Hot start, upsets key Michigan's decisive win over No. 2 Iowa
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 12-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team opened up with five straight wins, earning upsets in three, and took seven total bouts en route to a decisive 24-11 win over No. 2 Iowa in its home finale on Friday night (Feb. 2) in front of 4,248 fans at Crisler Center.
On a night to celebrate the Wolverines' seniors, it was freshman Sergio Lemley who stole the show at 141 pounds, knocking off top-ranked Real Woods, 14-2, to hand the Hawkeye his first loss of the season and only his second in two years. Lemley, ranked 19th, broke the bout open with a pair of six-points moves -- a second-period reversal to Woods' back and, already in the driver's seat late, a standing cradle for the takedown and four more back points in the final 15 seconds of the third. It was Lemley's second straight ranked win; he improved to 13-4 on the season.
Graduate students Michael DeAugustino and Will Lewan also earned gritty top-five wins in the tiebreaker at 125 and 157 pounds, respectively. DeAugustino, ranked 12th, edged fifth-ranked Drake Ayala, 2-1, to set the tone in the opening bout. After a couple sudden-victory flurries produced no points -- a DeAugustino had a near-takedown review but upheld -- the Wolverine earned an escape midway through his tiebreaker frame then rode out the second to secure his third ranked win in four matches.
Lewan, also ranked 12th nationally at 157 pounds, earned a gutsy 2-2 win on just a second of riding time in the tiebreaker against second-ranked Jared Franek. Iowa started down in the tiebreaker and escaped in just four seconds to put Lewan in a tough spot, but the Wolverines responded, cutting loose immediately -- in three seconds to preserve the advantage time.
Senior/junior Dylan Ragusin and graduate student Austin Gomez also earned first-half decisions at 133 and 149 pounds, respectively, to both stay unbeaten on the season. Ragusin, ranked fourth, earned a 5-2 decision against 18th-ranked Cullan Schriever with a snap-down takedown in the first period and 1:53 in riding time to improve to 20-0. It was his seventh ranked win in eight bouts.
Gomez, ranked sixth at 149 pounds, earned a 5-1 decision against Victory Voinovich with a second-period double leg and third-period rideout to finish with 2:16 in advantage time. He is 5-0 since joining the Wolverines at the semester.
Iowa claimed three of the final five outs, including close decision wins at 165 and 184 pounds, where the Wolverines were missing their usual starter. But Michigan answered with two bonus wins down the stretch.
Graduate student Shane Griffith, ranked third nationally, all but clinched the Wolverines' dual victory with a dominant 12-1 major decision against eighth-ranked Patrick Kennedy at 174 pounds. After a scoreless first period, Griffith turned Kennedy from a suck back with a leg in for four points amidst a second-period rideout then kept scoring in the third with a pair of single-leg takedowns and 2:45 of total riding time. He remains a perfect 8-0 in duals and improved to 11-2 overall on the season.
Graduate student Lucas Davison, ranked sixth, also earned a major decision in the final bout, rolling to an 11-2 win over 28th-ranked Bradley Hill with three takedowns -- one per period -- and 3:18 in riding-time advantage.
The Wolverines (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten) will kick off a stretch of three straight road duals when they travel to Lincoln, Neb., next Friday (Feb. 9) for a 6 p.m. CST matchup against Nebraska at the Devaney Center. The dual will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.
Results:
125 -- #12 Michael DeAugustino (U-M) dec. #5 Drake Ayala, 2-1 TB -- U-M, 3-0
133 -- #4 Dylan Ragusin (U-M) dec. #18 Cullan Schriever, 5-2 -- U-M, 6-0
141 -- #19 Sergio Lemley (U-M) major dec. #1 Real Woods, 14-2 -- U-M, 10-0
149 -- #6 Austin Gomez (U-M) dec. Victor Voinovich, 5-1 -- U-M, 13-0
157 -- #12 Will Lewan (U-M) dec. #2 Jared Franek, 2-2 TB -- U-M, 16-0
165 -- #6 Michael Caliendo (Iowa) dec. Beau Mantanona, 9-4 -- U-M, 16-3
174 -- #3 Shane Griffith (U-M) major dec. #8 Patrick Kennedy, 12-1 -- U-M, 20-3
184 -- Aidan Riggins (Iowa) dec. Joseph Walker, 6-5 -- U-M, 20-6
197 -- #11 Zach Glazier (Iowa) tech. fall Bobby Striggow, 19-4 (6:59) -- U-M, 20-11
Hwt -- #6 Lucas Davison (U-M) major dec. #28 Bradley Hill, 11-2 -- U-M, 24-11