Michigan State University
Wisconsin
No. 18 Wrestling Ties No. 14 Wisconsin, 16-16
1/30/2005 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Jan. 30, 2005
MADISON, Wisc. - No. 18 Michigan State wrestling (6-2-1 overall, 3-0-1 Big Ten) received two huge victories from juniors Jeff Clemens and Max Lossen down the stretch to come from six points behind in the final two matches to tie No. 14 Wisconsin, 16-16.
Darren McKnight also picked up another big victory for MSU, beating his second top 15 opponent of the weekend.
"This was one heck of a dual meet," said head coach Tom Minkel. "Wisconsin has a tough team and their arena is a very hostile place to wrestle. There were some upsets, so some of our guys had to step up big. But that is the nature of this team. They work as a team, not a bunch of individuals."
MSU is now unbeaten in its last five meets (4-0-1), dating back to Jan. 15 against Penn State.
For the fourth-straight meet, sophomore No. 3 Nick Simmons got the Spartans out to an early lead at 125 pounds. Simmons has not given up a point in four matches, as he rolled to a 12-0 victory over Collin Cudd. Simmons scored two takedowns and five near-fall points en route to his 22nd victory of the season. In the 14 of his 22 matches that have gone the entire seven minutes this season, Simmons has outscored his opponents 120-11.
Wisconsin scored the next seven points of the meet, as defending Big Ten champion No. 6 Tom Clum, defeated Ryan Froese by major decision, 19-9, at 133 pounds, and No. 12 Tyler Laudon handed No. 3 Andy Simmons his second loss of the season, a 5-4 sudden victory decision, in the 141-pound match.
No. 19 McKnight picked up yet another huge victory for MSU as he defeated No. 14 Craig Henning at 149 pounds, 8-7. With the match tied at 6-6, McKnight scored a takedown with just over a minute left in regulation to secure his team leading 26th victory of the season. McKnight improves to 4-0 in the Big Ten after his two victories over wrestlers ranked ahead of him this weekend. On Friday, McKnight defeated No. 11 C.J. Schlatter of Minnesota, 10-9.
The Badgers took a 13-7 lead, winning the 157- and 165-pound bouts. No. 12 Tyler Turner downed senior Matt McCarty, 9-3, at 157 pounds, and Jake Donar notched the 8-2 decision over Bryan Harney at 165 pounds.
No. 19 R.J. Boudro narrowed the UW lead to three, as he scored the decision over No. 16 Kelly Flaherty, 11-4, at 174 pounds. Boudro scored seven unanswered points to start the match, and cruised to his 13th victory of the season.
No. 9 Brad Reinke for Wisconsin remained undefeated on the season, defeating No. 17 Joe Williams, 10-7, at 184 pounds.
Clemens scored the upset victory at 197 pounds over No. 14 Ryan Flaherty, 14-8, to keep the Green and White alive in the meet. Clemens scored six takedowns, three of them in the second period, and scored his highest total points since Nov. 30 at Eastern Michigan. Clemens' two victories on the weekend improve his record to 13-11 overall and 2-2 in the conference.
State received a clutch performance from Lossen at 285 lbs., to tie the match at 16-16. Lossen scored four takedowns, his highest total since the MSU Open, Nov. 21, to defeat Lee Kraemer, 10-6. Lossen now has 14 wins on the season, and is 2-2 in the Big Ten.
The Spartans wrestle again Feb. 6, at Jenison Field House, when they take on Northwestern at 1 p.m. EST.
125 lbs.- Nick Simmons (MSU) def. Collin Cudd MD 12-0 MSU 4-0
133 lbs.- Tom Clum (UW) def. Ryan Froese MD 19-9 4-4
141 lbs.- Tyler Laudon (UW) def. Andy Simmons SV 5-4 UW 7-4
149 lbs.- Darren McKnight (MSU) def. Craig Henning 8-7 7-7
157 lbs.- Tyler Turner (UW) def. Matt McCarty 9-3 UW 10-7
165 lbs.- Jake Donar (UW) def. Bryan Harney 8-2 UW 13-7
174 lbs.- R.J. Boudro (MSU) def. Kelly Flaherty 11-4 UW 13-10
184 lbs.- Brad Reinke (UW) def. Joe Williams 10-7 UW 16-10
197 lbs.- Jeff Clemens (MSU) def. Ryan Flaherty 14-8 UW 16-13
285 lbs.- Max Lossen (MSU) def. Lee Kraemer 10-6 16-16
Players Mentioned
