Strong Finish Propels Michigan to Victory at No. 10 Iowa
IOWA CITY, Iowa — The No. 2-ranked University of Michigan wrestling rallied against No. 10 Iowa to boast a 21-11 road victory on Sunday (Feb. 13) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Trailing by eight points after the opening two matches, the Wolverines (13-3-1, 5-0-1 Big Ten) posted seven victories — all by decision — in the remaining eight bouts to remain undefeated in Big Ten Conference competition.
Michigan’s redshirt freshmen — Josh Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS) and Eric Tannenbaum (Naperville, Mich./North HS) — kicked off the comback for the Wolverines with back-to-back wins over ranked opponents at 141 and 149 pounds, respectively. Churella, ranked fifth by NWCA/InterMat, took the early lead against 17th-ranked Alex Tsirtsis with an early first-period takedown, but after being taken down twice himself in the middle frame, the Wolverine held a narrow one-point advantage heading into the third period. With Tsirtsis selecting a neutral start, Churella scored on double-leg takedown just 17 seconds into the frame and rode out the Hawkeye wrestler en route to a 8-4 victory.
In the contest’s marquee match, pitting seventh-ranked Tannenbaum against the Hawkeyes’ fifth-ranked Ty Eustice, a takedown midway through the opening period would be all the Wolverine wrestler needed to earn a 3-2 upset decision. Eustice knotted the score at two points apiece with an escape early in the middle frame, but Tannenbaum returned in kind to keep the final advantage.
The Wolverine captains — fifth-year senior Ryan Bertin (Broadview Heights, Ohio/St. Edward HS) and senior/junior Ryan Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS) — continued the Wolverines momentum with another pair of wins over ranked Hawkeyes. Bertin, the top-ranked 157-pounder in the nation, scored five takedowns — including two in the final period — and accumulated 2:31 in riding to post a 14-8 decision over eighth-ranked Joe Johnston, giving U-M its first advantage of the dual meet.
With the score at 165 pounds locked up at 2-2 after the first period, Churella, ranked second, took advantage of scramble late in the middle frame to convert a five-point move and take the lead for good against fourth-ranked Mark Perry. The Hawkeye wrestler rode Churella until late in the period when the Wolverine captain used a sideroll to lean back into a Peterson for a reversal and three-point near fall at the buzzer. Perry scored a reversal in the closing seconds of the bout, cutting the final score to 7-5 in Churella’s favor.
Junior/sophomore Nick Roy (Wall, N.J./Wall HS) earned a 13-6 decision in a dominant performance over Cole Pape at 174 pounds. Roy scored early and often, recording six takedowns, including three in the third period.
After losing a close decision at 184 pounds, the Wolverines closed out the dual with back-to-back wins at 197 pounds and heavyweight. Senior/junior Willie Breyer (Oxford, Mich./Oxford HS) rallied from an early two-point deficit against the Hawkeyes’ Adam Fellers, scoring a takedown midway through the second period and adding an escape in the third for a 4-2 victory.
Senior/junior Greg Wagner (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider HS) capped the U-M victory with an 8-3 decision over eighth-ranked Matt Fields. The Wolverine heavyweight, ranked second, tallied takedowns in the first and third periods and earned 2:06 in riding time. Fields was hit with three stalling calls to add another two points to Wagner’s lead.
The Wolverines will wrap up the regular-season portion of their schedule next weekend with a pair of conference dual meets. On Friday (Feb. 18), U-M will head north to take on intrastate rival Michigan State at 7 p.m. in East Lansing, Mich., before returning home to host Purdue in its regular-season finale on Sunday (Feb. 20) at 1 p.m.
#5 Michigan 21, #10 Iowa 11
(Individual rankings from NWCA/InterMat)
125 — Charlie Falck (Iowa) major dec. Jim Shutich, 16-6
Iowa, 4-0
133 — #9 Mario Galanakis (Iowa) dec. #14 Mark Moos, 14-5
Iowa, 8-0
141 — #5 Josh Churella (U-M) dec. #17 Alex Tsirtsis, 8-4
Iowa, 8-3
149 — #7 Eric Tannenbaum (U-M) dec. #5 Ty Eustice, 3-2
Iowa, 8-6
157 — #1 Ryan Bertin (U-M) dec. #8 Joe Johnston, 14-8
U-M, 9-8
165 — #2 Ryan Churella (U-M) dec. #4 Mark Perry, 7-5
U-M, 12-8
174 — #14 Nick Roy (U-M) dec. Cole Pape, 13-6
U-M, 15-8
184 — #9 Paul Bradley (Iowa) dec. Joshua Weitzel, 7-5
U-M, 15-11
197 — Willie Breyer (U-M) dec. Adam Fellers, 4-2
U-M, 18-11
Hwt — #3 Greg Wagner (U-M) dec. #8 Matt Fields, 8-3
U-M, 21-11
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