WR: No. 7 Michigan Tops No. 5 Minnesota 24-19
January 30, 2005 – The seventh-ranked Michigan wrestling team (11-3, 3-0) defeated No. 5 Minnesota, 24 -19, at the Sports Pavilion on Sunday afternoon. The Golden Gophers (6-6, 0-2) were without two starters, including seventh-ranked Roger Kish at 184 pounds, and had three wrestlers competing for the first time in their respective careers at different weights.
“Last week, Roger (Kish) defeated the Michigan 184-pounder and if he’s in the lineup today, we win the dual meet,” head coach J Robinson said. “Last week we had a full lineup and it was a different story. That said, we needed some guys to step up today, but we were not able to get the job done.”
The Golden Gophers jumped out to a 10-0 lead thanks to wins from fifth-ranked Bobbe Lowe and third-ranked Mack Reiter. Lowe scored early and often at 125 pounds against Jim Shutich. Lowe had seven takedowns and a first-period near fall to cruise to a 19-7 major decision.
Reiter followed at 133 pounds and wowed the Sports Pavilion crowd with his pin of Craig Gillison in just 1:27. Reiter improved to a team-best 28-3 overall and 12-0 in dual meets. The redshirt freshman from Iowa also recorded his team-leading 10th pin of the season. Half of Reiter’s 12 dual meet wins have resulted in bonus points for the Golden Gophers.
The Wolverines took over the match with their slew of top-10 wrestlers. Michigan won the next six matches with four of those wins resulting in bonus points. At 141 pounds, seventh-ranked Josh Churella defeated Tommy Owen, 7-1.
Sixth-ranked Eric Tannenbaum cut Minnesota’s lead to 10-7 with a 13-3 major decision against sophomore Danny Williams at 149 pounds. Tannenbaum took control of the match with two second-period takedowns to take 7-1 lead. He added two more takedowns in the third period.
At 157 pounds, Minnesota moved up C.P. Schlatter. Ranked 11th in the nation at 149 pounds, Schlatter made his first career start at 157. He was handed a 13-2 major decision against second-ranked Ryan Bertin. Bertin’s win put Michigan up 11-10 heading into intermission.
Second-ranked Ryan Churella followed at 165 pounds and delivered with a 6-0 decision against 10th-ranked Matt Nagel. Churella took a 2-0 lead on a first-period takedown and added a second takedown with less than 30 seconds to go in the second intermission.
After Michigan went up 18-10 on 15th-ranked Nick Roy’s major decision against redshirt freshman Nik Lentz, Joshua Weitzel put the match away for Michigan with a pin of Jeremy Larson in 4:52 at 184 pounds. Both Lentz and Weitzel were making their first career starts at 174 and 184 pounds, respectively. Lentz was wrestling in place of senior Josh McLay, while Larson was wrestling in place of Kish.
The Golden Gophers finished the match strong as redshirt freshman Matt Koz earned a pin in 4:03 against Willie Breyer at 197 pounds. Minnesota heavyweight Cole Konrad closed out the dual meet with a 7-2 decision against third-ranked Greg Wagner. Ranked second in the nation, Konrad earned his third straight win against Wagner.
Minnesota will next hit the road for a pair of Big Ten dual meets. The Golden Gophers will face No. 19 Northwestern on Friday night and Purdue on Saturday night.
#7 Michigan 24, #5 Minnesota 19
125 -#5 Bobbe Lowe (MN) maj. dec. Jim Shutich (Mich.), 19-7
133 – #3 Mack Reiter (MN) pins Craig Gillison, 1:27
141 – #7 Josh Churella (Mich.) dec. Tommy Owen (MN), 7-1
149 – #6 Eric Tannenbaum (Mich.) maj. dec. Danny Williams (MN), 13-3
157 – #2 Ryan Bertin (Mich.) maj. dec. #11 C.P. Schlatter (MN), 13-2
165 – #2 Ryan Churella (Mich.) dec. #10 Matt Nagel (MN), 6-0
174 – #15 Nick Roy (Mich.) maj. dec. Nik Lentz (MN), 14-4
184 – Joshua Weitzel (Mich.) pins Jeremy Larson (MN), 4:52
197 – Matt Koz (MN) pins Willie Breyer (Mich.), 4:03
HWT – #2 Cole Konrad (MN) dec. #3 Greg Wagner (Mich.), 7-2
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