Quotes: NCAA Championships - Day 3
3/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 21, 2015
U-M Junior/Sophomore Conor Youtsey
On his tournament ... "It was really exciting. I really came on these last two months and started believing in myself. Great things happen when you start believing in yourself, your training and your coaches. You only get one shot, once a year, to show up at the big show and make it happen. I went out there and gave everything I have. When you get here, it's all about who's got the bigger heart and who's willing to dig deeper, push harder and grind longer to get those wins. I feel like I had a couple matches where that's what earned me the win."
On his Round of 12 win ... "In a lot of these matches, I'm pushing the pace and getting to a lot of my attacks. I knew that (Joey) Dance is a good wrestler but really slippery and funky, so I knew that when I got in on his legs that he would dive and look for rolls. I just stayed low and stuck to my stuff. What a wild match. Some crazy scrambles and some calls they thought they should have gotten and some that we thought we should have gotten. I think the guy that works the hardest and pushes the most is going to come out on top."
On also defeating Oklahoma State's seventh-seeded Eddie Klimara ... "Someone said after that match, 'Okay, Youtsey is legit.' That kind of legitimized my upset over Joey Dance. Once I got that point -- I was an All-American -- I knew I could beat any of these guys. I was just having fun."
On kicking off a great round for Michigan ... "It was incredible. I came back after that match, and all the guys were stoked. Like we talk all year long, I'm the 125-pounder; I go out there and get the momentum rolling. Here we are again. I went out there and made it happen and came back super excited. We were feeding off of each other. All the guys coming through, pushing hard and getting it done in that round is what makes being an All-American even more special -- doing it with these guys. Bringing 10 guys to nationals, having five All-Americans; words don't describe how exciting that is."
U-M Junior Rossi Bruno
On his Round of 12 match ... "I knew he was pretty tough on bottom and likes to do funky stuff. I didn't want to mess with that. I knew I could take him down. He wasn't wrestling really hard on his feet, and I knew that if I pressured him, I would eventually get the takedown. It was awesome. I finished with something I don't do very often, but I always practice, so it felt good to get that. As I soon as I hit, I knew I had it. Then I just looked over to the coaches. I was very happy."
On battling through his nagging ankle injury ... "In the Round of 16, I crunched my ankle pretty bad, and it hurt throughout the tournament after that. But everybody here is hurt to some extent. I did with it what I could. That's all anybody can do."
On building off this tournament ... "I just want to keep working. I know I can wrestle with any of these kids. Some kids that I lost to this season didn't even place. I think I perform pretty well in these types of pressure environments.
U-M Sophomore Brian Murphy
On how he wrestled this weekend ... "I feel like I wrestled well. I didn't wrestle tight at all; I wrestled loose and just tried to focus on being tougher than the other guy. I tried to not think about my wrestling and just be tougher than him. I feel like I did a good job with that, and that's what got me to where I am. I thought about how, after this tournament, I want to write down exactly what I'm thinking, because I don't want to forget this rolling into next year or this summer. That's the mentality where I wrestle my best, and I don't want to forget it."
On his Round of 12 match ... "I did freeze up a little in that match. But I was trying to ice the match and attempting to take him down. I got in on his leg a couple times, got in a couple scrambles and just stayed tough in those scramble positions. He almost ended up with two, but I dove through again and fought it off.
On feeling U-M's momentum in the Round of 12 ... "I was in the back, and Youtsey came in all excited and happy, then Rossi. I knew it was possible for me to be an All-American, but having them come in like that really made me realize I could do it. It made it a reality for me. That's big."
On learning from and building on this tournament ... "I just want to focus on the things I've been focusing on this tournament. I don't want to put too much pressure on myself, but obviously I'd like to win an NCAA championship. I'm going to work really hard to do so."
U-M Fifth-Year Senior Max Huntley
On how he thought he wrestled this weekend... "I'm happy with my performance. Obviously, unless you're the champion, you could have done better. But whatever I do now, no one can take it away from me. I will be an All-American the rest of my life."
On the Burak match... "I was nervous going into it. There's a lot on the line. But Coach [Sean] Bormet talked to me beforehand, and we had the same kind of conversation that we have before any match. I was ready to go at the match. I think in the end, I just worked a little harder than him; that's why I won the match."
On U-M winning all four matches in the Round of 12... "Honestly, going into the round, I didn't think we'd win all four. That's unheard of, right? Then Conor wins and Rossi wins and Brian wins. I sure wasn't going to be the one guy not to win."
Players Mentioned
