No. 7 Wrestlers Open Dual Season Against No. 8 Michigan
12/10/1999 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 10, 1999
TONIGHT?s MATCH No. 10 Michigan State (0-0, 0-0 Big Ten) Last Meet: Dec. 5 at Penn State Open, no team scores - 11 individuals placed, Nick Muzashvili earned Most Outstanding Wrestler honors. Ranked by InterMat Wrestling: 125 - No. 20 Chris Williams, 133 - No. 3 Pat McNamara, 149 - No. 19 Corey Posey, 157 - No. 13 Gray Maynard, 165 - No. 7 Greg DeGrand, 184 - No. 5 Will Hill, 197 - No. 1, Nick Muzashvili. Coach: Tom Minkel, 9th season (90-86-1 overall (11), 75-68-1 at MSU)
No. 7 Michigan (0-0, 0-0 Big Ten) Last Meet: Dec. 3-4, Cliff Keen Invitational, 5th/47 Ranked by InterMat Wrestling: 133 - No. 4 Joe Warren, 141 - No. 5 Damion Logan, 157 - No. 20 Anthony Hollifield, 174 - No. 1 Otto Olson, 184 - No. 13 Andy Hrovat, 197 - No. 19 Frank Lodeserto, 285 - No. 9 Matt Brink. Coach: Joe McFarland, 1st season 0-0 overall, 0-0 at Michigan)
Next Up: Dec. 29-30 at Midlands Championships
Rivalry Renewed: Michigan State begins the dual meet season with a showdown against the rival Michigan Wolverines on Friday, Dec. 10 at 7:30 p.m. in Jenison Wrestling Arena. MSU enters the meet ranked No. 7 by Intermat Wrestling and No. 9 by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA), while UM comes in ranked No. 8/8.
The Wolverines won both meetings between the teams last season, a 21-9 triumph in Ann Arbor and a 22-11 victory in East Lansing. Michigan is lead in 1999 by Otto Olson, the top-ranked 174-pounder in the nation, No. 4 Joe Warren at 133 and sixth-ranked Damion Logan at 141. The Wolverines are coached by Joe McFarland who is in his first year. Michigan leads the all-time series 51-33-4.
Rank(-ings) and File: Senior Nick Muzashvili continues at No. 1 ranking at 197 pounds in the latest InterMat Wrestling rankings (Dec. 8), a position he has held since the beginning of the season. Six other Spartans join him in the rankings. The team is ranked 7th this week by InterMat Wrestling and 9th by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA): 125 Chris Williams 19th 133 Pat McNamara 3rd 157 Gray Maynard 17th 165 Greg DeGrand 13th 174 Will Hill 13th 197 Nick Muzashvili 1st Hwt Matt Lamb 19th
To Be The Best, You Have To Beat The Best: The Spartans will be tested early and often during the dual meet season. After the Michigan dual the Spartans will finish the tournament season with a trip to the Midlands Championships. That?s where the fun begins as the team plays one of the toughest dual meet schedules in the nation. Michigan State will face at least eight teams who began the season ranked among the top 25 in the InterMat Wrestling/NWCA polls. In addition to the home-and-home series with No. 8/8 Michigan, MSU will host No. 2/2 Iowa, No. 5/4 Minnesota, No. 4/3 Oklahoma State and No. 19/18 Arizona State. On the road, the Spartans meet No. 3/5 Oklahoma, No. 20/15 Central Michigan and No. 25/20 Penn State.
PSU Open Recap: 10 individuals placed at the Penn State Open last weekend, including senior 197-pounder Nick Muzashvili, who was named the tournament?s Outstanding Wrestler after going 5-0 and winning the championship match by fall. 125: Chris Williams, 2nd place 141: Mike Castillo, 5th place 141: Charlie Sageman, 6th place 149: Cory Posey, 3rd place 157: Gray Maynard, 3rd place 165: Greg DeGrand, 3rd place 174: Will Hill, 4th place 184: Joe Cotant, 4th place 197: Nick Muzashvili, 1st place, Outstanding Wrestler 285: Matt Lamb, 3rd place
Killer Conference: The Big Ten continues to live up to its reputation as the toughest wrestling conference in the nation. In the latest InterMat Wrestling/NWCA polls, the No. 7/9 Spartans were joined by seven other Big Ten teams: No. 2/2 Iowa, No. 5/4 Minnesota, No. 6/6 Illinois, No. 8/8 Michigan, No. 18/22 Wisconsin, No. 23/-- Purdue and No. 25/20 Penn State.
100 Within Sight: Tom Minkel needs just 10 more victories to reach 100 for his career. He is 90-68-1 overall in his 12th season of coaching and 75-68-1 in his 10th season as the head coach at Michigan State.
Out of Sight But Not Out of the Rankings: Junior Pat McNamara is out until at least January after having pre-season shoulder surgery. Ranked No. 3 at 133 pounds in the preseason, McNamara has maintained the ranking through the first two polls of the year.
MSU-UM Match Included in College Series of Wrestling: FOX Sports Chicago will be televising the College Series of Wrestling, a joing effort between the U.S. Olympic Committee, the NCAA and USA Wrestling. The shows are funded through a USOC grant program with the Big 12 and Big Ten Conferences. The competitions will be produced by USA Sports Broadcasting, the broadcast division for USA Wrestling. Michigan State?s dual meet with Michigan on Sunday, Jan. 23 will be aired on FOX Sports Chicago on Friday, Jan. 28 at 8:30 p.m. EST Viewers across the nation can also watch these FOX Sports Chicago programs via satellite at the same time on Direct TV.
Airdates and times on FOX Sports Chicago ? Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State - Monday, December 13 at 12:30 a.m. CST ? Iowa vs. Iowa State - Sunday, December 19 at 12:00 noon CST ? Missouri vs. Nebraska - to be announced ? Michigan State vs. Michigan - Friday, January 28 at 7:30 p.m. CST ? Wisconsin vs. Illinois - Friday, February 11 at 7:30 p.m. CST ? Indiana vs. Purdue - to be announced ? Big 12 Conference Wrestling Championships - to be announced