Notes & Quotes: Michigan at Journeyman/Brute Northeast Duals
11/24/2007 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
N O T E S
Michigan faced both Bucknell and Virginia for the first time in program history and kicked off the series against both programs with a 1-0 start. As a result of splitting matches with Maryland and Bloomsburg, the all-time series against both programs evens out -- Maryland at 1-1-1 and Bloomsburg at 1-1.
With today's first victory over Bucknell, Michigan boasts a 56-28-2 record in its first dual contest of the season. The Wolverines extended their winning streak in the season opener to 11 consecutive matches.
With a perfect 4-0 record against his 165-pound opposition, fifth-year senior Eric Tannenbaum improved his career record to 112-21 and moved him to 18th spot on the list of Michigan's all-time wins leaders. He need four more to reach the 17th position, currently held by two-time All-American A.J. Grant (116, 2000-03).
Tannenbaum also extended his dual-meet winning streak to 18 straight matches, dating back to the 2005-06 regular-season finale. The U-M captain posted a perfect 13-0 record last season in dual appearances.
Fifth-year senior Josh Churella registered a perfect 4-0 mark at the Northeast Duals to bring his career record at Michigan to 99-14. With his next victory, he become the 29th member of the Wolverines' prestigious 100-Win Club. He will also be the third member of his family to achieve the feat, joining his brother, Ryan (117, 2003-2006), and father, Mark Sr. (132, 1976-79).
Freshman Kellen Russell owns a 6-0 record this season after appearances at the EMU Open and today's Northeast Dual. It is the best start for a true freshman since the 2003-04 season when Josh Churella registered a 14-0 mark strictly in open-tournament competition. The last Wolverine true freshman to win his first four dual matches was three-time All-American Andy Hrovat (1999-2002).
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Joe McFarland
On the team's season-opening appearance... "For our first competition of the season, I thought the guys wrestled relatively well. We made a few mistakes, and that cost us that dual against Maryland. But, at the same time, it's early in the season, and it's a long season. Hopefully, we can use this as a motivator. We have a few guys who need to get a little better. So, we'll take some thing out of this that we'll need to work on. Each of these guys will need to focus on a few things and make some improvement. All-in-all, we competed well. I was really proud of the way these guys came back and wrestled hard after we lost in the second round. They came back and wrestled tough."
On Kellen Russell's performance... "He's done a great job so far, and he's off to a great start. He needs to continue to work on his offense, because when he's on his offense, he's tough to beat. I like that he is so competitive, and he does what he needs to do to get the job done. He's tough in all three positions. That helped him out today."
On Michigan's other standout underclassmen... "He young guys are battling hard. Chris [Diehl] did a good job today. He had several tough matches today. He got caught in a five-point move in his last match against [Eric] Albright from Virginia, otherwise I think he would have won that match, because he was controlling it. I was really impressed with Eddie's [Phillips] last match against Virginia. He stayed in good position throughout the entire match, and he was wrestling really smart. So, it was great to see him earn that win. [Anthony] Biondo also did a great job. He pinned Brent Jones from Virginia. He took him down when he needed to get back into the match and caught in the splits. He needed that, and I think that was really good for him."
Fifth-year Senior 165-pounder Eric Tannenbaum
On the team's performance... "I think it was pretty good. We went 3-for-4, and I think everyone wrestled pretty well. Chris Diehl was impressive, [Jeff] Marsh looked pretty good and [Anthony] Biondo got a couple of pins, so other guys outside of the four returning All-Americans have been stepping it up. To know that they can go out and compete against these other teams and beat some of these other wrestlers will definitely give them a boost to their confidence. So, I think it was a good start."
Senior/Junior 174-pounder Steve Luke
On Michigan going after more bonus wins... "I guess it's something that we have to focus on if we want to be national champs -- you have to get the bonus points. We've been working on top a lot more this season and keeping up the pressure. Personally, I think I'm doing better on top this year -- because I didn't do anything on top last year. I got a riding time point in a couple of matches, and that really didn't happen last year. I've been working on it, and I've been working on my shots, so when I get a takedown, I try to get at least 20-30 seconds of riding time. That will build up."
On his match against Maryland's Mike Letts... "I took him down a few times in the first period and was winning 6-2 with riding time after the first. I let up a little bit, and I was too defensive. I think if I had stayed on my offense, I could have beaten him by more."
Freshman 141-pounder Kellen Russell
On his first varsity competition... "I think it showed me what I need to work on. I wrestled a lot better in certain matches. It's definitely a lot different than high school. Every opponent is strong and pretty good, whereas in high school, you might have a handful of weaker opponents. So, I still getting used to that. It was a good learning experience. We wrestled several good teams, and I wrestled several good kids, and the coaches were there to see me wrestle four matches and see how I changed throughout the match. So, I could feel myself improve. It was good to gain the experience of wrestling a number of matches in one day, like Big Tens and NCAAs, where I'll hopefully be later in the year, and see what I need to do to allow my body recoup between the matches."
On what he'll need to continue working on... "I definitely need to be more offensive on my feet. The one match that I was consistently shooting was the one I won 22-9. All the other matches, I was too hesitant on my feet, especially the last match, which probably made the matches a lot harder than they should have been."
On his family presence at the tournament... "It was only two-and-a-half hours away from my house, so I had a lot of family there -- my parents, my grandparents, my sister, my girlfriend and a number of friends. So, it was pretty cool to have them see me wrestle this year."
