Wolverines Kick Off 2020-21 Sprint at No. 15 Rutgers, Maryland

Friday, January 8

Piscataway, N.J.

7:00 PM

Michigan

Rutgers

(Michigan Photography)

Wolverines Kick Off 2020-21 Sprint at No. 15 Rutgers, Maryland

1/6/2021 2:24:00 PM | Wrestling

By: Leah Howard

» No. 3 Michigan will open its dual slate on the road this weekend, facing No. 15 Nebraska at 7 p.m. on Friday (Jan. 8) in Piscataway, N.J., and at 11 a.m. Maryland on Sunday (Jan. 10) in College Park, Md.
» The Wolverines kick off their 99th year of intercollegiate competition and the third under head coach Sean Bormet, who has compiled a 20-7 dual record at the helm.
» Ten Wolverines are ranked in at least one national poll at their respective weight classes, most notably No. 1 Myles Amine (184 pounds), No. 2 Stevan Micic (133), No. 2 Logan Massa (174) and No. 2 Mason Parris (Hwt).

THIS WEEK
Friday, Jan. 8 -- at Rutgers (Piscataway, N.J.), 7 p.m.
TV: Big Ten Network | Live Stats | Live Video
Sunday, Jan. 10 -- at Maryland (College Park, Md.), 11 a.m.
TV: BTN+ | Live Stats | Live Video

Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

The No. 3-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team (0-0) will kick off its 2020-21 season -- and its 99th year of intercollegiate competition -- on the road this weekend, taking on No. 15 Rutgers (0-0) and Maryland (0-0) in what will be a shortened, Big Ten Conference-only dual-meet season. U-M will face the Scarlet Knights at 7 p.m. on Friday (Jan. 8) at The RAC in Piscataway, N.J., before taking on the Terrapins at 11 a.m. on Sunday (Jan. 8) at the XFINITY Center in College Park, Md. The Wolverines are the only Big Ten program to open the season with two duals this weekend.

Michigan's Projected Starting Lineup

Wgt.	Name	Year/Elig.	Hometown (High School)
125	Jack Medley	Sr./Jr.	Chesterfield, Mich. (Anchor Bay)
or	Dylan Ragusin	Fr./Fr.	Elk Grove Village, Ill. (Montini Catholic)
133	Stevan Micic	Gr./Sr.	Cedar Lake, Ind. (Hanover Central)
141	Drew Mattin	Sr./Jr.	Delta, Ohio (Delta)
149	Kanen Storr	5th/Sr.	Leslie, Mich. (Leslie)
157	Will Lewan	Jr./So.	Chicago, Ill. (Montini Catholic)
165	Cameron Amine	So./Fr.	Brighton, Mich. (Detroit Catholic Central)
174	Logan Massa	6th/Sr.	St. Johns, Mich. (St. Johns)
184	Joseph Walker	Fr./Fr.	Mishawaka, Ind. (Mishawaka)
197	Andrew Davison	Sr./Jr.	Chesterton, Ind. (Chesterton)
Hwt	Mason Parris	Jr./Jr.	Lawrenceburg, Ind. (Lawrenceburg)

Wolverine Bites

• Michigan returns seven starters from its young squad a season ago and, with the addition of its three wrestlers coming off Olympic redshirt, the Wolverines' 2020-21 roster includes seven All-Americans -- three NCAA All-Americans and four NWCA All-Americans -- in senior/junior Jack Medley (125 pounds), graduate student Stevan Micic (133), fifth-year senior Kanen Storr (149), junior/sophomore Will Lewan (157), sixth-year senior Logan Massa (174), graduate student Myles Amine (184) and junior Mason Parris (Hwt).

• The Wolverines will start the 2020-21 season with 10 wrestlers ranked nationally at their respective weight classes, including four in the top two according to InterMat: No. 1 Amine (184), No. 2 Micic (133), No. 2 Massa (174) and No. 2 Parris (Hwt).

• Through 98 years of U-M wrestling history, Michigan has posted a 65-31-2 record in its first dual meet of the season. In last season's opener, the Wolverines dropped a close 19-17 loss -- on bonus points -- to North Carolina at home. Jack Medley and Mason Parris opened and closed the dual with ranked wins at 125 pounds and heavyweight, respectively.

• Head coach Sean Bormet enters his third season at the helm of the Michigan program. Under his guidance, the Wolverines have compiled a 20-7 dual-meet record, including a 13-5 mark in Big Ten duals, and posted a fifth-place NCAA finish in 2019 -- U-M's second straight top-five finish. Michigan has boasted seven different All-Americans over the last two seasons.

• Michigan welcomed an eight-man freshman class to Ann Arbor this fall. The class, which ranked as high as No. 11 in the national recruiting rankings, combined for nine high school state titles and includes five wrestlers listed among the top 150 national recruits by at least wrestling outlet, including No. 22 Gaige Garcia and No. 28 Dylan Ragusin. Ragusin, Fidel Mayora, Jaden Bullock and Joseph Walker are all on the Wolverines' travel roster for the opening weekend and will look to make their collegiate debut this weekend -- in either the dual competition or in extra matches.

• Four Wolverines captured USA Wrestling national titles in freestyle this fall. Sixth-year senior Logan Massa and junior Mason Parris captured senior titles at 74kg and 125kg, respectively, in October. Massa claimed his second straight senior national crown with a 15-2 technical superiority over Arizona State's Anthony Valencia in the final, while Parris, a 2019 junior freestyle world champion, teched former ASU standout Tanner Hall, 12-2, in his final bout. Freshman Dylan Ragusin, who also reached the 57kg senior final, captured the junior title at the same weight in November, defeating Columbia's Angelo Rini, 13-10, in the final. Junior/sophomore Will Lewan rounded out Michigan's champions with the 70kg U23 title, earning a 5-4 decision against Iowa's Kaleb Young in the final -- and avenging his loss from last year's dual meeting.

• Current Wolverines Logan Massa, Myles Amine and Mason Parris also provided the primary firepower for the Cliff Keen Wrestling Club's team championship at the inaugural RTC Cup team title in December. The trio, along with former three-time All-American Alec Pantaleo, earned wins in the championship final against the combined squad of Southeast RTC and New Jersey RTC. The CKWC went 4-0 over the two-day competition. Among the event's notable individual wins, Massa used two four-point throws to overcome an eight-point deficit and defeat NC State's Hayden Hidlay, 8-8, on criteria and Parris scored a late takedown and lace to edge two-time NCAA champion and world medalist Nick Gwiazdowski, 10-7, in the semifinals.

• Three Wolverines are bearing down at the 100-win milestone this season. Graduate students Stevan Micic and Myles Amine enter the season with career records of 93-14 and 93-20, respectively, while sixth-year senior Logan Massa is 85-19 over his collegiate tenure. The most-recent Michigan wrestler to reach the milestone was Adam Coon, who finished his career with a stellar 116-15 record, in 2018-19.

• Michigan, which will wrestle a Big Ten-only dual schedule this season, will face six teams ranked in the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) preseason poll, most notably three top-10 teams in No. 1 Iowa, No. 2 Penn State, No. 7 Ohio State. Twelve of 14 Big Ten schools were either ranked or receiving votes to start the 2020-21 season. Michigan earned the No. 3 preseason ranking.

U-M Individual Rankings

Wt.	Wrestler	InterMat	Flo	TW	TOM	AWN
125	Jack Medley	13	14	10	12	12
133	Stevan Micic	2	3	3	2	2
141	Drew Mattin	NR	NR	26	20	NR
149	Kanen Storr	6	8	7	6	8
157	Will Lewan	9	11	9	10	10
165	Cameron Amine	17	16	22	16	20
174	Logan Massa	2	2	2	3	3
184	Myles Amine	1	1	1	1	1
197	Jelani Embree	NR	15	27	22	NR
Hwt	Mason Parris	2	2	2	2	2

Scouting the Opposition

Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights posted a 10-7 dual record last season with a 4-5 mark in Big Ten duals and claimed 12th at the 2020 Big Ten Championships inside The RAC. Four Rutgers wrestlers are ranked nationally, most notably No. 6 Sammy Alvarez (133 pounds) and offseason transfer and two-time Big Ten champion Sebastian Rivera, who lists No. 4 at 141 pounds. The Wolverines lead the all-time series against Rutgers, 5-0, and posted a 21-16 victory last season in the Super Saturday event at Madison Square Garden. Mason Parris secured a first-period fall with the dual on the line in the final bout at heavyweight.

Maryland: The Terrapins are coming off a 2-17 dual season -- 0-9 in the Big Ten -- last season, which concluded with a 14th-place finish at the Big Ten Championships. No Maryland wrestlers are ranked in the InterMat national polls. The Wolverines lead the all-time series against Maryland, 6-1-1, with wins in the last four meetings, including a decisive 34-3 win at home last season. Michigan took nine bouts in that dual, including a technical fall from Will Lewan at 157 pounds and a final-match pin from Mason Parris at heavyweight.

2019-20 Season in Review

In a year partly characterized by the Olympic redshirts of their three All-America veterans -- Stevan Micic, Logan Massa and Myles Amine -- the Wolverines posted a 7-6 record in 2019-20, including a 5-4 mark in Big Ten duals with ranked wins over No. 11 Minnesota (22-15), No. 15 Northwestern (20-17) and No. 23 Rutgers (21-16). Michigan claimed seventh place at the Big Ten Championships and qualified seven to the canceled NCAA Championships, including five first-time NCAA qualifiers. Four Wolverines earned NWCA All-America honors; Mason Parris (Hwt) was named to the All-America first team, Kanen Storr (149) and Will Lewan (157) earned second-team honors and Jack Medley (125) earned honorable mention recognition.