No. 5 Michigan Tops No. 16/19 Spartan Wrestling, 34-8
R.J. Boudro captures a sudden-victory decision against his former team at 174 pounds.
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Wrestling against his former team, junior R.J. Boudro picked up an electrifying, overtime victory at 174 pounds as the No. 16/19 Michigan State wrestling team (7-5-1 overall, 4-3-1 Big Ten) wrapped up its conference dual meet season with a loss to No. 5 Michigan, 34-8, Friday night, Feb. 18 at Jenison Field House.
“Michigan is a very strong team that’s currently challenging for the Big Ten title, “said head coach Tom Minkel. “Not that we are looking for excuses, but this team has been plagued the past couple of weeks by the flu bug. Additionally, two of our top wrestlers, Andy Simmons and Joe Williams, are out with injuries. Right now, we are just looking to get healthy for the Big Ten Championships in two weeks. “
No. 4 Nick Simmons got back to his winning ways in the opening match of the night at 125 lbs., defeating Jim Shutich by technical fall, 15-0, at the 4:19 mark of the match. Simmons scored a takedown early in match, and then rolled off 13 near-fall points to give MSU a 5-0 lead. The victory was Simmons’ 24th of the season, and second technical fall win of the year. He improves to 10-1 in dual meets, and finishes the Big Ten season with a 6-1 record. Simmons outscored his conference opponents, 60-4, in 2005.
At 133 lbs., Michigan answered with a huge win of its own, as No. 18 Mark Moos defeated red-shirt freshman Ryan Froese by major decision, 15-1.
No. 3 Josh Churella picked up another major decision for U-M at 141 lbs., defeating sophomore Tony Greathouse, 15-6. Greathouse was filling in for the injured Andy Simmons.
The Wolverines went up 11-5 after four matches, as No. 7 Eric Tannenbaum defeated No. 14 Darren McKnight at 149 lbs., 8-4.
2003 NCAA Champion Ryan Bertin recorded the fall at 1:19 of the first period in the 157-pound bout, topping senior Matt McCarty.
2004 All-American Josh Churella won the fifth-straight match of the meet for U-M, as he notched a technical fall, 15-0, over Bryan Harney at 165 lbs.
In a thrilling match at 174 lbs., No 14 Boudro defeated his former teammate, No. 12 Nick Roy, in sudden victory, 3-1. Boudro trailed 1-0 going into the final period of the match, but got the escape to tie the match at the end of regulation. Forty seconds into the overtime period, Boudro scored the match-winning takedown to claim his 15th win of the season. Boudro finishes the conference season 5-1, and has lost only once since Jan. 15.
Bumping up two weight classes and wrestling for the injured Joe Williams, red-shirt freshman Greg Goidosik dropped the decision at 184 lbs., 6-0.
In another match that came down to the final seconds, No. 17 Willie Breyer claimed the decision over Spartan junior Jeff Clemens at 197 lbs., 7-6. Late in the third period, it appeared that Clemens scored a reversal to claim the one-point victory, but time expired before the two points were awarded, and the Wolverines took a 28-8 lead in the meet.
The final match of the night came at heavyweight, where junior Max Lossen hung with No. 3 Greg Wagner for the majority of the match, but was eventually pinned by the Wolverine All-American at 6:19 of the match.
The Spartans will wrap-up their regular season next Friday, Feb. 25 when the No. 7 Oklahoma Sooners come to town. Start time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
125 lbs.- Nick Simmons (MSU) def. Jim Shutich TF, 15-0, 4:19 MSU, 5-0
133 lbs.- Mark Moos (U-M) def. Ryan Froese MD, 15-1 MSU, 5-4
141 lbs.- Josh Churella (U-M) def. Tony Greathouse MD, 15-6 U-M, 8-5
149 lbs.- Eric Tannenbaum (U-M) def. Darren McKnight 8-4 U-M, 11-5
157 lbs.- Ryan Bertin (U-M) pinned Matt McCarty Fall, 1:19 U-M, 17-5
165 lbs.- Ryan Churella (U-M) def. Bryan Harney TF, 15-0 U-M, 22-5
174 lbs.- R.J. Boudro (MSU) def. Nick Roy SV, 3-1 U-M, 22-8
184 lbs.- Josh Weitzel (U-M) def. Greg Goidosik 6-0 U-M, 25-8
197 lbs.- Willie Breyer (U-M) def. Jeff Clemens 7-6 U-M, 28-8
285 lbs.- Greg Wagner (U-M) pinned Max Lossen Fall, 6:18 U-M, 34-8
Attendance: 3,349
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