match autographs (more promotions)
Michigan's Projected Starting Lineup
| Wgt. | Name | Year/Elig. | Hometown (High School) |
| 125 | Drew Mattin | So./So. | Delta, Ohio (Delta) |
| or | Austin Assad | Sr./Jr. | Brecksville, Ohio (Brecksville) |
| 133 | Stevan Micic | Sr./Jr. | Cedar Lake, Ind. (Hanover Central) |
| 141 | Kanen Storr | Jr./So. | Leslie, Mich. (Leslie) |
| 149 | Malik Amine | 5th/Sr. | Brighton, Mich. (Detroit Catholic Central) |
| 157 | Alec Pantaleo | 5th/Sr. | Canton, Mich. (Canton) |
| 165 | Logan Massa | Sr./Jr. | St. Johns, Mich. (St. Johns) |
| 174 | Myles Amine | Sr./Jr. | Brighton, Mich. (Detroit Catholic Central) |
| or | Reece Hughes | So./So. | Brighton, Mich. (Hartland) |
| 184 | J.T. Correll | So./Fr. | Easton, Pa. (Wyoming Seminary) |
| 197 | Jackson Striggow | Sr./Jr. | Orono, Minn. (Orono) |
| or | Andrew Davison | So./Fr. | Chesterton, Ind. (Chesterton) |
| Hwt | Mason Parris | Fr./Fr. | Lawrenceburg, Ind. (Lawrenceburg) |
Wolverine Bites
• With its 5-0 dual record, Michigan is off to its best start in 17 seasons -- since winning its first eight duals en route to a 16-3 record in 2001-02. The Wolverines have defeated two ranked opponents over their opening stretch and outscored their dual opposition by a combined 141-52 margin.
• For the first time this season, all 10 Wolverine starters are ranked nationally by at least one media outlet, including seven who are ranked within the top 10 at their respective weights. Based on their highest ranking, No. 2 Stevan Micic (133 pounds), No. 3 Myles Amine (174), No. 5 Kanen Storr (141), No. 6 Alec Pantaleo (157), No. 6 Mason Parris (Hwt) and No. 7 Logan Massa (165) lead the U-M squad.
• Freshman heavyweight Mason Parris came out of redshirt last week and earned two dual wins on the road, including an 11-4 decision over Oregon State's top-ranked Amar Dhesi in his varsity debut. Parris scored four takedowns -- three in the first period -- against the two-time All-American with 1:31 riding-time advantage. He followed up with a third-period (5:56) pin against Arizona State's Brady Daniel to help rally the Wolverines to a comeback win in the dual meet.
• Before making his varsity debut last season, Parris had placed in all four of his unattached open tournament appearances with titles at the Michigan State (Nov. 3) and Cleveland State (Dec. 15) opens. More recently, he placed fifth at the Midlands Championships (Dec. 29-30) and earned a 9-6 decision over Wisconsin's eighth-ranked Trent Hillger in the quarterfinals, scoring on two takedowns and two reversals. Parris is 19-3 on the season and leads the team with nine pins. He owns three wins over nationally ranked opponents.
• Senior/junior Stevan Micic earned two technical falls in the Wolverines' wins at Oregon State and Arizona State trip to improve to 5-0 on the season. Micic only has seen dual-meet action due to an injury suffered at the Poland Open in September that forced him to withdraw from the World Championships. He has earned bonus points in three of his five appearances at 133 pounds this season. Last year, he posted bonus points in 81 percent of his wins (21/26).
• Micic is one of four Wolverine starters still undefeated in dual meets this season. Junior/sophomore Kanen Storr is also 5-0 on the year at 141 pounds, while sophomore/freshman Jelani Embree, who missed the recent road trip due to injury, is 3-0 and recent addition Mason Parris is 2-0 in duals.
• Sophomore Reece Hughes bumped up two weight classes to fill in for Embree at 184 pounds over the recent road trip and earned a big third-period fall against Oregon State's Myles Terry, reversing Terry to his back and locking up a cradle at 5:42. It was Hughes' third dual win over the last two seasons. He also claimed two wins last season bumping up from 157 to 165 pounds.
• Fifth-year senior Malik Amine put an exclamation point on the Wolverines' comeback win at Arizona State with a 5-3 decision win against 11th-ranked Josh Maruca at 149 pounds. It was Amine's first win over a ranked opponent this season and his third win in a row. It also avenged a dual loss to Maruca last season that Amine was forced to injury default in the first period.
• Senior/junior Myles Amine suffered his first loss of the season in a 6-4 decision to Arizona State's second-ranked -- and defending NCAA champion -- Zahid Valencia. Amine gave up takedowns in the first and second periods before scoring one of his own with short time left in the third. Amine is 0-6 against Valencia over the last three seasons with four of the six scores separated by two points or fewer. He is now 10-1 on the season.
• Several Wolverines are bearing down at the 100-win milestone. Senior/junior Myles Amine leads the pack with an 81-17 record over his collegiate career. Senior/junior Stevan Micic and fifth-year senior Alec Pantaleo, both of whom have seen limited action this season due to health-related issued, are 79-13 and 77-18, respectively, at Michigan. Last season, Adam Coon became the 36th Wolverine wrestler to reach 100 wins, finishing his career with a stellar 116-15 record.
U-M Individual Rankings
| Wt. | Wrestler | InterMat | Flo | TW | TOM | AWN |
| 125 | Drew Mattin | 12 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 8 |
| 133 | Stevan Micic | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| 141 | Kanen Storr | 5 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 5 |
| 149 | Malik Amine | NR | NR | 19 | NR | 17 |
| 157 | Alec Pantaleo | 12 | 14 | 9 | 6 | 16 |
| 165 | Logan Massa | 7 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 7 |
| 174 | Myles Amine | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 184 | Jelani Embree | 20 | NR | 22 | NR | NR |
| 197 | Jackson Striggow | NR | NR | 20 | 20 | 16 |
| Hwt | Mason Parris | 8 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 19 |
Scouting the Opposition
Illinois: The Fighting Illini enter the weekend with a 1-1 dual record and have not yet wrestled a Big Ten dual. Illinois won its latest dual appearance, a 24-9 decision over Northern Illinois on Dec. 7, and more recently, took ninth place at the Midlands Championships (Dec. 29-30) behind five individual placewinners. Six Illini wrestlers are ranked nationally, most notably No. 9 Mike Carr (141 pounds) and No. 2 Emery Parker (184). Michigan leads the all-times series against Illinois, 43-26-1, dating back to 1924, but dropped the most recent meeting, a 34-6 defeat two seasons ago in Champaign, Illinois.
Last Time Out
The Wolverines swept a pair of non-conference duals to kick off the New Year, defeating Oregon State, 33-8, last Thursday (Jan. 3) before rallying past No. 16 Arizona State, 23-12, on Saturday (Jan. 5). Michigan claimed eight bouts against the Beavers, highlighted by sophomore Reece Hughes' third-period pin wrestling up two weights at 184 pounds and freshman Mason Parris' 11-4 decision against No. 1 Amar Dhesi in his varsity debut at heavyweight. After giving up the first four matches at ASU, U-M took each of the final six, including a pin from Parris and an upset win from fifth-year senior Malik Amine, 5-3, over 11th-ranked Josh Maruca at 149 pounds. Â [ Recaps: Oregon State | Arizona State ]
Up Next
Friday, Jan. 18 -- at Michigan State (East Lansing, Mich.), 7 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 20 -- vs. Purdue (Cliff Keen Arena), 2 p.m.
Players Mentioned
