NU finishes with a 13-8 overall dual record, 3-5 in the Big Ten. Michigan closes its season 2-10-1, 1-7 in conference duals. Precin and junior Mike Tamillow (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick) picked up their 30th wins of the season.
"We were extremely ready for that victory as it's been a long time coming," head coach Tim Cysewski said. "It's great momentum heading into the Big Ten Championships."
Top-ranked Ryan Lang (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Edward) started off at 141 lbs. against Justin Chrzanowski and opened the match with a takedown in the first minute. He surrendered an escape, but quickly responded with another takedown halfway through the first. The junior added three more points with a near-fall to take a 7-1 lead. Lang went up 12-2 with another takedown and near-fall combination and maintained the 10-point advantage going into the second frame.
Lang quickly added another three-point near-fall in the opening seconds of the second period to take a 15-2 advantage heading into the final stanza. He finally ended the match with a takedown to seal a 17-2 technical fall. Lang improved his overall record to a perfect 21-0. NU led 5-0 after one bout, but Michigan would take the next four matches to lead 14-5 after 174 lbs.
Marty Gould (Lincolnwood, Ill./Niles West) surrendered an early takedown to third-ranked Josh Churella at 149 lbs., but scored an escape to close to 2-1 heading into the second period.
Gould tied the match at 2-2 with an early escape, but Churella quickly took him down to pull ahead, 4-3. The Wolverine used multiple takedowns in the second to open a 9-4 lead going to the third. Churella captured the 15-5 major decision to make the team score 5-4 in favor of the Wildcats.
Dominic Marella (Roselle, Ill./Conant) battled Rob Sulaver at 157 lbs. and trailed 2-0 when the Wolverine scored a takedown in the closing seconds of the first period.
Marella evened the score with a reversal in the final minute of the second, but Sulaver notched an escape to go back in front, 3-2. The Wolverine escaped to start the third and added a takedown to take a 6-2 lead. Sulaver held on and Michigan took a 7-5 overall lead heading into the 165-pound match.
Greg Hagel (Linwood, N.J./Blair Academy) faced Michigan's second-ranked Eric Tannenbaum at 165 lbs. and the Wolverine extended his team's lead to 11-5 with the 16-5 major decision.
Nick Hayes (Council Bluffs, Iowa/Lewis Central) took on sixth-ranked Steve Luke at 174 lbs. Luke scored a takedown just over a minute into the first and Hayes responded with a swift escape. The first period ended with Hayes trailing 2-1.
Hayes started on top for the second and rode Luke for nearly the entire period. The Wolverine extended his lead to 3-1 with an escape in the final 20 seconds.
Hayes cut the deficit to 3-2 with an early escape in the third, but the Wildcat's riding time advantage tied the score at 3-3 and forced an overtime session. Luke scored a takedown in the opening minute of the overtime period to take the 5-3 decision and give Michigan the 14-5 overall advantage.
That 174-pound match was the last the 'Cats' dropped in the dual. The Wildcat won the last five to seal the victory.
Herbert needed less than 90 seconds to score his first points with a takedown against Michigan's fourth-ranked Tyrel Todd. The junior gave an escape to make the score 2-1 and held the one-point advantage going into the second frame.
Top-ranked Jake Herbert (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) extended his lead to 3-1 with an escape in the first five seconds of the second and he added a two-point takedown one-minute into the period to take a 5-1 advantage. A late escape by Todd made the score 5-2 in favor of Herbert going to the third.
Todd managed a takedown to tie the score at 5-5, but Herbert quickly escaped to pull ahead 6-5. He added another takedown to open an 8-5 lead. Todd escaped with 40 seconds remaining to close to 8-6 and scored two more points with a late takedown to tie the match at 8-8.
Todd needed to let Herbert escape to try for another takedown with the Wildcat holding the riding time advantage. He could not get the top-ranked junior to the ground and NU closed to 14-8 with Herbert's 10-8 decision. Herbert remains perfect at 24-0 on the year.
Tamillow, ranked seventh nationally, quickly scored two points against 20th-ranked Nick Roy with a takedown at 197 lbs. and took the two-point advantage into the second stanza.
The junior quickly escaped in the second to widen his lead to 3-0 and no more points were scored in the period. Tamillow's riding time advantage gave him the 4-0 decision and closed the overall gap to 14-11. The win gave Tamillow 30 on the season and improved his overall record to 30-3.
Fox had a chance to tie the team score at heavyweight.
Fox scored a takedown in the opening seconds and stayed on top of Michigan's Casey White for the rest of the period. The junior had a 2:53 riding time advantage after the first three-minute frame.
Fox escaped in the first 10 seconds of the second to widen his lead to 3-0. Both wrestlers stayed on their feet for the rest of the period.
The Wildcat notched another takedown in the opening 20 seconds of the third and used a riding time advantage of close to three minutes to take a 6-1 decision. The team score was tied 14-14 with two matches to go.
Precin, ranked 19th at 125 lbs. scored a takedown in the opening minute to take an early 2-0 lead over Michigan's Michael Watts. The freshman stayed on top for the rest of the period and took his two-point advantage into the second.
The Wildcat notched a quick escape and then a takedown to take a 5-0 lead midway through the second period. Precin continued his dominance on top and rode Watts for the rest of the frame.
Watts took an escape in the third, but the freshman took a 6-1 decision with the riding time advantage. NU led 17-14 with one match remaining -- its first lead since after the 149-pound bout when the score was 5-4. The win was Precin's 30th of the season.
Metzler took a 2-0 lead over Chris Diehl with a two-point takedown in the second minute of the first and held the advantage to the end of the period.
The Wildcat started down in the second frame and despite getting on his feet on several occasions, Diehl managed to keep Metzler under wraps -- not allowing the one-point escape.
The wrestlers started neutral in the third with Metzler holding the two-point advantage. Needing only a stalemate in the third to give the 'Cats the win, Metzler chose to go for broke, nailing a takedown at the one minute mark of the third to take a 4-0 lead. He held on for the decision and gave the 'Cats the 20-14 win to close out the dual season.
The Wildcats will have the next two weeks off to prepare for the Big Ten Wrestling Championships. The two-day event, hosted by Michigan State, will be held March 3-4, at The Breslin Center in East Lansing.
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