Friday, January 17
East Lansing, Mich.
6 p.m.
Michigan State University
10
vs
25
Minnesota
Photo by: Rey Del Rio
Spartans Battle Tough With No. 5 Minnesota Before Falling 25-10
1/17/2020 10:08:00 PM | Wrestling
EAST LANSING, Mich.- Michigan State wrestling battled tough all night, but fell behind early against No. 5 Minnesota and couldn't rally back, falling 25-10 Friday evening inside Jenison Field House.
The Spartans tallied three wins on the evening at 184, 285 and 133 pounds. Redshirt sophomore Cam Caffey claimed his seventh win of the dual season with a 9-4 decision over No. 18 Owen Webster, while heavyweight redshirt junior Christian Rebottaro and redshirt senior Garrett Pepple each added wins for the Spartans.
The bout started at 157 pounds with No. 21-ranked redshrit junior Jake Tucker taking on Ryan Thomas of Minnesota. Both wrestlers started out slow, as the match went to the third period tied at three. Thomas landed a takedown and an escape to claim the 5-2 win. Redshirt junior Drew Hughes took on Bailee O'Reilly at 165 pounds. The two went scoreless after one and O'Reilly tallied two takedowns in the second on his way to a 5-2 win. It was a battle of two Michigan natives in the 174 pound bout, with MSU's redshirt freshman Layne Malczewski and redshirt senior Devin Skatzka, who ranks No. 7 by FloWrestling and is from Richmond, Michigan. Skatzka landed an early takedown, but Malzcewski answered right away with a reversal to tie the match at two in the first. Skatska tallied two takedowns in the second that proved to be too much, outlasting Malcewski, 10-5, to push the Golden Gopher lead to 9-0.
Caffey pushed his win total to 16 on the season at 184 pounds after his action-packed 9-4 decision over No. 18 Owen Webster. Webster started the match with a quick takedown in the first period to jump out to a 2-0 lead before Caffey followed with an escape and takedown of his own to take the lead, 3-2, after one. Caffey jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the second after an escape and takedown. Caffey almost secured a lae takedown just before the buzzer in the second, but the call was overturned with no time left on the clock. Caffey's third takedown of the match secured the 9-4 win over No. 18 Webster.
"Cameron Caffey definitely stood out today, that guy he wrestled (Owen Webster), is a very good wrestler who has beaten him before," said MSU wrestling head coach Roger Chandler. "Caffey made the adjustments that we asked our team to make since last week. Controlling postions and wrestling where we want to be and just having confidence out there for seven minutes. He did that, and he almost got a major decision. When you wrestle with confidence and you wrestle in the positions that you want to wrestle in, not your opponent, good things are going to happen."
Hunter Ritter of Minnesota followed with a fall at 2:23 to push Minnesota's lead to 15-3. Redshirt junior Christian Rebottaro added three more for the Spartans after two takedowns on the way to a 6-2 win over Chase O'Connor at 284 pounds. With Minnesota leading 15-6, No. 14 Patrick McKee took on redshirt senior Logan Griffin. MSU's Griffin hung around early with McKee, before losing a 10-2 major decision.
Pepple claimed his 13th win of the season at 133 pounds over Brent Jones. The redshirt senior jumped out to an early 6-0 lead after one with a reversal and four-point near fall. After another reversal and takedown to go along with a riding time point, Pepple came out with an 11-0 major decision to cut the Gophers' lead to nine at 19-10. Minnesota finished the night with two wins at 141 and 149 pounds. Redshirt junior Matt Santos tied the match early at two after a sneaky reversal against returning All-American and No. 5-ranked Mitch McKee. Santos fell behind 10-3, but rallied back with two takedowns in the third frame. A late rally by Santos fell short, as he fell 12-8 to McKee. Redshirt junior Alex Hrisopoulos ended the dual falling to Jake Bergeland, 9-2.
The Spartans return home this Sunday, Jan. 19 for a matchup with Maryland at 3 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.
#5 Minnesota 25, Michigan State 10
157 - Ryan Thomas (MINN) dec. over #21 Jake Tucker (MSU), 5-2 - MINN leads 3-0
165 - Bailee O'Reilly (MINN) dec. over Drew Hughes (MSU), 5-2 - MINN leads 6-0
174 - No. 7 Devin Skatzka (MINN) dec. over Layne Malczewski (MSU), 10-5 - MINN leads 9-0
184 - #20 Cameron Caffey (MSU) dec. over No. 18 Owen Webster (MINN), 9-4 - MINN leads 9-3
197 - Hunter Ritter (MINN) fall over Nick May (MSU), 2:27 - MINN leads 15-3
285 - Christian Rebottaro (MSU) dec. over Chase O'Connor (MINN) , 6-2 - MINN leads 15-6
125 - #14 Patrick McKee (MINN) maj. dec. Logan Griffin (MSU), 10-2 - MINN leads 19-6
133 - Garrett Pepple (MSU) maj. dec. over Brent Jones (MINN), 11-0 - MINN leads 19-10
141 - No. 5 Mitch McKee (MINN) dec. over Matt Santos (MSU), 12-8 - MINN leads 22-10
149 - Jake Bergeland (MINN) dec. over Alex Hrisopoulos (MSU), 9-2 - MINN wins 25-10
Players Mentioned
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
/ Wrestling
Braden Stauffenberg | Will To Serve | Spartans All-Access
Tuesday, February 18
Spartans All-Access: Layne Malczewski
Monday, January 22
Spartans All-Access: Mayhem at the Mainstage
Tuesday, December 12
Spartans All-Access: Tristan Lujan
Wednesday, December 21