Michigan
Big Ten Championships
Churellas, Tannenbaum Crowned Big Ten Champions
3/6/2005 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The Wolverines' pair of redshirt freshmen -- Josh Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS) and Eric Tannenbaum (Naperville, Ill./North HS) -- and senior/junior Ryan Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS) captured individual titles at 141, 149 and 165 pounds, respectively, to lead the No. 6-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team to third place (118 points) at the Big Ten Championships on Sunday (March 6) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Illinois captured the team title with 130 points, while Minnesota took second with 123.5 points, just 5.5 points better than Michigan.
| | Ryan Churella is the first person ever to win a Big Ten title, move up two weight classes the next season and win again. |
Josh Churella narrowly squeezed past Michigan State's second-seeded Andy Simmons 2-1 at 141 pounds behind a takedown midway through the first period. Selecting the bottom position at the start of the second period, Churella, the top seed, was unable to collect his escape while Simmons swung riding time back to his favor yet not quite a full minute. The Spartan wrestler was called for stalling on top at the end on the middle frame, and Churella received the call twice in the third to trim the final score to just a one-point advantage.
Tannenbaum kept his 149-pound match against Wisconsin's Craig Henning just as close, earning a 3-2 decision to give Michigan its second individual champion. After a scoreless first period, Tannenbaum struck first with a reversal early in the second to take the initial advantage. Henning neutralized the score with a pair of escapes, but riding time proved the deciding factor as Tannenbaum's 1:12 advantage earned the Wolverine another point at match's end.
Ryan Churella also needed riding time to decide his 165-pound match against Iowa's second-seeded Mark Perry, giving the Wolverine the final 6-5 advantage at the end of regulation. Churella controlled the opening two periods to build a substanial lead, scoring a takedown late in the opening frame and using a Gramby roll to earn a reversal midway through the second. Perry went on the attack in the final period, scoring a pair of takedowns to knot the score at 5-5, but Churella's 1:07 riding-time advantage gave the Wolverine another point, earning him a 165-pound crown to add to his 149-pound title from 2004.
Fifth-year senior Ryan Bertin (Broadview Heights, Ohio/St. Edwards HS) was the lone U-M finalist to lose his championship match, suffering a close 4-3 defeat against Illinois' second-seeded Alex Tirapelle in a replay of last season's 157-pound title bout. Holding just over a minute in riding-time advantage, Bertin led with 20 seconds remaining in the match but gave up a takedown near the edge of the mat in the closing moments to suffer his first loss of the 2004-05 season.
In addition to their four finalists, the Wolverines boasted another four placewinners -- at 125, 174 and 184 pounds and heavyweight -- giving Michigan its most NCAA qualifiers in three years.
Senior/junior Greg Wagner (Fort Wayne, Ind./Snider HS) ended the Wolverines' second-day performance with a dominant performance in the third-place bout at heavyweight, defeating Northwestern's fourth-seeded Dustin Fox 14-1. Wagner led 8-0 after the first period behind a takedown and six back points and continued an aggressive attack with another two takedowns and 4:59 in riding time. Wagner advanced to the third-place match at heavyweight behind a solid 6-2 win over Iowa's fifth-seeded Matt Fields in the consolation semifinal, in which he controlled the match from the start. The Wolverine earned takedowns in the first and second periods to pull ahead early and rode out Fields for the entire third frame, adding 2:15 in riding time.
Junior/sophomore Mark Moos (Lorain, Ohio/St. Edward HS) split a pair of second-day matches to claim fourth place at 133 pounds. Moos, seeded sixth, dropped a close 4-3 decision in a rematch against Wisconsin's third-seeded Tom Clum behind first- and third-period takedowns by the Badger wrestler. Moos rallied in the early session after a disappointing loss last night in the semifinals to earn his second upset of the tournament with an 11-3 major decision over Ohio State's fifth-seeded T.J. Enright in the consolation semifinals. Moos took control late in the opening period with a single-leg takedown and added a two-point near fall in the closing seconds to lead 4-1 heading into the middle frame. After Enright narrowed the Wolverines' advantage with a second-period takedown, Moos ended the bout on top, coming out of a mad scramble late in the match with a takedown and three-point near fall to earn U-M an extra bonus point.
At 174 pounds, junior/sophomore Nick Roy (Wall, N.J./Wall HS) claimed sixth place after suffering a pair of losses in the wrestlebacks. In the consolation semifinals, Roy suffered his second overtime loss to former Wolverine wrestler R.J. Boudro, seeded third for Michigan State, in three weeks, falling 3-2 after the first round of 30-second tiebreakers. After an extended blood timeout near the end of the first period, Boudro responded to Roy's second-period reversal with a pair of escapes to even the score at the end of regulation. Roy nearly scored a reversal at the end of the first tiebreaker, but time ran out and the Wolverine was unable to ride Boudro, giving up the narrow one-point defeat. Squaring off against Wisconsin's sixth-seeded Kelly Flaherty in the fifth-place bout, Roy gave up a takedown and back points late in the third period to drop a 9-3 decision.
Sophomore Joshua Weitzel (Lincoln University, Pa./Oxford HS) secured his first trip to the NCAA Championships with a 8-5 victory over Indiana's eighth-seeded Andy Rios in the 184-pound seventh-place match, avenging a first-round loss to the Hoosier wrestler. Weitzel scored first with a takedown early in the opening period and rode Rios for the remainder of the frame. The second period was a two-minute scramble on the mat as the wrestlers combined for three reversals and Rios knotted the score at 4-4. Weitzel rallied in late in the bout, scoring a takedown midway through the third period and added 3:05 in riding time to even his weekend record to 2-2.
The Maize and Blue will take a two-week break to prepare for the NCAA Championships on March 17-19 in St. Louis, Mo. Michigan will send eight wrestlers to the annual tournament, being held for the second straight year at the Savvis Center.
Final Team Standings
1. Illinois 130.0 2. Minnesota 123.5 3. MICHIGAN 118.0 4. Iowa 94.5 5. Indiana 89.0 Wisconsin 89.0 7. Penn State 72.5 8. Michigan State 70.5 9. Northwestern 68.5 10. Purdue 38.5 11. Ohio State 26.5
Michigan Results (Day 2)
133 pounds -- #6 Mark Moos
Consolation - major dec. #5 T.J. Enright (Ohio State), 11-3
Third Place - dec. by #3 Tom Clum (Wisconsin), 4-3
Finished fourth with a 2-2 record
141 pounds -- #1 Josh Churella
Final - dec. #2 Andy Simmons (Michigan State), 2-1
Finished as the 141-pound champion with a 3-0 record
149 pounds -- #1 Eric Tannenbaum
Final - dec. #6 Craig Henning (Wisconsin), 3-2
Finished as the 149-pound with a 3-0 record
157 pounds -- #1 Ryan Bertin
Final - dec. by #2 Alex Tirapelle (Illinois), 4-3
Finished second with a 1-2 record
165 pounds -- #1 Ryan Churella
Final - dec. #2 Mark Perry (Iowa), 6-5
Finished as the 165-pound champion with a 3-0 record
174 pounds -- #4 Nick Roy
Consolation - dec. by #3 R.J. Boudro (Michigan State), 3-2 TB
Fifth Place - dec. by #5 Kelly Flaherty (Wisconsin), 9-3
Finished sixth with a 2-3 record
184 pounds -- Joshua Weitzel
Seventh Place - dec. Andy Rios (Indiana), 8-5
Finished seventh with a 2-2 record
Heavyweight -- #2 Greg Wagner
Consolation - dec. #5 Matt Fields (Iowa), 6-2
Third Place - major dec. #4 Dustin Fox (Northwestern), 14-1
Finished third with a 3-1 record
Day 1 Results
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
