Wolverines Fall at Home to No. 15 Badgers

Feb. 14, 2010

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Cliff Keen Arena)
Scores: #15 Wisconsin 26, Michigan 9
Records: U-M (4-14, 0-7 Big Ten), Wisconsin (8-8, 3-3 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Feb. 21 -- at Northwestern (Evanston, Ill.), 6 p.m. CST

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan wrestling team won early and late but could not overcome a stretch of six losses in the middle, falling to No. 15-ranked Wisconsin, 26-9, in its final home meet of the season on Sunday (Feb. 14) in front of 601 fans at Cliff Keen Arena.

After Wisconsin picked up an early major decision from top-ranked Andrew Howe at 165 pounds -- the dual's starting weight -- the two teams traded close decisions at the upperweights to preserve the Badgers' four-point advantage at the halfway point.

Junior/sophomore Justin Zeerip (Fremont, Mich./Hesperia HS) and sophomore/freshman Hunter Collins (Gilroy, Calif./Gilroy HS) claimed back-to-back decisions at 174 and 184 pounds, respectively, to give Michigan the momentary lead after three bouts. Zeerip led from start to finish against Brendan Ard, using a single leg late in the first period, a pair of escapes and 1:27 in riding-time advantage en route to a 5-2 decision and his third straight win in Big Ten action.

Collins surged late in the third period to secure a 4-3 decision against 16th-ranked Travis Rutt -- his second win over a ranked opponent this season. After a scoreless first period and a quick escape in the second, Rutt rode for a majority of the third frame to build up riding-time advantage. Collins scrambled late, however, maneuvering Rutt to his back to a two-and-two and his first lead of the match. The Badger wrestler used another to escape, but Collins held off a couple late shots to win by one.

The Wolverines dropped the marquee match of the afternoon as seventh-ranked Trevor Brandvold used a second-period score and riding time to knock off eighth-ranked senior/junior Anthony Biondo (Clinton Twp., Mich./Chippewa Valley HS), 4-1. After a scoreless first period, Brandvold took the initial lead with a quick escape in the second and converted on a subsequent single leg to pad his advantage. The Badger wrestler rode out most of the third period to accumulate 2:51 in time advantage and add a point at match's end.

The second half of the dual was all Wisconsin as the Badgers won four of the final five matches, picking up bonus points at 133 and 149 pounds. Freshman Sean Boyle (Lowell, Mass./Blair Academy) lost a heartbreaker in the first match after the break at 125 pounds, falling to Drew Hammen, 4-2, on a last-second tilt. Boyle held the early lead in the match after shooting in on an early single leg and scoring out of the ensuing scramble. Hammen rode out the entire second period to erase Boyle's time advantage and reversed in the third to knot up the score. Boyle was nearly out on a few occasions, but after a late restart, Hammen turned him for two points to steal away the match.

Wisconsin's Greg Burke scored early and late in the 157-pound bout, but junior/sophomore Dave Johnson (Jenison, Mich./Jenison HS) dominated in between to claim a 15-8 decision in the dual's final bout. After giving up an early single leg, Johnson converted on a single of his own midway through the period and used a crab-ride tilt for five back points later in the frame. He repeated the feat in the second period, scoring out of an early scramble and tilting for two more. Burke earned on a third-period reversal and scrambled for another takedown, but Johnson gave up nothing more to hold on for the win.

The Maize and Blue will head to Evanston, Ill., to close out the dual-meet portion of its 2009-10 schedule next Sunday (Feb. 21) against Northwestern. The meet is slated for a 6 p.m. CST start at Welsh-Ryan Arena and will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.

#15 Wisconsin 26, Michigan 9
Individual Rankings by InterMat

Match	Score
165 -- #1 Andrew Howe (UW) major dec. Aaron Hynes, 17-7	UW, 4-0
174 -- Justin Zeerip (U-M) dec. Brendan Ard, 5-2	UW, 4-3
184 -- Hunter Collins (U-M) dec. #16 Travis Rutt, 4-3	U-M, 6-4
197 -- #7 Trevor Brandvold (UW) dec. #8 Anthony Biondo, 4-1	UW, 7-6
Hwt -- Eric Bugenhagen (UW) dec. Ben Apland, 3-2	UW, 10-6
125 -- Drew Hammen (UW) dec. Sean Boyle, 4-2	UW, 13-6
133 -- #6 Tyler Graff (UW) major dec. Zac Stevens, 12-3	UW, 17-6
141 -- Cole Schmitt (UW) dec. Mark Weber, 4-0	UW, 20-6
149 -- #5 Kyle Ruschell (UW) pinned Mark Boyer, 5:14	UW, 26-6
157 -- Dave Johnson (U-M) dec. Greg Burke, 15-8	UW, 26-9