Weekly Release #11

Upcoming Schedule
Thu-Sat., March 15-17 -- at NCAA Championships (Iowa City, Iowa)
    Thursday -- 11 a.m./6:30 p.m. CST; Friday -- 10 a.m./5:30 p.m. CST;
    Saturday -- 8 a.m./1 p.m. CST

Michigan Heads to NCAA Championships
The third-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team will send eight individuals to Iowa City, Iowa, for the 2001 NCAA Championships, hosted Thursday through Saturday (March 15-17) by the University of Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. U-M finished the regular season with a 17-3-1 overall dual record and a 7-1 Big Ten mark, and goes into the NCAA Championships after placing fourth at the Big Ten Championships (March 3-4).

Seeds for the tournament will be announced on Wednesday (March 14). Tickets for all three days are sold out. ESPN2 will broadcast the finals on a same-day, tape-delay basis Saturday (March 17) at 6 p.m. EST.

Championships Schedule (Times are CST)

Thursday, March 15
11:00 a.m.	First Session (1st Round)
6:30 p.m.	Second Session (Consolation Prelims and 1st Round)
Friday, March 16
10:00 a.m.	Third Session (Quarterfinals, 2nd- and 3rd-Round Wrestlebacks)
5:30 p.m.	Fourth Session (Semifinals, 4th- and 5th-Round Wrestlebacks)
Saturday, March 17
8:00 a.m.	Fifth Session (Wrestleback Semifinals, Medal Rounds)
12:30 p.m.	Sixth Session (Grand March followed by 1 p.m. Finals)

Eight Grapplers Head to NCAA Meet
U-M qualified eight wrestlers for the NCAA Championships. Returning to nationals will be A.J. Grant (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston HS) at 125 pounds, Mike Kulczycki (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Edwards HS) at 149, Charles Martelli (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North HS) at 165, Otto Olson (Everett, Wash./Everett HS) at 174, Andy Hrovat (Gates Mills, Ohio/St. Edwards HS) at 184, and Matt Brink (Muskegon, Mich./Fruitport HS) at heavyweight. Making their first trips to the NCAA meet will be redshirt freshman 157-pounder Pat Owen (Polson, Mont./Polson HS) and senior 197-pounder Joe DeGain (White Lake, Mich./Clarkston HS). Sophomore 141-pounder Clark Forward (Archbold, Ohio/Archbold HS) will go to the meet as the Big Ten's second alternate.

NCAA Championships History
The Maize and Blue has recorded four second-place finishes (1928, '29, '67 and '74) and has had 35 top-10 finishes in its 70-year history of the NCAA Championships. The highest team finish in the past 10 seasons was a fifth-place showing (41 points) in 1994.

Individually, Michigan has produced 17 national championships and 133 All-Americans. The last national champion was current assistant coach Kirk Trost (1982-86) at heavyweight in 1986. The Wolverines have had All-America accolades for 10 straight seasons.

Last season U-M finished 13th overall with 38 points -- Iowa was first with 116. The Maize and Blue had seven qualify for the NCAA Championships and had three All-America honors in 141-pounder Damion Logan (1996-99), 133-pounder Joe Warren (1996-1999) and heavyweight Matt Brink. Logan and Warren finished sixth (4-3) and third (5-1), respectively. Brink placed eighth (4-3), while A.J. Grant (2-2 at 125 pounds), Andy Hrovat (2-2 at 184), Mike Kulczycki (1-2 at 149) and Martelli (1-2 at 174) did not place.

Last 10 Michigan NCAA Finishes and Points

Year	Place	Points
2000	13th	38.0
1999	T13th	39.0
1998	12th	39.5
1997	22nd	23.5
1996	9th	47.0
1995	T22nd	19.0
1994	5th	41.0
1993	11th	34.5
1992	T25th	12.0
1991	12th	35.5

Individual Records at NCAA Championships

Wrestler	Wgt.	Record (years, place)
A.J. Grant	125	2-2 (2000)
Mike Kulczycki	149	1-2 (2000)
Charles Martelli	165	1-2 (2000)
Otto Olson	174	4-1 (1999-2nd)
Andy Hrovat	184	5-5 (1999-8th, 2000)
Matt Brink	Hwt	4-5 (1999, 2000-8th)

All-Time NCAA Top-10 Team Finishes

1.	Oklahoma State	69
2.	Iowa State	56
3.	Oklahoma	54
4.	Iowa	48
5.	Penn State	38
6.	MICHIGAN	35
7.	Lehigh	33
8.	Michigan State	24
9.	Minnesota	23
10.	Northern Iowa	19

Michigan's Weight Class Preview
125 Pounds -- A.J. Grant heads to the NCAA Championships having placed fifth with a 3-1 record at the Big Ten Championships (March 3-4). Grant, ranked 10th, had a strong showing at the National Duals (Jan. 20-21), winning three of six matches, and was selected to participate in the NWCA All-Star Classic (Jan. 30). Grant's overall record is 28-12, and 18 of his wins have come by falls (6), technical falls (2) and major decisions (10). Grant was 12-7 in dual matches.

149 Pounds -- Mike Kulczycki finished in third place with a 4-1 record at the Big Ten Championships, defeating two ranked opponents (Iowa's No. 8 Mike Zadick and Ohio State's No. 12 Keaton Anderson) and improving his overall record to 35-10. Kulczycki, ranked 12th, had an impressive 4-2 record at the National Duals (Jan. 20-21). Kulczycki defeated No. 17 Karl Nadolsky 7-5 (Jan. 28) and 21 of his 35 wins have come by falls (4), technical falls (8) and major decisions (9). He was 4-3 in Big Ten dual competition and leads the team with nine major decisions.

157 Pounds -- Pat Owen finished seventh in the Big Ten with a 3-1 record, improving his overall record to 17-13. He leads the nation's 157-pounders in falls with 10 and had three dual meet wins this season against Big Ten opponents. Owen had a third-place finish at the Eastern Michigan Open (Nov. 4) and had three wins at the Wendy's Classic (Jan. 14). Earlier this season Owen preserved U-M's victory over Iowa with a 7-3 loss to No. 1-ranked T.J. Williams (Feb. 2).

165 Pounds -- Charles Martelli also finished in fifth place at the Big Ten Championships with a 3-2 record, improving his overall record to 19-6. Martelli pinned Michigan State's Corey Posey (4:16) and won the fifth-place match by medical forfeit. Martelli went 5-1 at the National Duals (Jan. 20-21), and had a 4-3 dual record against Big Ten opponents. Martelli, ranked 10th, took first place at the Eastern Michigan Open (Nov. 4) and fourth place at the West Virginia Open (Nov. 11). From Nov. 4-11, Martelli had an eight-match win streak with three falls, a technical fall and one major decision.

174 Pounds -- Otto Olson was crowned Big Ten champion with a 3-0 record after defeating Minnesota's No. 12 Jacob Volkman (3-2) in the semifinals and Ohio State's Ryan Hieber (6-3) in the championship match. Olson was ranked No. 1 earlier on in the season, but has since maintained his No. 2 ranking and has compiled an impressive 32-2 overall record, 20-1 in dual matches. Olson's only dual loss of the season came at the National Duals (Jan. 20-21) in a match against Oklahoma's Mike Barber. Olson also dropped the NWCA All-Star match, 6-1 to Edinboro's No. 1 Josh Koscheck. Olson is a serious contender for the 174 title with his No. 2 ranking by Intermat. He was the NCAA runner-up in 1999 but missed the 2000 NCAA Championships due to a knee injury.

184 Pounds -- Andy Hrovat placed fifth at the Big Ten Championships, following a third-place conference finish in 2000 and seventh place in 1999. He has an impressive 33-7 overall record. Hrovat, ranked seventh, was 6-2 in Big Ten Conference dual meets. Eighteen of his wins have come by falls (5), technical falls (4) and major decisions (9). Hrovat, ranked seventh, finished first at the Michigan State Open (Dec. 4) and took third place at both the West Virginia Open (Nov. 11) and Penn State (Dec. 12). Hrovat went 4-2 at the National Duals (Jan. 20-21).

197 Pounds -- Joe DeGain ranked 11th, finished fourth at the Big Ten Championships, his highest career finish at the meet, and he has enjoyed the most successful season of his career at U-M with a 26-13 overall record and 13-8 mark in duals. DeGain was 5-2 this season in Big Ten dual action. He placed first at the Eastern Michigan Open (Nov. 4) and second at the Michigan State Open (Dec. 2). DeGain went 4-2 at the National Duals (Jan. 20-21) and defeated Michigan State's No. 12 Nik Fekete, 7-3 (Jan. 28). DeGain dropped decsions against Minnesota's No. 7 Owen Elzen (6-1) and Ohio State's No. 9 Nick Preston (5-3).

Heavyweight -- Matt Brink is now a three-time Big Ten place-winner after his fourth-place finish at this year's championship meet. Brink, ranked fifth, went 3-2 at the tournament, improving his overall record to 30-6. Brink placed first at the Eastern Michigan Open (Nov. 4) and first at the Michigan State Open (Nov. 18).

U-M Finishes Fourth at Big Ten Championships
Michigan finished in fourth at the Big Ten Championships in Evanston, Ill., on March 3-4 behind Minnesota (154.0), Illinois (130.5) and Iowa (129.5). Eight Wolverines placed in the tournament, led by 174-pound champion Otto Olson. Mike Kulczycki won his consolation match to finish in third place at 149 pounds, while 197-pounder Joe DeGain and heavyweight Matt Brink qualified for the NCAA meet by placing fourth. Andy Hrovat (184 pounds), Charles Martelli (165) and A.J. Grant (125) each had fifth-place finishes, and redshirt freshman Pat Owen (157) finished in seventh place.

2001 Big Ten Championships Final Standings

Place, School		Points
1.	Minnesota	154.0
2.	Illinois	130.5
3.	Iowa	129.5
4.	MICHIGAN	109.0
5.	Ohio State	104.5
6.	Wisconsin	75.0
7.	Michigan State	65.0
8.	Indiana	59.5
9.	Purdue	50.0
10.	Penn State	35.0
11.	Northwestern	6.0

NWCA/TheMat.com Division I Poll
Final Ranking (2/28/01)

Team (1st-Place votes) Rec. Pts. Last 1. Minnesota (13) 20-1 325 1 2. Oklahoma State 17-1 312 2 3. MICHIGAN 17-3-1 295 3 4. Iowa 19-4 289 4 5. Iowa State 20-4 274 5 6. Oklahoma 18-5-1 258 6 7. Illinois 12-2 249 7 8. Ohio State 15-6 227 8 9. Nebraska 11-6 215 T9 10. Lehigh 18-5 212 T9 11. Arizona State 10-5 195 11 12. Edinboro 11-3-1 184 12 13. Michigan State 8-8 161 13 14. Lock Haven 21-2 155 14 15. Fresno State 13-5 139 15 16. Boise State 6-4 133 16 17. Oregon State 13-6 123 17 18. Northern Iowa 12-8 105 18 19. Hofstra 8-7 84 19 20. Indiana 15-6 70 21 21. Oregon 6-8 69 20 22. Central Michigan 15-4 48 22 23. Wisconsin 9-11-1 40 23 24. Purdue 10-6 32 25 25. Penn State 8-12 28 24

Individual Rankings by Intermat (3/6/01)

Wgt.	Wrestler	Ranking	LW
125	A.J. Grant	10th	9th
149	Mike Kulczycki	12th	15th
165	Charles Martelli	10th	6th
174	Otto Olson	2nd	2nd
184	Andy Hrovat	7th	6th
197	Joe DeGain	11th	10th
Hwt	Matt Brink	5th	3rd