Notes & Quotes: Michigan at Cliff Keen Invitational
12/1/2007 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
N O T E S
The Wolverines have placed fifth or better in 13 of their last 15 appearances at the Cliff Keen Invitational. This season's performance marks the third time Michigan captured the team title in four seasons.
Fifth-year senior captain Eric Tannenbaum became just the sixth Wolverine wrestler to capture two Cliff Keen Invitational individual titles. He join Jeff Catrabone (1996, '97), Otto Olson (1999, 2001), Ryan Churella (2004, '05), Greg Wagner (2004, '05) and Josh Churella (2005, '06).
Michigan earned 13 of its 37 tournament wins with bonus points. The Wolverines tallied four falls, four technical falls, four major decisions and one forfeit victory.
In addition to Michigan, four other Big Ten Conference schools (Illinois, Ohio State, Purdue and Wisconsin) were among the Cliff Keen Invitational field. Ohio State was the second-highest placing team in third (121 points).
With a perfect 5-0 record, fifth-year senior Eric Tannenbaum improved his career record to 117-21 during his five seasons at Michigan. He took over the 17th spot among the Wolverines' all-time leaders in the category.
Fifth-year senior captain Josh Churella netted his 100th win on the first day of competition at the Cliff Keen Invitational. With his 3-2 record at the event, he improved his career mark to 102-16. He is the third member of his family to record 100 wins, joining his father, Mark Sr. (132, 1976-79), and brother, Ryan (117, 2003-2006).
Michigan has won the 165-pound title at the Cliff Keen Invitational in four consecutive seasons. Ryan Churella captured back-to-back crowns in 2004 and 2005, while Eric Tanenbaum has claimed the two most recent (2006, '07).
Three former Wolverine wrestlers made appearances at the Cliff Keen Invitational as assistant coaches for participating schools -- Jeff Catrabone (1995-98) with Buffalo, A.J Grant (2000-03) with North Carolina, and Pat Owen (2001-04) with Harvard.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Joe McFarland
On the team's championship-round performance... "We knew we were within striking distance. We just needed everything to go right for it to happen, and it did. The guys performed great, and we won three of the four matches. The way we ended up winning it -- with Tyrel [Todd]'s exciting pin in overtime -- was fantastic. I told Ty that that win was a lot about all those mornings and all those extra workouts that he gets in. He just wore him right out. Ty's a grinder; he's a machine, and you have to be ready to go seven minutes with him."
On Steve Luke's 174-pound final... "That was tough double-overtime loss. Steve was beat up, and he wasn't feeling good, but he wrestled hard. I just told him how proud I was of him, because he sucked it up and wrestled through it. It was a heck of a match between two of the best guys in the country. They just went after it, and it was just a bloody war."
On the overall team performance... "I think some of the younger guys did a great job this weekend. We need to continue to get better from week-to-week and stay sharp, but I also really like where we're at right now. The guys are executing a lot of the things we've been working on in practice. [Anthony] Biondo had a great weekend. Chris Diehl looked good; Jeff Marsh looked good. This was a team effort, and that's the nicest thing about it. It was a team effort down to one of the last matches in this tournament. Never did we have the lead one time in this tournament, but we never went away. We just kept winning and winning."
On Kellen Russell's weekend... "I think he showed everybody what he's capable of doing. He wrestled some of the best guys in the country at his weight and came out on top. He's a great competitor. He doesn't get rattled -- he just stays calm, cool and collected when he competes. He wants to win, and he finds ways to do it."
U-M Freshman 141-pounder Kellen Russell
On beating several nationally ranked wrestlers... "After wrestling at a high-performance high school and training with guys like Josh [Churella] every day, I'm used to wrestling with guys like that. I was probably at an advantage this weekend, because they did't know who I was or what I did, while I'd probably watched them wrestle in the NCAAs or other tournaments."
On emerging on the national radar... "I came in here with no pressure on me. I guess everyone knows who I am now, but I still have to perform like I did today. I've been wrestling well over the last couple weeks, so I definitely came into the tournament thinking that I could win it. I knew that all the guys on the team and the coaches felt that I could win it, but I doubt too many other people thought the same. But I think after seeing me wrestle a few matches, they may have changed their minds.
On improvements over the last week... "I think I wrested a lot better this weekend than I did last weekend. I rose to the level of competition rather than just getting by and winning. I wrestled the best I could."
U-M Fifth-Year Senior 165-pounder Eric Tannenbaum
On his 165-pound final... "I went into the match thinking that I was supposed to beat him. Sometimes, I add pressure, it builds up, and I don't end up seeing it so much as an accomplishment as just getting the job done. I think that sometimes has adverse effects on my wrestling as it did today in the final. I talked to Joe [McFarland] and Mr. [Mark] Churella and know that, sometimes, you just have those types of matches as long as you can come away with the win, it's okay. Come nationals, I don't want to have conservative matches. I made that match as close as it was. I can beat him by more; I just didn't break him."
On the team performance... "It was a great tournament for us, and I don't even think we wrestled to our full abilities. I can't speak for the other teams and say whether they did or they didn't, but I know Josh [Churella] had his eyes set on walking away with a championship here. I know that Steve [Luke] was seconds, inches away from the title. I think the one person who did the best that he possibly good -- which was outstanding -- was Kellen [Russell]. It's pretty obvious to everyone on the team. I think he impressed the country. Anyone reading about him should be impressed. That's a big step in the right direction for him."
U-M Senior/Junior 184-pounder Tyrel Todd
On Ohio State's Mike Pucillo and his 184-pound final... "I had his leg hooked and I knew that he had to let go soon because I had him right toward his back. I knew I was going to get the pin or he was going to give up and I was going to get a takedown. And I ended up getting the pin. It's awesome. I'm prettyexcited.His offense is kind of hard to defend, and he is really deceiving in a lot of different areas. So, it takes a few matches to get used to wrestling against him and how to win in those specific positions. I think I'm getting better at defending that high-crotch, but I still gave up a couple. You never want to give up the first takedown, because it makes it a lot harder. But he got tired as the match wore on, and I was able to take advantage of that. Going out onto the mat, I wasn't necessarily thinking about the team standings, but I knew that if I won the match, we'd be right in it."
On getting back on track after a loss last weekend... "This tournament is huge rebound for me. When you have an early loss like that, it makes you question a lot of things. So, this is a good confidence booster. I was pretty crushed when I lost to [Mike] Pucillo last year in this tournament. It was one of my goals to win this tournament, and I got it done. I was out for a couple weeks and missed a number of workouts with injury, so I'm not in great shape right now coming off of that. In my first couple of matches, I was actually trying to wrestle them in the best way just to get back into shape. In the quarterfinals and semifinals, I wrestled much better."
Players Mentioned
