2B — January 28, 2019
SportsMonday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

“Well, I obviously want to kill 
them every time. I want to win 
every single match, as a team. 
I want to blow them out and 
sweep them.”
I was once told you should 
never start a 
story with a 
quote, but I’m 
pretty sure I 
can’t convey 
the Michigan 
wrestling 
team’s 
feelings 
for 
Ohio 
State 
better 
than 
those 
words 
from 
Mason 
Parris.
Maybe those feelings came 
from the No. 6 Wolverines’ 
ranking, four spots behind the 
Buckeyes despite having one 
extra win on their record, or 
maybe they’re from a deep-set 
rivalry. Either way, Michigan 
rode that mentality to its ninth 
win of the season with a 19-17 
decision over Ohio State — one 
where the Wolverines collected 
the winning points of an upset in 
the last match of the night.
Parris won a 6-3 decision in 
the final bout to overcome the 
Buckeyes’ one-point lead, sealing 
the victory for Michigan. Back in 
November, the freshman had his 
redshirt pulled prior to a meet 
against Oregon State. That put 
him up against the No. 1-ranked 
heavyweight, Amar Dhesi, in his 
first meet competing attached to 
Michigan. 
Parris won that match, 11-4. 
That victory capped off a 
33-8 win over the Beavers, 
which pretty much represents 
the majority of Michigan’s 8-0 
record prior to Friday’s meeting 
with the Buckeyes. In half of 
those meets, the Wolverines 
scored at least 30 points, with 
their smallest margin of victory 
being a 21-13 win over Lehigh in 
November.
With a new head coach and 
a lot of big names on its roster, 

Michigan’s first eight wins did 
a lot to showcase its potential. 
But Friday against Ohio State, 
it proved just how far that 
potential 
could 
go. 
The Buckeyes 
are 
ranked 
second 
in 
the 
nation, 
only 
behind reigning 
national 
champion 
Penn 
State. 
They 
have a trio of 
undefeated 
seniors in Joey 
McKenna, Myles Martin and 
Kollin Moore, who are now 
a combined 36-0 and helped 
Ohio State to a Big Ten title last 
season. They’ve also got six top-
10 wrestlers in different weight 

classes, while the Wolverines 
have five including Parris, who 
entered the weekend at seventh 
among heavyweights. 
So, 
needless 
to say, Friday’s 
matchup wasn’t 
exactly 
easy. 
Sophomore Drew 
Mattin 
kicked 
off 
the 
meet 
with 
a 
three-
point 
decision, 
thanks to a 12-6 
win over Malik 
Heinselman. 
Right after that 
came arguably the best match 
of the night when top-ranked 
redshirt junior Stevan Micic 
notched a 14-1 major over No. 6 
Luke Pletcher for his ninth win 
of the season. 

“I think when you just look at 
matchups, obviously probably 
two of the higher-ranked guys 
wrestling each other were Stevan 
Micic and Luke Pletcher,” said 
Michigan coach Sean Bormet. 
“And Stevan just came out with 
his offense flying and he really 
just dismantled the kid.”
But Ohio State was ranked 
second for a reason and by the 
time the last bout rolled around, 
the Buckeyes led by a single 
point, 
leaving 
the 
deciding 
match to the heavyweights — 
Parris 
and 
freshman 
Chase 
Singletary. 
Back in November, Singletary 
issued Parris one of his three 
losses 
of 
the 
season 
with 
a 15-9 decision at the Ohio 
Intercollegiate Open. This time 
around, Parris was quick to 

take advantage — he scored the 
first takedown, then the second, 
and with a reversal in the third 
period, he put the score at 
6-3, proving the Wolverines’ 
capabilities with a 19-17 upset. 
“We knew it was going to be 
a hard-fought dual from top to 
bottom,” Bormet said. “We knew 
it was going to come down to 
bonus points in some of those 
weights, us getting bonus points 
and trying to prevent them from 
getting bonus points. 
“We thought if that played 
out, that it would come down to 
heavyweight, and we’ve got a lot 
of confidence in Mason Parris. 
He’s a great competitor and he 
did an awesome job sealing the 
victory for us.”
For a program that was 
ranked sixth nationally with an 

8-0 record, the win over Ohio 
State was big. It proved that the 
names on Michigan’s roster are 
big, and they’ve got potential to 
make the program a contender 
for a Big Ten title. But that win 
over the No. 2 program prefaces 
an even bigger, flashier obstacle 
just five days away — No. 1 Penn 
State. 
The Nittany Lions will have 
had a tight hold on the top spot 
when they host the Wolverines 
on Friday, highlighted by a 
54-dual win streak, 32 of which 
are within conference confines. 
That streak dates back all the 
way back until Feb. 15, 2015.
That being said, Michigan has 
already proved its itself to be a 
national contender. Now it’s time 
to see if it can defy expectations 
as well. 

At Ohio State, Parris sets the stage

LANEY 
BYLER

Wolverines ride team effort, 
Parris’ confidence to 19-17 win

With the dual meet and an 
undefeated record on the line, 
freshman heavyweight Mason 
Parris was the perfect wrestler 
to have on the mat for the 
Wolverines. In front of a packed 
Value City Arena and despite 
a slim deficit, Michigan coach 
Sean Bormet, and Parris himself, 
anticipated a favorable finish to 
the meet.
“The team score more than 
anything leading up to my match 
excited me more,” Parris said. “I 
was happy it came down to me. I 
just had a lot of faith in myself and 
confidence.”
The No. 6 Michigan Wrestling 
team (9-0 overall, 5-0 Big Ten) 
trailed No. 2 Ohio 
State (7-1 overall, 
3-1 Big Ten) by 
only one point 
entering the final 
match of the dual 
meet between the 
then-undefeated 
rivals. 
The 
moment 
also 
offered 
Parris 
a 
chance 
at 
redemption 
wrestling 
against 
Chase 
Singletary, who he had lost to 
earlier this season.
“Then this week I really 
hammered down the stuff I knew 
he was gonna do to me,” Parris 
said. “I knew he was gonna hit low 
singles on me, I figured he was 
gonna try to throw legs on me. I’m 
glad that I wrestled him before 
because I was really prepared for 
the match.”
Parris’ efforts were rewarded 
with the deciding victory in the 
meet, earning the Wolverines 
three team points and a 19-17 win.
The 
energy 
of 
a 
nearly-
full audience of Buckeye fans 
impacted the meet early and often. 
In the third match of the day, 
fifth-ranked redshirt sophomore 
Kanen Storr faced second-ranked 
Joey McKenna. Down 6-0 after 
the first period of the match, 
Bormet instructed Storr from the 

corner to start the second period 
in the top position, but the 141-
pound Storr began the period 
beneath his opponent. It seemed 
as if the crowd noise and chaotic 
arena atmosphere — which the 
team had prepared for by blasting 
crowd noise during practice this 
week — was wearing on Michigan.
“Basically what happened was 
when he first looked over to our 
corner, the official was in the way 
… and then as soon as he could 
see us he wanted to switch to 
bottom and the official wouldn’t 
let him which is a little unusual,” 
Bormet said. “Usually if the guy 
changes his mind quickly based 
on the corner, usually they allow 
the guy to change to the position 
they want. But it was the crowd, 
but also the officials blocking his 
view.”
Storr 
would 
go on to lose 
by 
technical 
fall. It was the 
Wolverines’ first 
loss of the day, 
after sophomore 
Drew 
Mattin 
and 
redshirt 
junior 
Stevan 
Micic had won by 
regular decision 
and major decision, respectively, 
to build a 7-0 lead. The match 
following Storr’s was another win 
for Ohio State, this time a major 
decision for third-ranked Micah 
Jordan over fifth-year senior 
Malik Amine.
The Buckeyes took the lead 
with Jordan’s victory, and just 
as soon as the momentum had 
shifted in favor of Ohio State, 
Michigan stole it right back. The 
Wolverines won the next three 
matches on the shoulders of their 
experience, 
namely 
fifth-year 
senior Alec Pantaleo, redshirt 
junior Logan Massa and redshirt 
junior Myles Amine.
Heading into the heavyweight 
matchup, Michigan had seen 
its 16-9 lead evaporate as the 
Wolverines’ redshirt freshman JT 
Correll lost to the Buckeyes’ top-
ranked Myles Martin in the 184-
pound class and redshirt junior 

Jackson Striggow was defeated by 
Ohio State’s second-ranked Kollin 
Moore in the 197-pound class. 
The two losses put Michigan 
behind by one, where the score 
would remain until Parris rode 
his confidence and preparation to 
victory.
“We thought if that played 
out, that it would come down to 
heavyweight,” Bormet said. “And 
we’ve got a lot of confidence in 
Mason Parris.”
The scoreless tie appeared to 
have been broken at the end of 
the first period when Parris took 
down the Buckeyes’ Singletary, 
but it was ruled to have been out 
of bounds. Bormet threw the 
challenge brick, but the ensuing 
challenge confirmed the call on 
the mat.
“Well, I for sure thought that I 
had the takedown,” Parris said. “I 
had his leg hooked and was behind 
both of his arms, which should 
have been a takedown. But I knew 
if they didn’t call it, it wasn’t gonna 
be a big deal and I had to keep my 
composure and my head in the 
match. I just had to think about 
taking him down again.”
Regardless, it wouldn’t take 
long for the coach’s confidence 
to pay off. Parris took down his 
opponent two more times to 
secure a 6-3 victory by decision 
and win the meet for the 
Wolverines.
Friday night’s victory is the 
most recent in an impressive 
season for Michigan, one that 
has the possibility of becoming 
a lot more impressive in the near 
future. The Wolverines head 
to State College for a dual meet 
against top-ranked Penn State 
next weekend. After beating the 
Buckeyes this past weekend, 
Michigan could be on top of the 
college wrestling world — and the 
NCAA rankings — in less than a 
week.
“We’ll just continue to focus 
day-to-day 
and 
enjoying 
our 
training and enjoying each other 
and our team,” Bormet said. “And 
look forward to the challenge and 
the opportunity against Penn 
State a week from tonight.”

OWEN SWANSON
For The Daily

‘M’ falls to MSU despite late rally

As Nicole Munger drove 
inside on a fastbreak midway 
through the first quarter in a 
77-73 loss to Michigan State, 
she screamed in pain and fell 
to the ground after barreling 
into a Spartan defender. As 
Michigan coach Kim Barnes 
Arico came out to check on 
her, Munger was helped off the 
court by two assistant coaches, 
leaving the Michigan women’s 
basketball team without one 
of its captains as it prepared to 
try to win a contest against its 
in-state rivals.
The loss of Munger did 
nothing to help the Wolverines. 
The Spartans (15-5 overall, 
5-4 Big Ten) responded with 
a 13-2 run to close the quarter 
and take a lead that they would 
never relinquish as Michigan 
(12-9, 3-6) fell in a crushing 
77-73 defeat that saw them fail 
to complete a comeback despite 
a valiant late effort.
“Once Nicole went down we 
weren’t able to respond right 
away,” Barnes Arico said. “And 
they went on a little bit of a 
run and took us some time to 
regroup.”
“She’s gonna get checked 
out,” said sophomore forward 
Hailey Brown. “We don’t really 

know much about that.”
The 
Wolverines 
managed 
to keep the game fairly close 
for most of the second quarter, 
but Michigan State’s defense 
put the clamps on late. It held 
Michigan scoreless over the 
period’s final 3:24 and went on 
a 7-0 run to head to the locker 
room with a 41-31 edge.
On the offensive end, the 
Spartans hit eight 3-pointers 
in the first half, including a 
stretch in the first quarter that 
saw them hit three consecutive 
triples after Munger left the 
game. 
They 
would 
finish 
with 11 makes from deep. 
Losing Munger also affected 
Michigan’s offensive gameplan, 
as the team attempted just ten 
3-pointers.
As the second half began, 
it was more of the same for 
both teams, with the Spartans 
starting the quarter on a 5-0 
run and Michigan committing 
two 
turnovers. 
While 
the 
Wolverines would appear to be 
on the verge of finally making 
an offensive run at times, 
Michigan 
State 
was 
ready 
with an answer at every turn, 
eventually extending its lead to 
15 points.
Michigan, 
though, 
would 
eventually make its push late 
in the period. The Wolverines 
finished the period on an 8-0 

scoring run to cut the lead to 
five heading into the fourth 
quarter, sending the Crisler 
Center crowd into a frenzy.
“It goes to show that our 
team, we don’t back down to 
anyone,” Brown said. “Until 
we hear the final whistle, until 
the game is done, we’ll stop 
playing, but until then we’re 
gonna keep going and trying to 
get a W.”
The Wolverines made one 
last push towards the end of the 
final quarter, with freshman 
forward Naz Hillmon’s layup 
cutting 
the 
lead 
to 
67-63 
with two minutes to go, but 
ultimately untimely turnovers 
by Michigan and free throws 
from Michigan State sealed the 
Wolverines’ fate.
One 
key 
sequence 
came 
when Michigan trailed by four 
with about a minute and a 
half to go in the game. Senior 
forward Hallie Thome had a 
pass go off of her hands. On the 
court, the referee signaled it 
was Michigan possession, but 
after further review, the ball 
was awarded to the Spartans, 
who promptly gave it away 
after 
a 
traveling 
violation. 
The Wolverines seemed to 
have some hope for a moment, 
but Michigan turned it over 
after the inbounds pass was 
intercepted. 

TEDDY GUTKIN
Daily Sports Writer

I was happy it 
came down to 
me. I had a lot of 
faith in myself.

WRESTLING

MILES MACKLIN/Daily
Freshman forward Naz Hilmon scored a team-high 17 points along with 10 rebounds in Michigan’s 77-73 loss.

MADELINE HINKLEY/Daily
Freshman heavyweight Mason Parris won the meet at No. 2 Ohio State with a 6-3 decision over the Buckeyes’ Chase Singletary, setting the stage for Friday’s match at the top-ranked Nittany Lions.

Well I obviously 
want to kill 
them every 
single time.

