The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
December 5, 2011 - 3B
Russell's streak ends,'M' takes 2nd place
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Top-ranked that's what champions do," said
Michigan coach Joe McFar-
Russell's 46-match land. "They come back with a
fury, and you don't want to be
winstreak snapped that next guy. I think Kellen did
in quarterfinalS a great job of refocusing, and I
think we saw a different wres-
tler out there than we saw (Fri-
By LIZ NAGLE day) night."
Daily Sports Writer In the semifinals of the
consolation bracket, Russell
Those who travel far and squared off against Cal Poly's
wide to Sin City hope to pick No. 2 Boris Novachkov in a
the luck of the draw and return rematch of last year's NCAA
home with pockets full of cash. Championship bout, which
At the two-day Cliff Keen Las Russell narrowly won. Through
Vegas Invitational, the Michi- the third lengthy tiebreaker,
gan wrestling team nearly hit consisting of nothing but sin-
the jackpot. gle point escapes, Russell and
Top-ranked 141-pound Kel- Novachkov defended their
len Russell entered the tourna- respective territories with
ment after recovering from a resilience.
minor tweak in his right knee. Novachkov mustered anoth-
He was not expected to miss er escape, which put the pres-
a step throughout the tourna- sure on Russell. With just 13
ment. seconds to make an escape,
But it seems as his luck ran Russell did just that, and won
out. with two seconds of riding
No. 9 Michigan placed sec- time, earning his third win over
ond, and Russell's 46-match the Cal Poly senior.
win streak came to a shocking "Overall, it was one of the
end against Ohio State fresh- best matches I've wrestled
man Hunter Stieber in the against him," Russell said. "I
quarterfinals. Russell failed to was more offensive than I have
take home his third Cliff Keen been in the past."
championship title, but he man- Redshirt sophomore Eric
aged to wrestle his way back Grajales took the cards he
through the consolation brack- was dealt against each oppo-
et for a third-place finish. nent and traded them in for
"Kellen bounced back - the 149-pound crown. His win
helped the Wolverines take
second place with 116 points,
just behind the tournament-
winning No. 6 Ohio State team
with 129.
Grajales, ranked sixth in the
nation, captured his first col-
legiate tournament title. After a
bye in the first round, he pinned
California Baptist's Dylan Cata-
line in the first period.
Grajales moved on with a
technical fall in 6:56 on Indi-
ana's Taylor Walsh. A month
ago, Walsh caught Grajales off
guard and scored an upset at
the Michigan State Open. But
this time, Grajales didn't hesi-
tate to make a multifaceted
attack. He racked up a 19-4 win
with two throws, a body lock,
a headlock, three takedowns,
locked hands and an escape.
"I felt great," Grajales said.
"It was a chance to prove myself
and show what I'm capable of."
Senior Zac Stevens finished
fourth in the 133-pound circle
after a notable start on Fri-
day. In round one, he pinned
Nebraska Kearny senior
Kazuhiro Fujinawa and later
pummeled Western Wyoming
sophomore Richard Serna with
a 16-0 technical fall victory.
Apparently, redshirt senior
Justin Zeerip went to Vegas
with a figurative rabbit's foot in
his pocket.
Zeerip pinned his first oppo-
Senior Kellen Russell, pictured against Purdue last season, lost to Ohio State freshman Hunter Stieber in the quarterfinals.
nent in a mere 28 seconds, entering the third period, but "I thought we were in a posi-
before his 8-2 decision in the DesRoches struck back and tion to take control of this tour-
second round and 11-1 major eventually forced overtime. In nament, and we let it slip away a
decision in the quarters. He the extra periods, Zeerip could little bit," McFarland said.
worked his way up the bracket not find a point advantage and He wanted his wrestlers to
by his own merit, but made it lost 6-5. learn a valuable lesson: to know
into the finals on a medical for- But even with the multiple that they must never give an
feit. losses, Michigan had its best opponent an inch of mat.
While fighting for the crown, finish at the annual invite since "(To give) nothing less -
Zeerip's luck finally ran out as 2007. But was it enough to quell that's when you're going to get
well. He had a 5-2 lead against Michigan coach Joe McFar- your hand raised," McFarland
Cal Poly's Ryan DesRoches land's lofty expectations? said.
VIRGINIA TECH
From Page 1B
Sugar Bowl for the third time in
school history.
"I'm proud of our football team
and what we've been able to do,"
said Virginia Tech coach Frank
Beamer in a teleconference last
night. "I think the people we've
been able to beat, they didn't seem
weak to me.
"There's a lot of reasons why
you'd like to have Virginia Tech in
your bowlgame."
Beamer would know - the
25th-year coach is a Virginia Tech
graduate and wasthe starting cor-
nerback for the Hokies from 1967-
69. He's currently first in all-time
wins (251) and bowl appearances
(18) for active coaches.
During Beamer's tenure at Vir-
ginia Tech, the program has been
one of the most consistent in the
nation, winning 10 or more games
in eight straight seasons and in 13
of the past 16.
Though he's been around a long
time, Beamer knows very little
about the Wolverines. He said he's
never met Michigan coach Brady
Hoke buthas heard good things.
"I know (Hoke's) name for
the tremendous job he's done in
coaching," Beamer said. "I don't
know a lot about Michigan. Until
recently, I didn't really think us
and Michigan would be meeting
in a bowl game."
There was a similar feeling on
Michigan's end.
"From the clips on ESPN, they
look pretty good," said senior
defensive end Ryan Van Bergen.
SPOTLIGHT
From Page 1B
celebratory cooler bath.
He's the man Virginia Tech
S coach Frank Beamer has never
met, but took note of.
"I know his name for the tre-
mendous job he's done in coach-
ing," Beamer said. "(This season)
he got them all going in the same
direction at a fast pace. And the
wins that he had, the way they
played and the discipline that
they played with - from where
he came from he won and he
won quickly at Michigan.
"Michigan's got a great future
in front of it."
There's no place like a bowl
game to merge the future and
present. A month after your last
regular season game, you play
a singular game that swings
momentum for the next season.
*Then the Sugar Bowl's spotlight
magnifies it all.
Defensive coordinator Greg
Mattison's Mona Lisa will be
under the spotlight: one of the
greatest masterpieces of his
career, a reclamation project
that transformed the No. 107
scoring defense in 2010 into the
seventh-ranked unit.
Everyone already knows
cH UCK BURTON/AP
Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer and the Hokies have just two losses in 2011, but both came against Clemson.
"I didn't get the chance to watch
them too much this season, but
obviously we're taking them very
seriously. They're going to be very
motivated off their loss to Clem-
son and they've got plenty of ath-
letes, I know that."
Michigan has some athletes
of its own, too. And there's little
doubt that one of the first names
Beamer will address in prepara-
tion for Michigan will be Denard
Robinson. Beamer has never seen
the junior quarterback playin per-
son, but he's seen plenty of him on
television.
"What I've seen of him is on the
highlight reels, and he's got plen-
ty of them," Beamer said. "You
understand pretty quickly what a
unique and talented athlete he is."
The Hokies also have a pretty
talented dual-threat quarterback
about Denard Robinson. Even a
busy coach like Beamer found
time to catch highlights.
"That guy can go," he said.
But will Robinson thrive in
maybe his only opportunity to
be remembered outside of Ann
Arbor?
Everyone will learn about
Mike Martin and Ryan Van Ber-
gen and the Michigan-defense-
that-could - a group that played
fundamentally sound and smart
football and became a respect-
able unit instead of a bunch of
misfit individuals. Will anything
change against an athletic Vir-
ginia Tech team?
Fitzgerald Toussaint, who
made a season out of the past five
games, will face a newfound level
of pressure. Can he keep up his
pace?
Forget that Michigan doesn't
deserve the spotlight. By no
means are the Wolverines - who
finished ranked 13th in the final
BCS standings - absolutely a
better team than No. 6 Arkan-
sas or No. 7 Boise State or No. 9
Kansas State. We'll never know.
They'll never play those teams.
Michigan has its tradition and
program prestige to thank for
this chance to play No. 11 Virgin-
ia Tech (who also should thank
its rich history) in a clash of tra-
in redshirt sophomore Logan
Thomas. Thomas was a second-
team All-ACC selection this sea-
son, completing 60.5 percent of
his passes for 18 touchdowns and
seven interceptions. He also car-
ried the ball 125 times for an aver-
age of three yards per carry and 10
total touchdowns.
Robinson, a second-team All-
Big Ten selection, mirrors Thom-
as's touchdown numbers but has
thrown double the amount of
interceptions with 14. However,
Robinson is a much bigger threat
on the ground - he's averaged 5.9
yards per carry off 208 rushes for
16 touchdowns this season.
"From what I've seen, that guy
can go," Beamer said.
Beamer, who has coached sev-
eral dual-threat quarterbacks
in his career, including Michael
ditional powerhouses in a bowl
game with equally rich history.
Granted, it's not the Grand-
daddy of them all. No, Michigan
didn't accomplish all of Hoke's
goals: win the Big Ten, go to the
Rose Bowl.
But for the seniors who had
only one bowl appearance in
three seasons, the spotlight alone
is enough.
The lights weren't as bright at
the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville,
and even then, Rich Rodriguez's
shadow was large enough to
obscure a 38-point loss to Missis-
sippi State, an average SEC team.
"It was embarrassing to say
the least," Koger said. "I think it
was disappointing to just put all
that work into a football game
and have the outcome that we
did last year.
"The main thing is to go dowr
(to New Orleans) and win the
football game."
Once Hoke and the Wolver-
ines beat Ohio State, it became
more than a comeback. Hoke's
re-establishing Michigan for
what it once was one step at a
time. The next is beating the
Hokies in front of the nation.
Just 10 teams get to play in
BCS games and, politics and
fairness aside, Michigan's one
of them. That means something
Vick, said it'll help a little bit that
his team is used to playing with
running quarterbacks.
But when it comes down to it,
the Hokies are still going to have
to find a way to take down the
shifty Robinson.
"I think us having that type of
guys gives us some experience,"
he said. "But it all gets back to the
players and being able to tackle
the guy when you get him there."
For Virginia Tech, the Clemson
spanking is in the past. The bad
taste of its second loss is gone and
sugar is all it can taste.
And now, the Hokies' focus is
solely on Michigan.
"We're gonna pay close atten-
tion to (Michigan) now," Beamer
said. "We're going to get to work
on them and try to represent the
ACC in the best way possible."
GUPTILL
From Page 1B
Michigan, but Michigan (4-6-2-1,
8-8-2) needed to win in Fairbanks
if for no other reason thanto prove
that it could. And forget the three
flights the Wolverines had to take
to get it. Berenson would've taken
three more.
"You've got to win on the road,"
he said. "This is an important win
to take a lot of pressure off (the
team)."
With two minutes remaining
in regulation, though, the elusive
victory appeared in serious jeop-
ardy. Of all the bad spots to take
a penalty, freshman defenseman
Brennan Serville - coming off a
career-best two-point game on
Friday - picked the worst. Per-
haps out of desperation, Serville
was sent to the penalty box for
boarding. The Wolverines would
have to close it out a man down.
"I didn't see the hit," Berenson
said. "But it must've been a serious
hit or they wouldn't have called it
(so late in the game)."
What followed was likely the
strongest penalty kill of the sea-
son. It shifted the momentum to
Michigan for the overtime period,
of which Guptill needed just 57
seconds.
"Our team dug in and they
killed it," Berenson said of the late
penalty. "That was a huge kill -
one shot and the game's over."
Before the game, Berenson
told the Wolverines that it could
be another one-goal game, but
with fewer goals than Friday's 4-3
Alaska win. In the second period,
with the score still knotted atzero,
Michigan realized his prediction
may be spot on.
"(Nanook goaltender Scott)
Greenham's making huge save
after huge save," Hunwick said.
"Halfway through the game, it
looked like one goal could do it."
Knowing that changed noth-
ing for Hunwick. He rose to the
occasion, recording his seventh
"We didn't
want to go
home with zero
points."
career shutout and first away from
Yost Ice Arena. Hunwick shared
Berenson and Guptill's relief. But
he knows the win is simply a small
step in the right direction.
"Guys are excited," Hunwick
said. "We didn't want to go home
with zero points. (But) it's a rivalry
week. We'll turn our attention to
Michigan State."
When asked whether the get-
away game could serve as a turn-
ing point, Berenson wasn't ready
to make any more bold predic-
tions. But the sigh of relief said it
all. With the weight of the world
off the team's shoulders, the Wol-
verines may again be ready to play
"Michigan hockey," the mistake-
free style of play that the team
reverted to - at least temporarily
- Saturday.
MARISSA MCCLAIN/Daily
Fifth-year senior Ryan Van Bergen said the Sugar Bowl was Michigan's chance to put a "stamp" on its 10-2 season.
for Hoke, the program and the
senior's legacy.
"It kind of establishes nation-
al relevance for Michigan as a
program," said fifth-year senior
defensive end Ryan Van Bergen.
"It puts us kind of back on the
map so to speak as a national
powerhouse.
"It's a tremendous opportu-
nity to put a final stamp on this
year."
When he was asked how big
a stage the Sugar Bowl would
be, interestingly enough, Koger
started talking about how differ-
ent it would be playing indoors
at the Louisiana Superdome.
"The lighting will be a little
bit different," he said. "It's going
to be a great stage."
Michigan's back under the
spotlight. Front and center.
-Rohan can be reached
at trohan@umich.edu or on
Twitter @TimRohan.