Michigan
Northwestern
Wolverines Head to Land of Lincoln for First Road Swing
1/21/2020 2:33:00 PM | Wrestling
» No. 25 Michigan will face No. 15 Northwestern at 7 p.m. CST on Friday (Jan. 24) in Evanston, Illinois, and Illinois at 1 p.m. CST Sunday (Jan. 26) in Champaign -- U-M's first road trip of the dual season.
» U-M is 3-0 in Big Ten duals this season and is coming off a 22-15 decision against No. 11 Minnesota.
» Mason Parris (Hwt) has pinned each of his last three opponents and remains unbeaten with a 19-0 record on the season; he has earned bonus points in 12 of his 19 wins.
THIS WEEK
Friday, Jan. 24 -- at Northwestern (Evanston, Ill.), 7 p.m. CST
TV: BTN+ | Live Stats | Live Video
Sunday, Jan. 26 -- at Illinois (Champaign, Ill.), 1 p.m. CST
TV: BTN+ | Live Stats | Live Video
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The No. 25-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team (4-2, 3-0 Big Ten) will head to the Land of Lincoln this weekend for its first road trip of the 2019-20 dual season. On Friday (Jan. 24), the Wolverines will face No. 15 Northwestern (3-3, 1-2 Big Ten) at 7 p.m. CST at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Illinois. Michigan will wrap the weekend with a 1 p.m. CST slate against Illinois (4-3, 1-2 Big Ten) on Sunday (Jan. 26) at Huff Hall in Champaign.
Michigan's Projected Starting Lineup
| Wgt. | Name | Year/Elig. | Hometown (High School) |
| 125 | Jack Medley | Jr./So. | Chesterfield, Mich. (Anchor Bay) |
| 133 | Joey Silva | So./Fr. | Orlando, Fla. (Lake Highland Prep) |
| or | Austin Assad | 5th/Sr. | Northfield, Ohio (Brecksville) |
| 141 | Cole Mattin | Fr./Fr. | Delta, Ohio (Delta) |
| or | Ben Freeman | Jr./So. | Walled Lake, Mich. (Central) |
| 149 | Kanen Storr | Sr./Jr. | Leslie, Mich. (Leslie) |
| or | Ben Lamantia | Gr./Sr. | Commack, N.Y. (St. Anthony's) |
| 157 | Will Lewan | So./Fr. | Chicago, Ill. (Montini Catholic) |
| 165 | Tyler Meisinger | Sr./Jr. | San Clemente, Calif. (San Clemente) |
| or | Reece Hughes | Jr./Jr. | Brighton, Mich. (Hartland) |
| 174 | Max Maylor | So./Fr. | Highland, Wis. (Highland) |
| 184 | Jelani Embree | Jr./So. | Eastpointe, Mich. (Warren Lincoln) |
| or | Bobby Striggow | So./Fr. | Orono, Minn. (Orono) |
| 197 | Jackson Striggow | 5th/Sr. | Orono, Minn. (Orono) |
| or | J.T. Correll | Jr./So. | Easton, Pa. (Blair Academy) |
| Hwt | Mason Parris | So./So. | Lawrenceburg, Ind. (Lawrenceburg) |
Wolverine Bites
• The Wolverines have won their last three duals since kicking off Big Ten Conference competition, defeating Michigan State (22-14, Jan. 10), Maryland (34-3, Jan. 17) and No. 11 Minnesota (22-15, Jan. 19). Michigan has posted an 18-3 record in Big Ten duals over the last three seasons, including an 8-1 mark last year. U-M has finished third in the regular-season standings in each of the last two seasons.
• Sophomore heavyweight Mason Parris has pinned each of his last three opponents and boasts seven total pins on the season. He is undefeated with a 19-0 record and has earned bonus points in 12 matches -- 63 percent of his appearances. Parris led the Wolverines last season with 32 wins and 13 falls.
• Though Parris missed out on his matchup with Minnesota's No. 1 Gable Steveson last weekend, he owns eight wins over nationally-ranked opponents this season. Parris defeated Arizona State's sixth-ranked Tanner Hall, 6-3, in the finals at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational (Dec. 6-7) with two takedowns and 1:03 riding-time advantage. He also owns three wins over Central Michigan's now-fourth-ranked Matt Stencel, including 9-2 and 4-0 decisions in the finals at the MSU Open (Nov. 2) and Black Knight Invite (Nov. 17), and a 14-3 major decision over Pittsburgh's No. 8 Demetrius Thomas at the MSU Open.
Junior/sophomore Jelani Embree returned to the lineup at 184 pounds -- and picked up two dual wins -- last weekend after missing more than a month due to injury suffered at the CKLV. Among his weekend wins was a 3-1 overtime decision against Minnesota's No. 15 Owen Webster. It was his second win this season over the Golden Gopher; he also defeated Webster, 5-2, in Las Vegas. Embree is 15-4 on the season -- a perfect 4-0 in duals -- and ranked as high as 10th nationally.
• Sophomore/freshman Joey Silva is 3-0 on the season at 133 pounds after making his season and varsity debut against Michigan State (Jan. 10), when he used three takedowns and 2:19 riding-time advantage to earn a 7-2 decision over Garrett Pepple, who was ranked as high as No. 25 by FloWrestling. Silva also clinched the Wolverines' dual win over No. 11 Minnesota with an 11-3 major decision over Brent Jones in the final bout. He posted a 7-1 record in his redshirt season last year, earning a tournament win at the Cleveland State Open in his first collegiate competition. The MSU dual was his first action in a little more than a year.
• Senior/junior Kanen Storr also made his season dual-meet debut in U-M's win over Michigan State, using a third-period takedown to defeat Alex Hrisopoulos, 4-1, at 149 pounds. Storr, who is 9-2 and ranked as high as No. 9 nationally, came out of his Olympic redshirt at the Midlands Championships (Dec. 29-30), where he took seventh place with Big Ten wins over Purdue's Nate Limmex (8-1) and Wisconsin's Cole Martin (6-3). Storr is up a weight class this season; he was an NCAA qualifier last year at 141 pounds.
• Junior/sophomore Jack Medley owns a 4-2 dual record at 125 pounds with four major-decision victories, while his losses are a one-point decision (3-2) to Central Michigan's ninth-ranked Drew Hildebrandt and a 3-1 overtime decision to Minnesota's 15th-ranked Patrick McKee. Medley owns two wins over ranked opponents this season, defeating North Carolina's 19th-ranked Joey Melendez, 10-2, in the dual opener and North Carolina State's 15th-ranked Jakob Camacho, 6-5, at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Medley also boasts a pair of wins against three-time NCAA qualifier Christian Moody of Oklahoma, including a 9-4 decision at the CKLV.
• In addition to Silva, Cole Mattin and Will Lewan, five other Wolverines have made their collegiate dual-meet debuts this season -- senior/junior Ben Freeman (141 pounds), sophomore/freshman Nick Freeman (149), senior/junior Tyler Meisinger (165), sophomore/freshman Max Maylor (174) and sophomore/freshman Bobby Striggow (184).
• Three Wolverines are currently taking Olympic redshirts for the 2019-20 season -- fifth-year seniors Myles Amine and Logan Massa and graduate student Stevan Micic. Amine and Micic already have qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo after placing fifth at 57kg/125 pounds and 86kg/189 pounds, respectively, at the UWW World Championships in September. Massa qualified for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials with his first-place finish at the Senior Nationals in December. None of the three are enrolled in classes this semester and will retain the year of NCAA eligibility through the athletics activity waiver.
U-M Individual Rankings
| Wt. | Wrestler | InterMat | Flo | TW | TOM | AWN |
| 125 | Jack Medley | NR | NR | 20 | 27 | NR |
| 133 | Joey Silva | NR | NR | 33 | 17 | 20 |
| 141 | Cole Mattin | NR | NR | 29 | 32 | NR |
| 149 | Kanen Storr | 9 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 |
| 157 | Will Lewan | 12 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 17 |
| 184 | Jelani Embree | 13 | 13 | 11 | 16 | 10 |
| 197 | Jackson Striggow | NR | NR | 31 | NR | NR |
| Hwt | Mason Parris | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Scouting the Opposition
Northwestern: The Wildcats are 3-3 on the season and 1-2 in Big Ten duals after claiming a 21-15 win over Indiana last Saturday (Jan. 18) at home. They opened the conference slate with losses against Purdue (21-13, Jan. 10) and Penn State (30-9, Jan. 12). Northwestern has five nationally-ranked wrestlers, most notably No. 6 Michael DeAugustino (125 pounds), No. 5 Sebastian Rivera (133) and No. 1 Ryan Deakin (157). The Wolverines lead the all-time series against Northwestern, 75-8-3, winning the last six meetings, including a dominant 30-9 decision at home last season.
Illinois: The Fighting Illini enter the weekend with a 4-3 dual record and are 1-2 in Big Ten duals after defeating Indiana (32-3, Jan. 12) and dropping road decisions at Penn State (22-16, Jan. 10) and Ohio State (28-6, Jan. 19). Five Illinois wrestlers are ranked nationally, most notably No. 7 Travis Piotrowski (133 pounds) and No. 9 Joey Gunther (174). Michigan leads the all-times series against Illinois, 44-26-1, dating back to 1924, and won seven bouts en route to a decisive 28-10 victory last season in Ann Arbor.
Last Time Out
Michigan claimed a pair of Big Ten dual wins at home last weekend, taking nine bouts en route to a 34-3 win over Maryland at Cliff Keen Arena on Friday (Jan. 17) before surging past No. 11 Minnesota, 22-15, on Sunday (Jan. 19) with wins in four of the final five matches at Crisler Center. Sophomore heavyweight Mason Parris earned falls in both of his bouts, while sophomore/freshman Joey Silva (133 pounds), senior/junior Kanen Storr (149), sophomore/freshman Will Lewan (157), junior/sophomore Jelani Embree (184) and fifth-year senior Jackson Striggow (197) also picked up two weekend wins. [ Recaps: Maryland | Minnesota ]
Up Next
Saturday, Feb. 1 -- vs. Rutgers (New York, N.Y.), 1 p.m.
Players Mentioned
