Michigan
Big Ten Session II
Grant Reaches Big Ten 125-Pound Championship Bout
3/8/2003 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
MADISON, Wis. -- Senior captain A.J. Grant (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston HS) advanced to the 125-pound final during Saturday night's (March 8) second session at the Big Ten Championships, but the University of Michigan wrestling team's other four semifinalists lost and the Wolverines hold sixth place with 70 points after the first day of competition.
| | In his first Big Ten final Grant will face top-seeded Chris Fleeger of Purdue. |
Grant, seeded second at 125 pounds, dominated in his semifinal bout against Wisconsin's sixth-seeded Tony Black, earning a 5-0 shutout. Grant jumped ahead early, scoring a takedown midway through the first period and riding out the Badger for the remainder of the frame. Starting the second period in the top position, Grant continued where he left off, controlling the entire period and collecting two minutes to his riding time advantage before adding another takedown in the shutout victory.
Redshirt freshman 149-pounder Ryan Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS), seeded fourth, was sent to the consolation bracket after suffering a 9-1 major decision loss to Minnesota's top-seeded Jared Lawrence. Churella was held to just an escape as Lawrence, the defending NCAA champion, issued a balance attack, scoring takedowns in each period and adding a reversal in the third.
Junior/sophomore Ryan Bertin (Broadview Height, Ohio/St. Edward HS), the sixth seed at 157 pounds, lost his first match of the tournament in the semifinals, falling 7-3 to Minnesota's second-seeded Luke Becker. After a scoreless first period, a pair of takedowns in the second period propelled Becker into the lead. The defending NCAA champion added another takedown in the third frame while holding Bertin to just three escapes through the bout to send the Wolverine in the consolation bracket.
At 165 pounds, fifth-year senior captain Mike Kulczycki (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Edward HS), seeded seventh, lost a close semifinal bout to Minnesota's third-seeded Jacob Volkmann, falling 4-0 to head to the consolation bracket. After a scoreless first period, Volkmann collected two minutes of riding time advantage by holding Kulczycki without an escape in the second period. Countering a shot by the Wolverine in the third period, Volkmann added a takedown to seal the shutout victory.
Fifth-year senior captain Kyle Smith (Butte, Mont./Butte HS), seeded sixth at 197 pounds, was the fourth Wolverine to drop his semifinal bout to a Minnesota wrestler, losing 8-3 to second-seeded Damion Hahn. Smith was only able to collect three escapes against Hahn while giving up a takedown in each period.
Senior/junior Clark Forward (Archbold, Ohio/Archbold HS), seeded seventh, split a pair of matches in the 141-pound consolation bracket, collecting a 6-3 win over Northwestern's John Giacche before falling 3-2 to Michigan State's fifth-seeded Ryan L'Amoreaux. Forward jumped ahead early in the first match, scoring first- and second-period takedowns, and despite being taken down himself in the third period, held on to advance and stay alive in the tournament. In the second bout, L'Amoreaux scored a takedown late in the third period to break a 1-1 tie and send Forward to the seventh-place match.
Senior/junior Pat Owen (Polson, Mont./Polson HS), the eighth seed at 174 pounds, also split a pair of consolation matches, defeating Penn State's Dan Waters 8-7 but falling to Michigan State's fifth-seeded Rashad Evans 10-5. In the first bout, Owen's 1:30 in riding time advantage proved pivotal, breaking the 7-7 tie that stood at the end of regulation. In his next bout, against Evans, the score was locked up a four points apiece until late in the third period. Holding riding time advantage, Owen appeared to have the match in hand, until Evans scored a takedown and three-point near fall with 10 seconds remaining to steal victory.
Redshirt freshman Greg Wagner (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider HS) advanced in the consolation bracket after posting a 3-1 victory over Michigan State's eighth-seeded John Wechter. With each wrestler collecting a point with escapes, Wagner broke the tie midway through the third period, scoring a takedown to earn the decision.
Two Michigan wrestlers were eliminated after suffering their second losses of the tournament. Junior/sophomore Shaun Newton (Davison, Mich./Davison HS) fell to Indiana's fifth-seeded Greg Schaefer by a 10-6 margin. Redshirt freshman Willie Breyer (Oxford, Mich./Oxford HS) kept it close against Michigan State's Nate Mesyn, scoring reversals in the second and third periods, but narrowly lost the bout 9-7.
The Wolverines will be back in action tomorrow at noon CST for Session III of the Big Ten Championships in Madison, Wis. The third session will begin with third-, fifth- and seventh-place matches at each weight, with finals scheduled for 2 p.m.
Team Standings (After Session II)
1. Minnesota 110 2. Iowa 105 3. Penn State 85 4. Michigan State 80 5. Illinois 70.5 6. MICHIGAN 70 7. Purdue 69.5 8. Ohio State 65 9. Wisconsin 60.5 10. Indiana 28.5 11. Northwestern 11
Michigan Results (Session II)
Numbers listed are tournament seedings
#2 A.J. Grant (125)
Semifinals -- dec. #6 Tony Black (Wisconsin), 5-0
Finals -- vs. #1 Chris Fleeger (Purdue)
Shaun Newton (133)
Consolations -- dec. by #5 Greg Schaefer (Indiana), 10-6
Finished with a 0-2 record
#7 Clark Forward (141)
Consolations -- dec. John Giacche (Northwestern), 6-3
Consolations -- dec. by #5 Ryan L'Amoreaux (Michigan State), 3-2
Seventh place -- vs. Cal Ferry (Illinois)
#4 Ryan Churella (149)
Semifinals -- major dec. by #1 Jared Lawrence (Minnesota), 9-1
Consolations -- vs. #7 Dan Jankowski (Purdue)
#6 Ryan Bertin (157)
Semifinals -- dec. by #2 Luke Becker (Minnesota), 7-3
Consolations -- vs. #5 Joe Johnston (Iowa)
#7 Mike Kulczycki (165)
Semifinals -- dec. by #3 Jacob Volkmann (Minnesota), 4-0
Consolations -- vs. #5 Doc Vecchio (Penn State)
#8 Pat Owen (174)
Consolations -- dec. Dan Waters (Penn State), 8-7
Consolations -- dec. by #5 Rashad Evans (Michigan State), 10-5
Seventh place C vs. Andrew Curran (Northwestern)
Willie Breyer (184)
Consolations -- dec. by #8 Nate Mesyn (Michigan State), 9-7
Finished with a 0-2 record
#6 Kyle Smith (197)
Semifinals -- dec. by #2 Damion Hahn (Minnesota), 8-3
Consolations -- vs. Lee Kraemer (Wisconsin)
#5 Greg Wagner (Hwt)
Consolations -- dec. #8 John Wechter (Michigan State), 3-1
Consolations -- vs. #3 Garrett Lowney (Minnesota)
Session I Results
Q U O T E S
U-M Head Coach Joe McFarland
On Michigan's second-session performance ... "It was a tough round for us, we lost some tough matchups. We'll rebound though, and we'll come back tomorrow and have a good third session. Right now our team standings aren't very good, but we'll have a lot of guys scoring points in the consolation bracket tomorrow morning. That's why it's important for us to come back strong."
On senior 125-pounder A.J. Grant ... "A.J. did a nice job and got himself in the position to win the title at 125 pounds. He's been wrestling very well at this tournament; I thought he wrestled a flawless semifinal match."
Senior Captain A.J. Grant
On the team's performance ... "We suffered a lot of losses in the semifinals, but that doesn't mean we'll can't bring points back tomorrow. We'll rebound from this and come out hard tomorrow in the consolations."
On advancing to the 125-pound final ... "This is my first time making it to the Big Ten finals, and win or lose, that's a big deal. I've never advanced this far at Big Tens, so this is a step up for me, and I'm proud of that. I've never beaten him (Purdue's Chris Fleeger), but I've been wrestling well and I feel pretty good. So I'm going to try my best tomorrow to get that win and beat the No. 1 kid in the nation."
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
