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    No. 2 Michigan defeats No. 11 Penn State

    State College, Pa. -- The No. 11 Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team nearly pulled off an upset of its own, leading early but falling to No. 2 Michigan in Rec Hall. Penn State would bolt out to a 12-3 lead only to see Michigan's bevy of ranked grapplers spur a Wolverine comeback as Michigan posted a hard-fought 23-15 win over Penn State. A season-high 2,364 fans packed Rec Hall for the Big Ten dual.

    The dual began at 197, where Penn State's Phil Davis (Harrisburg, Pa.), a returning All-American and ranked No. 6 in the country, broke open an early tight match vs. Michigan's Casey White with five late points in the second period off a reversal and a three-point near fall. Davis would dominate the third period and post a 6-0 win to put Penn State up 3-0.

    Greg Wagner
    At heavyweight, junior Aaron Anspach (Columbia, Pa.) stepped in to face Michigan's Greg Wagner, ranked No. 3 in the nation. Wagner took Anspach down midway through the first, but Anspach would quickly escape. A last second takedown gave Wagner a 4-1 lead after one. The bout would head to the third with Wagner up 5-1. Anspach would escape to tighten the match at 5-2 but get no closer and drop the close match 8-2.

    Sophomore Tim Haas (Camp Hill, Pa.) fresh off his title at the East Stroudsburg Open, got up early on Michigan junior Jim Shutich with two take downs plus a riding time edge of 1:30. Up 4-1 heading into the second, Haas would ride Shutich for another :50 before Shutich's escape made the score 4-2 going to period three. Haas chose down to start the third and was allowed up :45 seconds in. Shutich would post a late take down but Haas held on for the 6-4 win and a 6-3 Penn State team lead.

    With nationally ranked Wolverine Mark Moos out, Penn State freshman Jake Strayer (South Fork, Pa.) scored early on Michigan's Brandon Elliott, wrestling up from his natural 125. Strayer would take Elliott down four times in the first period and lead 9-3 with riding time heading into the second. Strayer would continue to dominate the match and lead 17-4 after two. Strayer would eventually pin Elliott at 5:34, giving Penn State a 12-3 lead after four bouts.

    A key battle at 141 started with No. 8 Josh Churella of Michigan getting an early takedown on Penn State's No. 16 DeWitt Driscoll (Connellsville, Pa.). Driscoll would quickly escape to tighten the hotly contested bout at 2-1. Churella scored another takedown and ride Driscoll out to lead 4-1 with a riding time edge heading into the second. Driscoll was reversed early in the second period and trailed 6-1 after two. Churella would score a late take down in the third period and post a 9-1 major. Penn State led 12-7 at the midway point.

    Two more ranked wrestlers squared off at 149. Penn State's James Woodall (St. Dupont, Pa.), ranked No. 14, battled No. 3 Eric Tannenbaum of Michigan tough early, but Tannenbaum scored a takedown a minute in and ride Woodall for the remainder of the period to lead 2-0 with a 2:01 riding time edge after one period. Tannenbaum would extend his lead to 5-1 with a takedown in the second and go on to post a 10-4 win, cutting Penn State's team lead to 12-10.

    Steve Luke
    Penn State's Nathan Galloway (State College, Pa.), ranked No. 10 at 157, fell behind No. 19 Steve Luke early as Luke scored a take down to start the match and post another take down late in the first period to lead 4-1 after one. Luke would increase his edge to 6-3 heading into the third period with a 2:14 riding time advantage. Luke's early reversal in the third period would increase the lead and he would hold off a late Galloway rally to post the 11-9 win and give Michigan its first lead of the match, 13-12.

    Freshman Phil Bomberger (Port Royal, Pa.) faced No. 3 Ryan Churella of Michigan at 165. Churella took Bomberger down in the first and rode the freshman for 1:45 to close out the first period with a 2-0 lead and a 1:45 riding time advantage. Churella would increase his edge to 9-0 after two before posting a pin at 5:32 and increase Michigan's edge to 19-12.

    174-pounder James Yonushonis (Philipsburg, Pa.) entered his match with No. 11 Nick Roy of Michigan with a 4-0 mark and a two straight wins over ranked opponents. The duo battled to a scoreless first period. Roy chose down to start the second and escape :11 in to lead 1-0 after two. Yonushonis was down to start the third and escaped five second in to tie the bout at 1-1. Plenty of action but no scoring would send the 1-1 bout into a sudden victory period. Yonushonis would post a take down with just :22 into the bout to post his third straight win over a ranked foe, 3-1. Penn State found itself down 19-15 with a bout remaining.

    With top-ranked Nittany Lion Eric Bradley still nursing an ankle injury for Penn State, freshman Neil Bretz (Carlisle, Pa.) moved up to 184, needing not just a win but bonus points vs. Michigan freshman Tyrel Todd. Todd scored the first take down of the bout in the first period and continue to score on Bretz, a natural 174-pounder, through the second period leading 10-2 with riding time after two periods. Todd would go on to post an impressive 18-5 major and give Michigan a 23-15 dual victory.

    Penn State hosts the Nittany Lion Open next Sunday, beginning at 8:30 a.m. Tickets are available at the door the day of the event. Penn State's next home dual is on Sunday, Jan. 8, when the Lions host Cornell at 1 p.m. in Rec Ha... Single match tickets can be purchased by visiting the BJC Ticket Center or by calling 814-865-5555 or 800-863-3336. Prices are $5 for adults and $3 for youth and senior citizens.

    DUAL MATCH SUMMARY:

    No. 11 PENN STATE 15, No. 2 MICHIGAN 23

    Saturday, November 26, 2005 - Rec Hall - State College, Pa.

    Wt. Result PSU-UM
    197: #6 Phil Davis PSU def. Casey White UM, 6-0 3-0
    HWT: #3 Greg Wagner UM def. Aaron Anspach PSU, 8-2 3-3
    125: Tim Haas PSU def. Jim Shutich UM, 6-4 6-3
    133: Jake Strayer PSU pinned Brandon Elliott UM, WBF 5:34 12-3
    141: #8 Josh Churella UM maj. dec. #16 DeWitt Driscoll PSU, 9-1 12-7
    149: #3 Eric Tannenbaum UM def. #14 James Woodall PSU, 10-4 12-10
    157: #19 Steve Luke UM def. #10 Nathan Galloway PSU, 11-9 12-13
    165: #3 Ryan Churella UM pinned Phil Bomberger PSU, WBF 5:32 12-19
    174: James Yonushonis PSU def. #11 Nick Roy UM 3-1 SV 15-19
    184: Tyrel Todd UM maj. dec. Neil Bretz PSU, 18-5 15-23

    RECORDS: Penn State 3-2, 0-2 Big Ten; Michigan 1-0, 1-0 Big Ten
    ATTENDANCE: 2,364

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