Michigan
Big Ten Championships
Massa Advances to 165-Pound Final at Big Ten Championships
3/4/2017 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
March 4, 2017
» Logan Massa advanced to the 165-pound Big Ten final after defeating Wisconsin's Isaac Jordan, 4-3, in the semifinal round.
» Five additional Wolverines are alive in the wrestlebacks: Conor Youtsey (125 pounds), Stevan Micic (133), Zac Hall (149), Brian Murphy (157) and Myles Amine (174). All have earned automatic qualifiers to the NCAA Championships.
» Youtsey earned two dramatic comeback wins in overtime in the morning sessions including a 5-3 decision against Minnesota's third-seeded Ethan Lizak.
Site: Bloomington, Ind. (Assembly Hall)
Event: Big Ten Championships (Day 1 of 2)
U-M Team Standing: 7th Place of 14 Teams (60.5 points) after Day 1
Next U-M Event: Sunday, March 5 -- at Big Ten Championships (Bloomington, Ind.), Noon
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Freshman Logan Massa advanced to the 165-pound championship and five more wrestlers are still alive in the consolation bracket as the University of Michigan wrestling team completed the first day of action at the Big Ten Championships in seventh place (60.5 points) on Saturday (March 4) at Indiana's Assembly Hall.
Massa, seeded second at 165 pounds, will face Illinois' top-ranked Isaiah Martinez, a two-time NCAA champion, in tomorrow's championship and a rematch of Massa's only loss (3-1) of the season. The Wolverine freshman used a last-second stall point to edge Wisconsin's third-seeded Isaac Jordan, 4-3, in the semifinal round. After Massa struck first, finishing off a second-period bodylock, Jordan evened the score with a late takedown in the third but dropped down to a leg as Massa tried to kicked away in the waning seconds, eliciting a second stall warning -- and a point -- with no time remaining. It was Massa's third win over Jordan this season.
Massa cruised in the morning quarterfinal round, scoring a 24-9 technical fall -- his 10th of the season -- against Nebraska's seventh-seeded Dustin Williams. Massa converted on 10 takedowns, including five in the first period, and added two back points off a feet-to-back takedown in the third. He ended the bout at the 6:53 mark.
Michigan boasted a terrific morning session, going 5-for-5 in the quarterfinals, including three upset wins, but the Wolverines' four other semifinalists dropped their evening-session matches -- two on one-point heartbreakers.
Fifth-year senior Conor Youtsey, seeded sixth at 125 pounds, stole the show in the morning round by rallying to earn back-to-back dramatic overtime decisions. Down six points late in the third period against Illinois' Travis Piotrowski in the opening round, Youtsey hit a six-point cement mixer with 20 seconds remaining to force overtime before scoring again off a bodylock late in the extra frame.
Youtsey, a two-time NCAA All-American who came out of retirement to rejoin the team in January, edged Minnesota's third-seeded Ethan Lizak, 5-3, in similar fashion in the quarterfinals, evening the score with a takedown on the edge in the final 10 seconds of the third period before using an inside trip to score again late in the sudden-victory frame. He dropped a 16-5 major decision to Iowa's top-seeded -- and top-ranked -- Thomas Gilman in the semifinals.
Sophomore/freshman Stevan Micic, seeded fifth at 133 pounds, dropped a 4-3 heartbreaker to Ohio State's top-seeded -- and top-ranked -- Nathan Tomasello in the semifinal round. After using a second-period takedown to rally from an initial deficit, Micic quickly escaped to tie in the third but could not capitalize on the momentum as Tomasello scored on a late single leg to take the match.
Micic earned 12-4 major decisions in both of his morning matches, including a win against Illinois' fourth-seeded -- and sixth-ranked -- Zane Richards to avenge a loss from the dual matchup. Micic struck first, scoring on a high-crotch in the waning seconds of the first, and carried a narrow one-point advantage in the third when he broke it open with a six-point feet-to-back takedown off a duck under and rode out the bout for the bonus point.
Senior Brian Murphy, seeded sixth at 157 pounds, also dropped a one-point decision in the semifinal round, falling to Iowa's second-seeded Michael Kemerer on a last-second escape. With the score knotted up late in the third, Kemerer scored on a single-leg takedown, but Murphy reversed in the final 10 seconds to tie -- only to lose control with one second remaining in regulation.
Murphy avenged an earlier-season loss in the morning session, using a fireman's carry to score the winning takedown with just eight seconds remaining in overtime and defeat Nebraska's third-seeded -- and third-ranked -- Tyler Berger, 3-1, in the quarterfinals. Murphy also earned bonus points with a win by injury default in the opening round.
Sophomore/freshman Myles Amine, seeded fourth at 174 pounds, also went 2-1 on the day, cruising in the morning session before falling to Ohio State's top-seeded -- and third-ranked -- Bo Jordan, 14-8, in the semifinal round. Amine used a third-period tilt to earn an 8-0 major decision and a bonus point in his first-round bout against Maryland's Josh Ugalde before cruising to an 11-6 decision over Iowa's fifth-seeded -- and 10th-ranked -- Alex Meyer on four takedowns, including three in the first period. It was his second win over Meyer this season.
All five Michigan semifinalists have already locked up automatic qualifiers for the NCAA Championships, as has junior/sophomore Zac Hall, who bounced back from a first-round loss at 149 pounds with two wins in the wrestlebacks. Among his wins, Hall avenged an earlier-season loss with a 7-1 decision against Illinois' Eric Barone, earning a late four-point tilt while accumulating 1:56 in riding-time advantage. That win ensured that he will finish no worse that sixth place -- in a weight class that qualifies six.
Four Wolverines were eliminated from the competition, but sophomore/freshman Sal Profaci is still in contention for an automatic qualifier at 141 pounds and needs to win one more to secure the ninth and final slot. Profaci earned an 8-2 decision over Northwestern's Alec McKenna in his ninth-place semi on a pair of takedowns and four-point leg turk.
Michigan will wrap up action at the Big Ten Championships Sunday (March 5) at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana. The third session is slated to begin at noon, while the finals will start at 3 p.m. and be aired live on the Big Ten Network.
Team Standings (After Day 1)
1. Ohio State 117
2. Penn State 98.5
3. Iowa 95
4. Minnesota 81
5. Nebraska 79.5
6. Illinois 71
7. MICHIGAN 60.5
8. Wisconsin 59
9. Rutgers 55.5
10. Michigan State 37.5
11. Maryland 29
12. Purdue 25
13. Indiana 23.5
14. Northwestern 16
Michigan Results (Day 1)
Numbers listed are tournament seedings
125 Pounds -- #6 Conor Youtsey
First Round - dec. Travis Piotrowski (Illinois), 10-8 SV
Quarterfinals - dec. #4 Ethan Lizak (Minnesota), 5-3 SV
Semifinals - major dec. by #1 Thomas Gilman (Iowa), 16-5
Consolations - vs. Travis Piotrowski (Illinois)
133 Pounds -- #5 Stevan Micic
First Round - major dec. Austin Eicher (Michigan State), 12-4)
Quarterfinals - major dec. #4 Zane Richards (Illinois), 12-4)
Semifinals - dec. by #1 Nathan Tomasello (Ohio State), 6-5
Consolations - vs. #2 Eric Montoya (Nebraska)
141 Pounds -- #9 Sal Profaci
First Round - major dec. by #8 Cole Martin (Wisconsin), 14-4
Consolations - dec. by #2 Jimmy Gulibon (Penn State), 7-3
Eliminated with a 0-2 record
Ninth-Place Semifinals - dec. Alec McKenna (Northwestern), 8-2
Ninth Place - vs. #6 Topher Carton (Iowa)
149 Pounds -- Zac Hall
First Round - major dec. by #5 Ken Theobold (Rutgers), 17-4
Consolations - dec. #6 Andrew Crone (Wisconsin), 7-1
Consolations - dec. Eric Barone (Illinois), 7-1
Consolations - vs. #4 Alfred Bannister (Maryland)
157 Pounds -- #6 Brian Murphy
First Round - injury def. #11 Jake Ryan (Ohio State), 0:02
Quarterfinals - dec. #3 Tyler Berger (Nebraska), 3-1 SV
Semifinals - dec. by #2 Michael Kemerer (Iowa), 4-3
Consolations - vs. #10 Alex Griffin (Purdue)
165 Pounds -- #2 Logan Massa
First Round - Bye
Quarterfinals - tech. fall #7 Dustin Williams (Nebraska), 24-9 (6:53)
Semifinals - dec. #2 Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin), 4-3
Final - vs. #1 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois)
174 Pounds -- #4 Myles Amine
First Round - major dec. Josh Ugalde (Maryland), 8-0
Quarterfinals - dec. #5 Alex Meyer (Iowa), 11-6
Semifinals - #1 Bo Jordan (Ohio State), 14-8
Consolations - vs. #11 Ryan Christensen (Wisconsin)
184 Pounds -- #12 Ernest Battaglia
First Round - major dec. by #5 TJ Dudley (Nebraska), 13-4
Consolations - injury defaulted to #13 Shwan Shadaia (Michigan State), 3:45
Eliminated with a 0-2 record
197 Pounds -- Jackson Striggow
First Round - major dec. by #1 Brett Pfarr (Minnesota), 12-3
Consolations - dec. Andre Lee (Illinois), 5-1
Consolations - dec. by #7 Cash Wilcke (Iowa), 2-1
Eliminated with a 1-2 record
Heavyweight -- Dan Perry
First Round - pinned by #3 Nick Nevills (Penn State), 4:25
Consolations - dec. by Conan Jennings (Northwestern), 3-0
Eliminated with a 0-2 record
Communications Contact: Leah Howard
Players Mentioned
