Michigan Compares to Recent Big Ten Championship Teams; Predicting the OSU-Iowa Dual; News and Notes
By Andrew Hipps – Staff Writer
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Michigan Finishes Weekend 3-0; Middle Weights Among Best in Country
Michigan, ranked second in the country by The Wrestling Mall, finished 3-0 at the Lone Star Duals in Dallas over the weekend with wins over sixth-ranked Nebraska (25-12), Army (35-9), and Stanford (32-10).
The Wolverines are now 5-1 in duals this season with their only loss coming to fifth-ranked Lehigh, 22-15, on November 18th. They also claimed the team title at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational over a tough field that included six teams ranked in the top ten in the country.
It appears that Michigan is beginning to solidify its lineup in time to challenge for a Big Ten crown and national title. From 133 to 165 Michigan is by far the most talented group in the country this season. In fact, their line-up is reminiscent of two other recent national championship teams from the Big Ten, 2000 Iowa and 2001 Minnesota, who were both strong in the middle weights. Below is a look at where Michigan’s middle weights rank (at this point in the season) vs. those two recent national championship teams.
133:
2005 Michigan: Mark Moos (Sophomore)
Moos, who just recently moved up from 125, is 14-1 this season and ranked 18th in the country. He won the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational at 125 and was ranked fourth nationally at that weight class before moving up.
2001 Minnesota: Brett Lawrence (Senior)
Lawrence was ranked as high as second in the country in mid-January, but struggled at the end of the season. He finished fifth in the Big Ten Tournament, losing to two wrestlers seeded below him. He went on to earn All-American status, though, with an eighth place finish at the NCAA Tournament.
2000 Iowa: Eric Juergens (Junior)
Juergens finished 31-0 and won his first national title by beating Cody Sanderson of Iowa State in the finals. Juergens would eventually go on to win his second title the following season.
141:
2005 Michigan: Josh Churella (Freshman)
Churella, the youngest of the talented Michigan wrestling family, is off to a 5-0 start in his redshirt freshman campaign. He suffered a high ankle sprain just prior to the start of the season, but came back in mid-December. One of Churella’s five wins was a 3-2 victory over 2004 NCAA runner-up Matt Murray of Nebraska at the Lone Star Duals this past weekend.
2000 Iowa: Doug Schwab (Junior)
Schwab won a national title in 1999, but finished third in 2000. He entered the NCAA Tournament as the top seed after winning a Big Ten title and posting a 34-1 regular season mark. He lost in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament to Illinois’ Carl Perry, who would eventually go on to win the national title as the eighth seed.
2001 Minnesota: Chad Erikson (Junior)
Erikson claimed his first All-American medals in 2001 with an eighth place finish at the NCAA Tournament. He placed second at the Big 10s and finished with a 28-8 record.
149:
2005 Michigan: Eric Tannenbaum (Freshman)
Tannenbaum, like Churella, is an immensely talented redshirt freshman. He is 19-2 this season, with his only two losses coming to second-ranked Phillip Simpson of Army and fourth-ranked Dustin Manotti of Cornell. Tannenbaum is currently ranked seventh in the country.
2001 Minnesota: Jared Lawrence (Sophomore)
Lawrence finished with a 32-8 mark, won the Big Ten title, and earned a sixth place finish at the NCAA Tournament.
2000 Iowa: Mike Zadick (Sophomore)
Zadick, in his first season in the Hawkeye line-up, compiled a 23-8 record and placed seventh at the NCAA Tournament. He also shared a Midlands title with older brother Bill.
157:
2005 Michigan: Ryan Bertin (Junior)
Bertin, a two-time All-American and the 2003 national champion, is 11-0 this season and ranked third nationally (Note: He lost 11-7 to Ohio’s Jake Percival at the Marines All-Star Classic, but that match is recorded as an exhibition). He also claimed the title at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.
2001 Minnesota: Luke Becker (Sophomore)
Becker recorded a 32-9 record in his sophomore campaign, finished second at the Big Ten Championships and fourth at the NCAA Tournament.
2000 Iowa: T.J. Williams (Junior)
Williams, who claimed the 149 pound national title the previous season, placed third at the NCAA Tournament in 2000. He lost to Larry Quisel of Boise State in the NCAA semifinals, which wound up being the only loss of his collegiate career. Williams finished that season with a 28-1 record.
165:
2005 Michigan: Ryan Churella (Junior)
Churella, who placed third in the country at 149 last season, has moved up two weight classes this season and currently sits second in the rankings. He is 15-1 with his only loss coming to Troy Letters of Lehigh, the defending national champion.
2001 Minnesota: Brad Pike (Senior)
Pike placed second at the Big Ten Championship and earned his first All-American medal by placing fourth at the NCAA Tournament.
2000 Iowa: Matt Anderson (Freshman)
Anderson finished 24-15 record and placed fourth at the Big Ten Championships, but failed to place at the NCAA Tournament.
Crystal Ball: Oklahoma State vs. Iowa
The two most storied wrestling programs in the history of collegiate wrestling, Oklahoma State and Iowa, will battle on Sunday at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Oklahoma State leads the all-time series 20-16-1 and has won the last four meetings. The Cowboys come in as the two time defending national champions, ranked number one in the country. The Hawkeyes, on the other hand, finished second at last year’s NCAA Tournament and are currently ranked 7th in the country.
Below is a weight-by-weight look at how I see this match playing out:
125: Coleman Scott (Oklahoma State) decision over Charlie Falck (Iowa)
True Freshman vs. True Freshman: Scott wins by 3-4 points over Falck.
133: Nathan Morgan (Oklahoma State) decision over Mario Galanakis (Iowa)
Morgan, another true freshman, has the tools to become another Cowboy great.
141: Alex Tsirtis (Iowa) decision over Ronnie Delk/Daniel Frishkorn (Oklahoma State)
Tsirtsis makes it three straight wins by true freshmen in this dual.
149: Zack Esposito (Oklahoma State) decision over Ty Eustice (Iowa)
Last meeting: Esposito over Eustice, 4-1. This meeting: Esposito over Eustice, 6-3.
157: Joe Johnston (Iowa) major decision over Kevin Ward (Oklahoma State)
Johnston has too much offense for Ward.
165: Mark Perry (Iowa) decision over Johny Hendricks (Oklahoma State)
Sorry, Uncle John.
174: Chris Pendleton (Oklahoma State) major decision over Luke Lofthouse (Iowa)
Copies of the clinic will be sold for $29.99 after the match.
184: Paul Bradley (Iowa) decision over Clay Kehrer (Oklahoma State)
Bradley won’t lose two matches in a row.
197: Jake Rosholt (Oklahoma State) major decision over Dane Pape (Iowa)
See 174.
HWT: Steve Mocco (Oklahoma State) decision over Matt Fields (Iowa)
Great storyline. Boring match.
Final Score: Oklahoma State over Iowa, 20-13.
Simpson Wins Tournament; Faces Wartburg on Thursday
Simpson, ranked seventh in the country, won the Simpson Invitational on Saturday in Indianola.
The Storm defeated NCAA Division II Truman State by 25.5 points (138.5-113) to claim the team title. The Bulldogs are ranked 18th in the current Division II poll. William Penn, the NAIA’s sixth-ranked team was third with 111.5 points.
Simpson’s Clint Manny was named Outstanding Wrestler after posting a 4-0 record on the day. Manny, who is ranked number one in the country, defeated Darren Cotton, the third-ranked wrestler in the NAIA, 8-6, in the finals. Truman State’s Chad Swagman had the most pins (4) in the least amount of time (7:24).
Simpson will take on second ranked Wartburg on Sunday at Knights Gymnasium, Waverly, Iowa. Wartburg leads the all-time series 26-6.
California Schools Draw Large Crowds
On Saturday Iowa traveled to California and defeated Fresno State (30-12) and UC Davis (26-9). But the bigger story was the number of fans that attended these events. The Fresno State-Iowa dual drew 6,863 fans, which was the second most in Bulldog history. The only match with more fans was last year’s dual against Iowa State in the Save Mart Center, which drew 9,750 fans, a West Coast record. The UC Davis-Iowa dual, which took place at The Pavilion, attracted a crowd of 5,150 fans, the most ever for a home dual in UC Davis history.
Augustana Battles Augsburg
Augustana, the second-ranked team Division II, will be back in action tonight when the Vikings put their 3-0 dual record on the line against Augsburg College. Augsburg is 6-0 in duals this season and is ranked number one in the NCAA Division III national rankings. The dual is set for 7 p.m. at the Elmen Center. On Thursday, the Vikings travel to Aberdeen, South Dakota, to take on Northern State. The Vikings will then travel to Cleveland, Ohio, the following weekend to take part in the prestigious NWCA Cliff Keen National Duals. The Vikings will be part of a 16-team Division II field that will feature many of the top teams in the nation.
Augustana opened North Central Conference action on a strong note by downing Saint Cloud State, 50-0, on Saturday. Bolstered by five pins and a forfeit, the Vikings claimed all 10 matches.
News and Notes”¦
Willie Parks, who recently transferred from Iowa State to Dana College, pinned fellow teammate Blair Alderman for the championship of the Ron Beaman Open on Saturday”¦ By winning all three of his matches on Saturday, Ohio 157-pounder Jake Percival tied 1998 national champion Dwight Gardner for the most career wins (122) in school
history”¦ Many wrestling fans across the country were anticipating a Matt Gentry-Ryan Bertin showdown at the Lone Star Duals over the weekend, but the match never happened. Gentry missed the competition because of sickness”¦ Fourth-ranked Iowa State rallied from a 12-5 deficit to earn a 21-12 victory against the eighth-ranked Golden Gopher wrestling team on Sunday afternoon in Ames, Iowa”¦ Minnesota 125-pounder Bobbe Lowe has won 22 straight matches, which is the 11th-longest winning streak in school history”¦. Wisconsin and Illinois will meet for the 64th time on Friday and barring a tie, one team will break the all-time record stalemate. The series currently stands at 30-30-2. The Badgers have lost the last six meetings… Sophomore Mark McKnight picked up two wins, including his 50th career win, to lead Buffalo at the Buckeye Duals on Saturday. However, Buffalo still could not manage to get its first dual meet win of the season, falling to Mid-American Conference foe Northern Illinois, 20-15, Tennessee-Chattanooga, 29-6, and Northwestern, 29-9″¦ There is only one day left to vote for the NCAA 75th Anniversary Team that will be honored at the 2005 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, March 17-19, in St. Louis, Missouri. Voting can be done at
www.nwcaonline.com.
Andrew Hipps also receives feedback on his articles at [email protected]
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