Friday, January 10
Ann Arbor, MI
7 p.m.
Michigan State University
14
at
22
Michigan
Photo by: Sam Janicki
Spartan Wrestling's Late Rally Falls Short at No. 25 Michigan, 22-14
1/10/2020 10:12:00 PM | Wrestling
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Michigan State wrestling's late rally fell short to No. 25 Michigan, falling 22-14 in front of a sold out Cliff Keen Arena Friday night in Ann Arbor.
The Wolverines raced out to a 16-0 lead with five-straight wins. MSU answered with four-consecutive wins at 165, 174, 184 and 197 pounds to cut Michigan's lead to two, 16-14, with one match to go. No. 3 Mason Parris sealed the 22-14 win with a fall over redshirt junior Christian Rebottaro 29 seconds into the match.
"We talk everyday about going out and creating your opportunities and taking advantage of them," said MSU wrestling head coach Roger Chandler. "The first four matches, we didn't do that. In big matches like this in the Big Ten, if you don't go out and take advantage of those opportunities when they present themselves, they are probably going to pass you by and you're going to end up in a bad situation."
The dual started at 125 pounds, with redshirt senior Logan Griffin taking on Jack Medley. The Wolverine raced out to a 4-1 lead after the first period after securing a pair of takedowns. Griffin tallied an escape early in the second period, but Medley pushed his lead to 8-2 after two. Medley added a pair of takedowns in the third to take the major decision victory, 13-4.
Redshirt senior Garrett Pepple for the Spartans took on Joey Silva at 133 pounds. The two battled in the first, with Silva taking a 4-1 lead into the second. Pepple added an escape in the second but couldn't overcome Silva's late push, falling 7-2 to push Michigan's lead to 7-0 after two matches.
At 141 pounds, Matt Santos battled with Cole Mattin and ended the first period knotted at zero. Mattin tallied an escape in the second frame to take a 1-0 lead into the third. Santos recorded and early escape, before Mattin delivered another takedown in the third period, sealing the 4-2 decision over Santos.
Redshirt junior Alex Hrisopoulos took the mat against No. 10 Kanen Storr at 149 pounds. After a scoreless first period, Hrisopoulos earned an escape to take a 1-0 lead. Storr was awarded a stalling point at the end of the second to tie the match at one. Hrisopoulos held strong, but Storr tallied a late takedown to secure a 4-1 win, extending the Wolverine lead to 13-0.
No. 18 Jake Tucker and No. 13 Will Lewan wrestled into the second period knotted at zero in the 157 pound bout. The two top-20 wrestlers each produced an escape to tie the match at one before heading to an overtime sudden victory period. Lewan landed a takedown early in overtime for the 3-1 win.
"Obviously, coming out the second half, our guys went out there and got it right away," said Chandler. "It started out with Drew Hughes, he went out and shot a single-leg and scored right away and basically set the tone for the second half of the dual. I give our guys credit."
It was a tale of two halves for the Spartans, as they came out of intermission with four-straight wins. Redshirt junior Drew Hughes started the action for the Spartans with a 6-0 decision over Tyler Meisinger at 165 pounds. Hughes scored an early first period takedown and added another in the third. After a stalling point and 5:44 of riding time, Hughes came out on top to put the Spartans on the board.
Redshirt freshman Layne Malczewski fell behind early to Max Maylor, 2-0, after a takedown at 174 pounds. Malczewski scored a reversal, escape and a takedown to push his lead to 5-2 heading to the third. Malczewski closed out the match with a riding point and was awarded a stalling point for a 7-2 decision, and three more points for the Green and White.
In the 184-pound bout, redshirt sophomore Cameron Caffey took control early in the match against Bobby Striggow and never looked back. After a pair of first period takedowns, Caffey led 4-2 into the second. Caffey, who pushed his win total to 15 on the season, tallied seven takedowns and a four-point near fall in the second and third periods for the 23-8 tech fall win at 6:51, cutting the Michigan lead to six at 16-11.
At 197 pounds, redshirt junior Nick May performed one his best matches of the season versus Jackson Striggow. May and Striggow were scoreless in the first, and the Spartan added a takedown and escape to lead 3-1 into the third. Striggow used an escape point to cut the lead to one, but May answered with a big takedown to secure the win at 5-2. May's victory put the Spartans just two points behind the Wolverines, 16-14, with the 285 bout to go.
"Nick May, probably one of the best matches he's wrestled in college. That's a really tough guy and he set the tone. He competed the entire seven minutes, and that's what we talk about," said Chandler.
Rebottaro faced off against No. 3-ranked and undefeated Mason Parris in the heavyweight bout. Parris recorded a takedown early in the first and added the first fall of the evening over Rebottaro 29 seconds into the match to secure the 22-14 win for the Wolverines.
MSU falls to 4-3 on the season and 0-1 in Big Ten play. The Spartans return to action this Sunday, Jan. 12 at home against No. 24 Rutgers. Action is set to begin at 1 p.m. inside Jenison Field House and will air live on BTN Plus.
No. 25 Michigan 22, Michigan State 14
125 - Jack Medley (UM) over Logan Griffin (MSU) (MD 13-4), UM leads 4-0
133 - Joey Silva (UM) over Garrett Pepple (MSU) (Dec 7-2), UM leads 7-0
141 - Cole Mattin (UM) over Matt Santos (MSU) (Dec 4-2), UM leads 10-0
149 - Kanen Storr (UM) over Alex Hrisopoulos (MSU) (Dec 4-1), UM leads 13-0
157 - Will Lewan (UM) over Jake Tucker (MSU) (SV-1 3-1), UM leads 16-0
165 - Drew Hughes (MSU) over Tyler Meisinger (UM) (Dec 6-0), UM leads 16-3
174 - Layne Malczewski (MSU) over Max Maylor (UM) (Dec 7-2), UM leads 16-6
184 - Cameron Caffey (MSU) over Bobby Striggow (UM) (TF 23-8 6:50), UM leads 16-11
197 - Nick May (MSU) over Jackson Striggow (UM) (Dec 5-2), UM leads 16-14
285 - Mason Parris (UM) over Christian Rebottaro (MSU) (Fall 0:29), UM wins 22-14
Players Mentioned
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