Michigan
North Carolina
Wolverines to Host No. 17 North Carolina in 2019-20 Dual Opener
11/6/2019 3:31:00 PM | Wrestling
» No. 19 Michigan will host No. 17 North Carolina in its 2019-20 dual-meet opener at 7 p.m. on Friday (Nov. 8) at Cliff Keen Arena; it will be the first dual between U-M and UNC since 1994.
» Five Wolverines are ranked nationally by at least one media outlet, including Will Lewan, who lists as high as No. 8 at 157 pounds and Mason Parris, who ranks No. 5 at heavyweight.
» The 2019-20 season is the second under head coach Sean Bormet, who posted a 13-1 dual-meet record and led U-M to a fifth-place NCAA finish in his rookie season at the helm.
THIS WEEK
Friday, Nov. 8 -- vs. North Carolina (Cliff Keen Arena), 7 p.m.
TV: BTN+ | Live Stats | Live Video
• Parking Notice
• Digital Program (PDF)
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter
Game Day Information: Cliff Keen Arena Information | Ticket Information
PROMOTIONS
• Nov. 8: Team poster & schedule magnet giveaway
• Full Promotions Schedule
The No. 19-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team (0-0) will kick off the dual-meet portion of its 2019-20 schedule at home this Friday night (Nov. 8), hosting No. 17 North Carolina (0-0) at 7 p.m. at Cliff Keen Arena.
Michigan's Projected Starting Lineup
| Wgt. | Name | Year/Elig. | Hometown (High School) |
| 125 | Jack Medley | Jr./So. | Chesterfield, Mich. (Anchor Bay) |
| 133 | Austin Assad | 5th/Sr. | Northfield, Ohio (Brecksville) |
| 141 | Ben Freeman | Jr./So. | Walled Lake, Mich. (Central) |
| 149 | Ben Lamantia | Gr./Sr. | Commack, N.Y. (St. Anthony's) |
| or | Nick Freeman | So./Fr. | Walled Lake, Mich. (Central) |
| 15 | Will Lewan | So./Fr. | Chicago, Ill. (Montini Catholic) |
| 165 | Reece Hughes | Jr./Jr. | Brighton, Mich. (Hartland) |
| or | Layne Van Anrooy | Jr./So.. | Roseburg, Ore. (Roseburg) |
| 174 | Max Maylor | So./Fr. | Highland, Wis. (Highland) |
| 184 | Jelani Embree | Jr./So. | Eastpointe, Mich. (Warren Lincoln) |
| or | Bobby Striggow | So./Fr. | Orono, Minn. (Orono) |
| 197 | Jackson Striggow | 5th/Sr. | Orono, Minn. (Orono) |
| Hwt | Mason Parris | So./So. | Lawrenceburg, Ind. (Lawrenceburg) |
Wolverine Bites
• Through 97 years of U-M wrestling history, Michigan has posted a 65-30-2 record in its first dual meet of the season. Last season, the Wolverines claimed seven of 10 bouts, earning bonus points in five with three pins, to defeat in-state rival Central Michigan, 32-12, in U-M's season opener on the road and the first dual under head coach Sean Bormet.
• Bormet enters the season with a sterling 13-1 career record after a near-perfect dual-meet season last year. The Wolverines earned six wins over nationally-ranked opponents last season, including a 19-17 decision at No. 2 Ohio State, in Bormet's first season at the helm. U-M went on to claim fifth place at the NCAA Championships.
• Sophomore Mason Parris posted a 5-0 record en route to his second straight Michigan State Open heavyweight title on Saturday (Nov. 2), outscoring his opposition, 43-7, with a pin and two major decisions. He knocked off two top-10 opponents in Pittsburgh's No. 9 Demetrius Thomas, 15-3, and Central Michigan's Matt Stencel, 9-2, in the final. It was Parris' second MSU Open finals win against Stencel in as many years; the Chippewa ended his season last year in the NCAA Round of 12.
• Sophomore/freshman Will Lewan also defeated a pair of top-10 opponents as part of his fourth-place showing at 157 pounds at the MSU Open. Lewan went 5-1 and was unable to compete in the medal due to reaching his match limit on the day. Lewan, who captured an MSU Open title last season, used a first-period takedown to beat Pitt's fifth-ranked Taleb Rahmani, 3-2, and three seconds of riding time to make the difference in a 3-3 second-tiebreaker win against Oklahoma's 10th-ranked Justin Thomas.
• Junior/sophomore Jelani Embree took 184-pound runner-up honors at the MSU Open, posting a 4-1 record while reversing two losses from last season's Big Ten Championships. Embree used a last-second takedown in the tiebreaker to edge Michigan State's 12th-ranked Cameron Caffey, 10-8, in the semifinals, building a big early lead before finishing on an inside trip on the edge to seal it. He also beat Purdue's 17th-ranked Max Lyon, 5-4, behind a first-period takedown and a late escape and locked-hands penalty in the third. Embree lost to Caffey, 7-1, and Lyon, 6-5, at Big Tens to end his season last year.
• Four Wolverines are taking Olympic redshirts for the 2019-20 season -- fifth-year seniors Myles Amine and Logan Massa, graduate student Stevan Micic and senior/junior Kanen Storr. Micic and Amine already have qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo after placing fifth at 57kg/125 pounds and 86kg/189 pounds, respectively, at the UWW World Championships last month in Kazakhstan. Massa and Storr will look to qualify for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. None of the four are currently enrolled in classes this semester and will retain the year of NCAA eligibility through the athletics activity waiver.
• Michigan returns four additional starters, including two NCAA qualifiers, from last year's team. Among the returners, sophomore heavyweight Mason Parris reached the NCAA Round of 12 and, more recently, captured a junior world gold medal in just the third major freestyle tournament of his career last August in Estonia. U-M also returns a pair of two-year starters in junior Drew Mattin and fifth-year senior Jackson Striggow as well as junior/sophomore Jelani Embree.
• Michigan will face six teams ranked in the NWCA preseason poll, most notably four top-10 teams in No. 2 Iowa, No. 5 Nebraska, No. 6 Wisconsin and No. 7 Minnesota. Eight of 14 Big Ten schools were either ranked or receiving votes to start the 2019-20 season. Michigan earned a No. 19 preseason ranking.
U-M Individual Rankings
| Wt. | Wrestler | InterMat | Flo | TW | TOM | WIN |
| 141 | Ben Freeman | NR | NR | 11 | NR | NR |
| 157 | Will Lewan | 10 | 8 | 13 | 12 | NR |
| 184 | Jelani Embree | 17 | 14 | 14 | 15 | NR |
| 197 | Jackson Striggow | NR | NR | 23 | NR | NR |
| Hwt | Mason Parris | 5 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 6 |
Scouting the Opposition
North Carolina: The Tar Heels will make their dual debut against Michigan on Friday. They had eight total placewinners at the Southeast Open last Sunday (Nov. 3), with Andrew Gunning capturing the heavyweight title, and Zach Sherman (141 pounds) and Kennedy Monday (165) earning runner-up honors. North Carolina boasts five nationally-ranked wrestlers, most notably No. 1 Austin O'Connor (149) -- who is not in its projected weekend lineup -- and No. 16 Monday. Michigan has lost the only two meetings in the all-time series against UNC. In the most recent meeting, the Tar Heels claimed a 29-11 decision at the 1994 National Duals.
Last Time Out
The Wolverines crowned one champion -- sophomore heavyweight Mason Parris -- and posted eight total placewinners at the Michigan State Open last Saturday (Nov. 2). Senior/junior Kanen Storr, who wrestled unattached, and junior/sophomore Jelani Embree finished as runners-up at 141 and 184 pounds, respectively. Freshmen Cole Mattin and Cameron Amine placed top five in their collegiate debuts, while graduate student Ben Lamantia, freshman Will Lewan and fifth-year senior Jackson Striggow similarly placed top five to round out the Wolverines' placewinners. [ Full Recap ]
Up Next
Sunday, Nov. 17 -- at Black Knight Invitational (West Point, N.Y.), 10 a.m.
Players Mentioned
