Quotes: #3 Penn State 28, #13 Michigan 13
2/6/2011 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Feb. 6, 2011
Michigan Head Coach Joe McFarland
On the dual loss against Penn State ... "I thought we needed to wrestle a little tougher in situations today against Penn State. You can't give up three pins and a major decision and expect to win against a good team like that. Two of those pins were off of big moves and one in a situation where we were up by four. It's unfortunate and a bit disappointing, but we need to rebound and take something from this. I just don't think we showed enough grit and toughness, and in some cases, that was the difference. If we can have a little more confidence in ourselves, I really think we could turn some of these matches around by Big Tens."
On bouncing back for next weekend's duals vs. Minnesota and Iowa ... "We told them after the dual to keep their chins up. We made some mistakes today, but we need to rebound and come back strong. Often you take more from a loss than from a win, so I think we'll learn and refocus. We've got a tough weekend ahead of us, so we can't dwell on this. We'll go to work tomorrow and get ready to go again."
On senior/junior Kellen Russell ... "Kellen's got that grit and that toughness that I'm talking about. If he needs to ride a kid to win, then he'll ride him. He always rises to the occasion. If he finds himself in a tough spot, he finds a way to get the job done. Kellen is just really solid, and he always wrestles smart. He mentioned after the match that he could have opened up a little more, and that's something that we'll continue to work on. I think if he were to really open up against some of these guys, he's two or three takedowns better than them. But Kellen is able to win those close, tough matches. He's got a lot of confidence in himself. He's tough to beat. He's not going to make a mistake; he won't beat himself. It's nice to have a captain like that."
U-M Senior/Junior Kellen Russell
On the team's loss ... "I just think we got outwrestled in some areas. Some guys weren't wrestling quite as hard as they could have. It's not a good feeling, but I'd rather have this right now than to start a weekend with a loss. We'll take this in, digest it and work hard all week. Most the guys are upset right now, but they're ready to put it behind them. We won't let it drag us down."
On his overtime win over Andrew Alton ... "I was just focused on getting my shots through. I knew he wouldn't take me down. I was trying to get him to move a little more; he was kind of blocking me out. Once we got to overtime, especially with top and bottom, I knew could ride him and escape. I was lucky enough to get the reversal by keeping wrestling the whole time. So, then I knew I was in good shape."
U-M Sophomore Sean Boyle
"I felt pretty good about my weekend, went 2-0 and felt like I was able to control my matches pretty well. I've been turning it on a bit lately. I've had good control over my weight and done a good job working on the little things. So, I just want to build off of this, because I have some pretty tough matches next weekend."
