Michigan
NCAA Day 1
Three Wolverines Advance to Quarterfinals at NCAA Meet
3/20/2003 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- With three wrestlers headed to the quarterfinal round and another four Wolverines still alive in the consolation bracket, the University of Michigan wrestling team holds 13th place (15.5 points) after the second session at the NCAA Championships today (Thursday, March 20) at Kemper Arena. Oklahoma State leads in the team race with 35 points.
| | No. 6 seed Bertin will meet Oklahoma's No. 3 Shane Roller in the quarterfinals. |
Grant, the fourth seed at 125 pounds, started strong in the first round, dominating Central Michigan's Kyle Stoffer 11-0. Grant jumped to the early lead with a takedown and two-point near fall in the first period before adding another pair of takedowns and collecting 3:13 in riding time to earn the major decision. Grant continued his momentum into the second round, where he rolled to a 9-1 major decision over Iowa State's Grant Nakamura. Grant scored takedowns in each period and added a reversal in the third to earn his second major decision of the tournament.
Bertin, seeded sixth at 157 pounds, earned Michigan's first fall of the tournament, pinning Sacred Heart's Rob Belville at 2:01 in the first round. After being taken down twice in the first minute of the match, Bertin stormed back and scored his own pair of takedowns before turning Belville over to his back to get the fall. Bertin advanced into the quarterfinal round with a 6-2 decision over Penn State 11th-seeded Nate Wachter. Bertin controlled the action throughout the bout, recording takedowns in the second and third periods and accumulating 1:52 in riding time.
Smith, seeded ninth at 197 pounds, jumped to an early lead against first-round opponent Kevin Kessner from Wyoming and held on to win 5-3. Smith scored takedowns in the first and second period while holding Kessner to just three escapes. In the second round, Smith was the aggressor against Sacred Heart's eighth-seeded Anthony Reynolds, scoring a takedown in each period to earn a 7-4 decision.
At 141 pounds, senior/junior Clark Forward (Archbold, Ohio/Archbold HS) was sent to the consolation bracket early, losing 6-3 to first-round opponent J.P. Reese of Missouri, seeded 12th. Forward was unable to rebound after giving up two first-period takedowns and only scored three escapes in the loss. Forward came back strong in wrestlebacks, earning an 8-6 victory over Wisconsin's Tyler Laudon. Forward struck first in the bout with a first-period takedown, but the Badger wrestler bounced back, stealing the lead with two takedowns in the third period. Forward neutralized the score with an escape and scored a takedown with 20 seconds remaining for the win.
Redshirt freshman Ryan Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS) cruised through the first round, defeating Central Michigan's Ty Morgan 9-4. The Wolverine started strong, scoring two takedowns in the first period, and ended strong, riding out Morgan in the entire third period and collecting a two-point near fall in the final 30 seconds of the bout. Churella was outmatched in the second round, falling 12-1 to third-seeded Jesse Jantzen from Harvard. Jantzen scored three takedowns, a two-point near fall and a reversal in the third period to send Churella to the consolation bracket.
At 165 pounds, fifth-year senior Mike Kulczycki (North Royalton, Ohio/S. Edward HS) suffered a tough 2-0 loss to Edinboro's ninth-seeded Matt R. King in the first round. After a scoreless and closely fought first period, King collected one point for a quick escape in the second period and added another at the end of the bout after riding out Kulczycki for the entire third period to collect riding-time advantage. Kulczycki suffered his second loss of the tournament, falling 16-13 to Hofstra's eighth-ranked Noel Thompson. Kulczycki scored four takedowns but was taken down himself five times in the high-scoring match and was eliminated from the tournament.
Senior/junior Pat Owen (Polson, Mont./Polson HS) could not find a way to score in the first round, falling 11-0 to Appalachian State's 11th-seeded Mark Fee. Fee controlled the action through all three periods, scoring two takedowns, a three-point near fall and a reversal in the third period to earn the major decision. Owen rebounded in his second match of the tournament, earning an 8-2 decision over James Madison's Seth Cameron. Owen scored takedowns in the first and third periods and added a reversal in the second to advance in wrestlebacks.
Redshirt freshman Greg Wagner (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider HS) was sent to the consolation bracket after suffering a 3-0 loss to first-round opponent Scott Coleman of Iowa State. After a scoreless first period, Coleman rode out the Wolverine wrestler for the entire second period and, starting the third period in the down position, scored a reversal and rode out Wagner for the remainder of the bout. Wagner received a bye in the first round of consolations to advance into tomorrow's session.
The Wolverines will be back in action tomorrow morning (March 21) at 10 a.m. CST for the third session of the NCAA Championships in Kansas City, Mo.
Top 15 Teams (after Day 1)
1. Oklahoma State 35 2. Lehigh 26.5 3. Oklahoma 25.5 4. Minnesota 23 5. Illinois 19.5 Iowa 19.5 7. Cornell 19 8. Arizona State 18 Northern Iowa 18 10. West Virginia 17.5 11. Ohio State 16 Purdue 16 13. MICHIGAN 15.5 14. Michigan State 15 Penn State 15
Michigan Results (Day 1)
(Numbers listed are tournament seedings)
#4 A.J. Grant (125)
First Round - major dec. Kyle Stoffer (Central Michigan), 11-0
Second Round - major dec. Grant Nakamura (Iowa State), 9-1
Quarterfinals - vs. Terrance Clendenin (Lehigh)
Clark Forward (141)
First Round - dec. by #12 J.P. Reese (Missouri), 6-3
Consolation - dec. Tyler Laudon (Wisconsin), 8-6
Consolation - vs. #2 Zack Esposito (Oklahoma State)
Ryan Churella (149)
First Round - dec. Ty Morgan (Central Michigan), 9-4
Second Round - major dec. by #3 Jesse Jantzen (Harvard), 12-1
Consolation - vs. #8 Travis Schufelt (Nebraska)
#6 Ryan Bertin (157)
First Round - pinned Rob Belville (Sacred Heart), 2:01
Second Round - dec. #11 Nate Wachter (Penn State), 6-2
Quarterfinals - vs. #3 Shane Roller (Oklahoma)
Mike Kulczycki (165)
First Round - dec. by #9 Matt R. King (Edinboro), 2-0
Consolation - dec. by #8 Noel Thompson (Hofstra), 16-13
Eliminated with a 0-2 record
Pat Owen (174)
First Round - major dec. by #11 Mark Fee (Appalachian State), 11-0
Consolation - dec. Seth Cameron (James Madison), 8-2
Consolation - vs. Matt Erwin (VMI)
#9 Kyle Smith (197)
First Round - dec. Kevin Kessner (Wyoming), 5-3
Second Round - dec. #8 Anthony Reynolds (Sacred Heart), 7-4
Quarterfinals - vs. #1 Jon Trenge (Lehigh)
Greg Wagner (Hwt)
First Round - dec. by Scott Coleman (Iowa State), 3-0
Consolation - vs. Carmelo Marrero (Rider)
N O T E S
With eight NCAA qualifiers, the Wolverines are tied with 10 other teams for the fifth most qualifiers. Oklahoma State is the only school with 10 qualifiers and West Virginia, Boise State and Northern Iowa each have nine.
Along with Kent State's Tomas Rodriguez, redshirt freshman Greg Wagner is one of only two freshman heavyweights to qualify for the NCAA Championships.
Moving up a weight class for the postseason tournaments, senior/junior Pat Owen joins his cousin, 10th-seeded Curtis Owen from Arizona State, at 174 pounds.
Q U O T E S
Head Coach Joe McFarland
On the team's performance ... "The guys are wrestling very well and very tough. I was really happy with the way everyone performed today. We got three guys into the quarterfinals, and I know that the other guys will keep coming back hard in the wrestlebacks. I thought A.J. (Grant), Ryan (Bertin) and Kyle (Smith) all looked really sharp in their matches. We just need to keep winning tomorrow."
Fifth-Year Senior Kyle Smith
On the team's performance ... "I think that everyone is wrestling really well. We have three guys going into the quarterfinals and a lot more in the wrestlebacks. We had a few tough losses today, but I think everyone will step it up tomorrow and continue to wrestle hard. I think we're all ready to go."
On advancing into the quarterfinals ... "I felt strong out there today, and I'm really happy with the way I wrestled. I feel like I'm at my peak right now, wrestling hard for seven minutes. Tomorrow's a new day though, so I need to look ahead to that and continue to wrestle well."
On facing Lehigh's top-ranked Jon Trenge in his next match ... "We split a pair of matches this year. I just need to be prepared to go hard and wrestle a full seven minutes. He's a tough and talented wrestler, but I don't think he can stay with me if I go out there and wrestle a high-paced match."
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
