MSU Wrestling To Square Off Against Intrastate Rival Michigan
12/6/2000 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Dec. 6, 2000
EAST LANSING, MICH. - The No. 9 Spartan wrestling team will head to Ann Arbor to face No. 7 Michigan in its first dual meet of the year. The match will be held at Michigan's Cliff Keen Arena on Dec. 8 at 7 p.m.
The dual match features several key match-ups, including five where both wrestlers are ranked in top twenty of their weight classes.
The Spartans will look to record their first victory over Michigan since the 1997-1998 season, as they are 0-3-1 in the past two years against the Wolverines.
Here's a few of the marquee matchups:
125 poundsNo. 16 Chris Williams (Jr.) (13-1) vs. No. 12 AJ Grant (So.) (14-2)Overall record: Williams leads 3-1.Last Meeting: Williams beat Grant once in the 1999 MSU Open (7-3) and then again in the first dual match between the two (6-5). Grant won the second dual meeting in Ann Arbor (7-5).*Both are coming off big tournaments, as Williams won the UNI Open crown, outscoring his opponents (34-12) in his five matches. Grant placed second at the Cliff Keen Invitational pinning his first three opponents and scoring major decisions in the next two.
133 PoundsNo. 4 Pat McNamara (Sr.) (9-1) vs. No. 11 Foley Dowd (Fr.) (13-3)Overall record: McNamara leads 1-0Last Meeting:Beat Dowd this season in the championship round of the MSU Open 3-2McNamara's 1999-2000 record against UM opponents: 2-0
141 PoundsNo. 5 Mike Castillo (Sr.) (11-0) vs. No. 11 Clark Forward (Fr.) (10-3)Overall record: Castillo leads 1-0.Last Meeting: Defeated Forward 7-6 in MSU Open championship round.Castillo's 1999-2000 record against UM opponents: 1-3
285 PoundsNo. 9 Matt Lamb (Sr.) (7-2) vs. No. 4 Matt Brink (Sr.) (10-2)Overall record: Brink leads 5-3.Last meeting: Lamb will look to avenge the 7-2 decision he lost to Brink in last season's NCAA Championships. Lamb had knocked off Brink early that month in the Big Ten quarterfinals, 2-1. Each won their home dual match, with Lamb winning 3-2 decision in East Lansing and Brink taking the Ann Arbor match, 3-2.
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