U-M Splits its Final Home Weekend Slates
The No. 17-ranked Wolverines were unable to maintain their early advantage against No. 6 Ohio State last Friday (Feb. 13), falling to the Buckeyes 26-17 at Cliff Keen Arena. Michigan was in excellent shape at the dual's midway point after claiming three of the opening five bouts, including a junior/sophomore 157-pounder Aaron Hynes' dominant 16-1 technical fall at the opening weight and fifth-year senior Tyrel Todd's first-period pin at 197 pounds. The Buckeyes responded with two pins of their own after the halftime break to steal away the advantage and lock up the dual victory. Sophomore Kellen Russell captured the evening's marquee match at 141 pounds, using a late single-leg takedown -- in the match's closing seconds -- to defeat defending NCAA champion J Jaggers 4-2.
Michigan rebounded the following evening in decisive fashion, taking eight of 10 individual matches to roll past No. 24 Penn State 31-6 in the season's home finale. Hynes and Todd picked up another pair of bonus wins with Todd claiming his third straight first-period pin -- his eighth fall of the season -- in his final appearance at Cliff Keen Arena. Fifth-year senior Steve Luke also went out a winner with a 6-4 decision against 16th-ranked Quentin Wright at 174 pounds, while sophomore/freshman 165-pounder Justin Zeerip claimed his first victory over a ranked opponent, using riding time to pick up a 3-2 decision vs. 20th-ranked Dan Vallimont.
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According to Coach McFarland ...
On the Wolverines' rebound effort vs. Penn State ... "I thought we rebounded very well. The guys were really excited about wrestling, and they got after it tonight. We were really aggressive, and it showed in the outcome. These guys wrestled well. It was really good to see us come out of this weekend with a really good win. There was a lot of disappointment after that loss to Ohio State. At that halfway point, we felt like we were in control of the meet, and it just slipped away from us. But to be able to come back and wrestle the way we did, it was pretty impressive. We're wrestling a lot better than we did at the National Duals. I think we're wrestling with more confidence, and we're wrestling with a lot more aggressive. We need to make sure we continue down this road. We've got a couple tough duals this weekend against Illinois and Purdue, so we want to finish off this Big Ten season the way we want to. Both of those will be challenges."
On the U-M seniors ... "It was nice to see Steve [Luke] and Ty [Todd] go out with wins at Cliff Keen Arena. Those two are the captains, and they've been great leaders and just a big part of this program for the last 4-5 years. I'm sure those guys will reflect on that moment -- their last match here at Cliff Keen Arena -- down the road. Mike [Watts] did a good job. He started slow, but he got himself back in that match. He battled back hard, and I was proud of him. [Brad] Pataky is a hard starter, and Mike as struggled against him in those first periods. He just got caught in that cement mixer at the end and lost a tough one. We're really proud to have had all those guys in our program."
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Michigan Wrestling Center Update
It may not look like much, but the construction on the new Michigan wrestling training facility is on schedule and going strong. The foundation is laid. The steel arrived earlier yesterday and will start going up soon, and, as the weather improves, we expect to see the structure take shape quickly.
The Wolverines broke ground on the training center on Oct. 24, 2008, prior to Michigan's football games vs. intrastate rival Michigan State. Scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2009, the $5.5 million, 18,000-gross-square-foot facility will include a two-story indoor practice area with three regulation wrestling mats, an athletic medicine area with a separate hydrotherapy room, second-floor strength and conditioning space, coach and athlete locker rooms, coaches' offices and a team lounge. For more information about the facility, including complete schematic designs, click here. For video of the groundbreaking ceremony, visit Flowrestling.com.
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Wolverine News & Notes
The Michigan Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame will hold its annual dinner and banquet on May 17, 2009, at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing, Mich. This year's induction include Dave Mills, Tom Muir, John Virnich, Eric Kopsch, Ron Gaffer, Jim Miller and Bill Regnier. The chapter has several coroporate/business sponsorship availabilities. For contact information and additional information about the Michigan Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, please visit its website.
The 2009 Wolverine wrestling banquet is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Friday, April 17, at the Junge Champions Center. All Michigan parents, alumni and fans are invited to attend. The cost per person will be $25. Reversation and payments will need to be received by April 13. Click here for the reversation form and more information.
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On the Horizon
The No. 17-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team will close out the dual-meet portion of their 2008-09 slate this weekend with a pair of Big Ten road contests. U-M will travel to Champaign, Ill., to face Illinois on Friday evening (Feb. 20) before wrapping the regular season on Saturday (Feb. 21) against Purdue in West Lafayette, Ind. Both duals are scheduled for 7 p.m. starts.
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