Weekly Release #8
2/6/2001 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Upcoming Schedule
Friday, Feb. 9 -- at Indiana (Bloomington, Ind.), 7 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 11 -- vs. Ohio State (Cliff Keen Arena), 2 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 16 -- vs. Penn State (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 18 -- at Northwestern (Evanston, Ill.), 2 p.m. CST
This Week
The fifth-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team (13-3-1, 3-1 Big Ten) will travel to Bloomington, Ind., to battle the No. 23 Indiana Hoosiers on Friday (Feb. 9) and host the Ohio State Buckeyes on Sunday (Feb. 11). Doors open at 12:30 p.m. for Sunday's contest and admission is $4 for adults and $2 for children (18 and under). U-M students are free with valid ID.
Against the Hoosiers
The No. 23-ranked Indiana Hoosiers are 13-4 overall and 1-3 in the Big Ten and IU has to its credit a third-place showing at the Virginia Duals in Hampton, Va. Coach Duane Goldman's squad is coming off a 25-12 loss to top-ranked Minnesota. The Hoosiers feature four wrestlers ranked by Intermat and three of the those grapplers were starters at a different weight last season. No. 13-ranked 165-pounder Kevin Stanley moved up from 157 and No. 5 Victor Sveda and No. 20 Ty Matthews swapped spots at 184 and 197, respectively. All three competitors wrestled at the NCAA meet last season. Only one weight class has faced each other prior to this dual -- Matt Brink (Muskegon, Mich./Fruitport HS) defeat Mike Dixon three times last season (9-2, 2-0, 10-1) at heavyweight. The Hoosiers on the Internet: www.athletics.indiana.edu.
Probable Lineups at Indiana
| Wgt. | Michigan (Overall, Dual) | Indiana |
| 125 | #10 A.J. Grant (23-10, 10-6) | #20 Greg Schaeffer |
| 133 | #10 Foley Dowd (25-8, 11-6) | Brian Smiley |
| 141 | #14 Clark Forward (20-11, 9-8) | Coyte Cooper |
| 149 | #11 Mike Kulczycki (29-8, 11-5) | Gabe Cook |
| 157 | Pat Owen (12-10, 6-7) | Alex LaPointe |
| 165 | #6 Charles Martelli (27-9, 10-3) | #13 Kevin Stanley |
| 174 | #2 Otto Olson (25-2, 16-1) | Jack Wade |
| 184 | #6 Andy Hrovat (27-4, 14-3) | #5 Victor Sveda |
| 197 | #11 Joe DeGain (20-9, 11-6) | #20 Ty Matthews |
| Hwt | #3 Matt Brink (26-3, 16-1) | Mike Dixon |
Marquee Matchups
125 -- #10 A.J. Grant vs. #20 Greg Schaeffer -- Grant has slipped a little bit in the past two weeks after he was ranked at a career-high No. 3 in Intermat's Jan. 9 poll. Grant has dropped his five of his last six, but all six were ranked wrestlers and four of those matches were against grapplers ranked in the top 10. Schaeffer will be the seventh ranked competitor in a row and is coming off a 6-1 upset of Minnesota's third-ranked Leroy Vega. Grant lost to Vega 8-7 this season.
165 -- #6 Charles Martelli vs. #13 Kevin Stanley -- Martelli is the new kid on the block among the elite in the 165-pound class. Stanley moved up a weight class this season and has never faced Martelli.
184 -- #6 Andy Hrovat vs. #5 Victor Sveda -- Probably the most anticipated match of the dual. The two have never faced each other, but both had their way with last season's starter between U-M and IU. Sveda defeat Joe DeGain (White Lake, Mich./Clarkston HS) three times last season and Hrovat defeated IU's 197-pound starter Ty Matthews for the third straight time.
Series History with Indiana
Michigan head coach Joe McFarland will take on his former team where he coached for three seasons (1990-92) and won the Big Ten Coach of the Year honor during a perfect 14-0 dual season in 1990 at Indiana. The Wolverines are riding a five-match win streak against Indiana and own a 50-21-2 all-time mark against the Hoosiers, including two victories (18-16, 23-18) last season at the Virginia Duals and Cliff Keen Arena. The Last IU victory (20-15) came during the 1994-95 season in Bloomington, Ind. In the past 10 meetings the Wolverines hold a 8-2 advantage.
Last 10 meetings with Indiana
| Season | U-M Result | Site |
| 1999-2000 | W, 23-18 | Cliff Keen Arena |
| 1999-2000 | W, 18-16 | Hampton, Va. (Virginia Duals) |
| 1997-98 | W, 28-9 | Cliff Keen Arena |
| 1996-97 | W, 28-10 | Bloomington, Ind. |
| 1995-96 | W, 19-17 | Cliff Keen Arena |
| 1994-95 | L, 20-15 | Bloomington, Ind. |
| 1993-94 | L, 31-13 | Cliff Keen Arena |
| 1992-93 | W, 32-12 | Champaign, Ill. |
| 1991-92 | W, 34-6 | Cliff Keen Arena |
| 1990-91 | W, 21-15 | Cliff Keen Arena |
Against the Buckeyes
The No. 11-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes are 15-3 overall and 5-0 in the Big Ten Conference. The Buckeyes have made the greatest improvement among the teams in the conference this season. Last year OSU didn't receive a single vote in the NWCA final coaches poll and finished ninth in the Big Ten's regular-season standings. This season is a different story as OSU is in first place in the conference after wins over No. 10 Michigan State (28-9) and Northwestern (33-3) this past weekend. The Buckeyes on the Internet: www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com.
Probable Lineups vs. Ohio State
| Wgt. | Michigan (Overall, Dual) | Ohio State |
| 125 | #10 A.J. Grant (23-10, 10-6) | #19 Kore Sharpley |
| 133 | #10 Foley Dowd (25-8, 11-6) | #20 Jeff Ratliff |
| 141 | #14 Clark Forward (20-11, 9-8) | #11 Robert Sessley |
| 149 | #11 Mike Kulczycki (29-8, 11-5) | #16 Keaton Anderson |
| 157 | Pat Owen (12-10, 6-7) | Josh Janson |
| 165 | #6 Charles Martelli (27-9, 10-3) | John Clark |
| 174 | #2 Otto Olson (25-2, 16-1) | Ryan Hieber |
| 184 | #6 Andy Hrovat (27-4, 14-3) | #16 Anton Talamantes |
| 197 | #11 Joe DeGain (20-9, 11-6) | #7 Nick Preston |
| Hwt | #3 Matt Brink (26-3, 16-1) | #1 Tommy Rowlands |
Marquee Matchups
125 -- #10 A.J. Grant vs. #19 Kore Sharpley -- Grant lost two 3-1 decisions to Sharpley last season, but Grant got the upper hand in the Big Ten meet, winning the fifth-place match 5-3.
197 -- #11 Joe DeGain vs. #7 Nick Preston -- DeGain has been on the losing end of two wars with Preston. Last season in Columbus, the two went into overtime and Preston scored the takedown to claim the 5-3 victory. In the first round of the 2000 Big Ten tourney, Preston again took a close 7-5 decision.
Hwt -- #3 Matt Brink vs. #1 Tommy Rowlands -- Rowlands is the upstart freshman who has taken the heavyweight division by storm. With the five top heavyweights from last season gone, a new face will be crowned NCAA champion and Rowlands has taken the early lead when he defeated Brink 3-2 at the Cliff Keen Invitational (Dec. 1). Brink will look to even the score against the frosh.
Series History with the Buckeyes
Michigan has dominated the all-time series with a 59-13-4 mark over the Buckeyes, including a 22-15 victory last season in Columbus, Ohio. The Maize and Blue is riding a seven-match win streak against OSU, not losing since the 1992-93 season (19-14 in Columbus).
Last 10 meetings with OSU
| Season | U-M Result | Site |
| 1999-2000 | W, 22-15 | St. John Arena (Columbus, Ohio) |
| 1998-99 | W, 24-9 | Cliff Keen Arena |
| 1997-98 | W, 31-3 | Cliff Keen Arena |
| 1996-97 | W, 31-6 | St. John Arena |
| 1995-96 | W, 19-15 | Cliff Keen Arena |
| 1994-95 | W, 20-12 | St. John Arena |
| 1993-94 | W, 20-12 | Cliff Keen Arena |
| 1992-93 | L, 14-19 | St. John Arena |
| 1991-92 | L, 19-20 | N/A |
| 1991-92 | L, 18-19 | N/A |
Michigan Plunge into College's Elite with Victory over Iowa
In a tale of two different matches, the fifth-ranked Wolverines took down No. 3 Iowa 18-16 on Feb. 2 at Cliff Keen Arena, avenging a 20-18 loss to No. 3 Iowa two weeks earlier at the National Duals in State College, Pa.
The game plan was simple for both clubs: win one match or earn extra points in the upper weights for Iowa and the lower weights for U-M. The Wolverines did their part in the upper weight matches, earning three extra points in major decision victories by #2 Otto Olson (Everett, Wash./Everett HS) over Tyler Nixt at 174 pounds, #3 Matt Brink (Muskegon, Mich./Fruitport) over Randy Fulsaas and #6 Andy Hrovat over #9 Jessman Smith at 185. The dual started at 165 -- a clear advantage for the Maize and Blue -- and Michigan took an 18-0 lead with victories by Charles Martelli, Olson, Hrovat and Joe DeGain.
The 18-0 lead wasn't safe considering Iowa had three No. 1-ranked wrestlers (Eric Juergens at 133, Doug Schwab at 141 and T.J. Williams at 157), a No. 2 (Jody Stritmatter at 125) and a No. 5 (Mike Zadick at 149) starting in the next five matches. The Hawkeyes claimed 13 points in the four matches from 125 to 149 to cut the Wolverine advantage to 18-13. Freshman Pat Owen (Polson, Mont.) was in the last match with 1999 NCAA champion and 2000 national finalist Williams. Owen lost a 17-6 major decision to Williams at the National Duals and his only assignment was not to get pinned by the top-ranked Williams. Owen came through and held off Williams, only losing 7-3 to preserve the victory for the Maize and Blue.
Wolverines Waste Wisconsin
After a huge defeat of the Iowa Hawkeyes the previous night, the Wolverines didn't have a letdown against Wisconsin with a 37-4 thrashing at Cliff Keen Arena to improve U-M's home record to 4-0.
The Maize and Blue took nine of the 10 matches. Earning extra points for the Wolverines were Mike Kulczycki with a 14-5 major decision over P.J. Dowling at 149, 157-pounder Pat Owen pinned Nate Erdman at 1:33, Otto Olson scored a four-point, 25-10 technical fall over Ryan Lewis at 174, and Joe DeGain recorded a five-point, 16-1 technical fall over Joe Terrill at 197.
Packed House
Last Friday's 18-16 victory over Iowa was seen in front of a sold-out crowd of 2,000 plus at Cliff Keen Arena. Two hundred or more spectators had to be turned away because there wasn't a spot in the house available.
Wolverines Take on All Comers
Of the 17 duals this season, the Maize and Blue has wrestled 12 ranked teams, including eight in the top 10 in the NWCA coaches poll. Michigan has an 8-3-1 record against its ranked opponents, with its only losses coming to No. 1 Minnesota (29-6, Jan. 26), then-No. 3 Iowa (20-18, Jan. 20) and then-No. 4 Iowa State (22-16, Jan. 21).
Olson Moves Into 10th Place on U-M's All-Time Win List
With two wins this past weekend against Iowa and Wisconsin, Otto Olson recorded his 122nd and 123rd victories. Olson sits alone in 10th place on U-M's all-time win list and is two triumphs shy of tying Sean Bormet (1990-94) and Scott Rechsteiner (1981-86). Rechsteiner, wrestling as "Big Poppa Pump," is currently the World Champion Wrestling heavyweight champion.
No Longer a Fill-In
Junior 165-pounder Charles Martelli (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North HS) has paid his dues at Michigan. A starter for the third consecutive season, Martelli has won 27 matches this season, surpassing his win totals from the two previous seasons (24) and is enjoying his highest Intermat ranking at No. 6. Martelli began his career at 157 and experienced growing pains boasting a 2-8 dual record. Last season he was going to be a redshirt and was thrown into the 174-pound class after team captain Otto Olson went down to injury. Martelli was greeted with four top 10 opponents in his first five matches. Never complaining, Martelli took his licks and kept on wrestling and placed at last season Big Ten meet and went on to nationals where he recorded a victory.
Hrovat Takes Rubber Match
Junior Andy Hrovat won his rubber match with Iowa's Jessman Smith in style with a 10-1 major decision this past weekend. Hrovat lost to Smith, 9-4, at the 2000 NCAA tournament and Hrovat returned the favor with a 9-7 decision at the National Duals (Jan. 14).
Michigan Ranked Fifth in NWCA Poll
For the second straight week the Wolverines moved up one spot in the NWCA poll, climbing to fifth in the Jan. 31 ranking. Michigan is one of nine Big Ten teams in the top 25, joining No. 1 Minnesota, No. 3 Iowa, No. 6 Illinois, No. 7 Michigan State, No. 11 Ohio State, No. 20 Penn State, No. 22 Wisconsin and No. 23 Indiana.
NWCA/TheMat.com Division I College Wrestling Poll (1/31/01)
Team (1st-Place votes) Rec. Pts. Last 1. Minnesota (13) 13-1 325 1 2. Oklahoma State 13-1 312 2 3. Iowa 15-2 299 3 4. Iowa State 15-4 286 4 5. MICHIGAN 11-3-1 262 6 6. Illinois 9-1 258 5 7. Michigan State 5-3 240 8 8. Oklahoma 15-3-1 236 7 9. Nebraska 10-3 215 9 10. Lehigh 13-5 192 10 11. Ohio State 13-3 182 11 12. Boise State 5-3 173 13 13. Oregon State 10-3 158 12 14. Lock Haven 16-1 154 16 15. Arizona State 7-3 153 17 16. Edinboro 6-3-1 152 15 17. Oregon 6-6 100 14 18. Fresno State 7-5 92 22 19. Hofstra 5-6 91 19 20. Northern Iowa 9-6 76 20 Penn State 5-7 76 18 22. Wisconsin 9-5-1 73 21 23. Indiana 13-3 34 24 24. Central Michigan 12-4 19 25 25. Virginia Tech 5-5-1 13 23
Individual Rankings by Intermat (1/30/01)
| Wgt. | Wrestler | Ranking | LW |
| 125 | A.J. Grant | 10th | 8th |
| 133 | Foley Dowd | 10th | 14th |
| 141 | Clark Forward | 14th | 12th |
| 149 | Mike Kulczycki | 11th | 13th |
| 165 | Charles Martelli | 6th | 6th |
| 174 | Otto Olson | 2nd | 2nd |
| 184 | Andy Hrovat | 6th | 11th |
| 197 | Joe DeGain | 11th | 14th |
| Hwt | Matt Brink | 3rd | 2nd |
Contact: Karen Simpson (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
