Michigan State University Athletics
Spartan Wrestling Season In Review
4/3/2006 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
April 3, 2006
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
2006 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS REVIEW - Nick Simmons claimed fourth place at 125 pounds, and Andy Simmons took fifth at 141 pounds, leading the Spartans to an 18th-place finish at the 2006 NCAA Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla. Seniors R.J. Boudro and Darren McKnight completed their collegiate wrestling careers at the tournament, finishing with 1-2 records.
For the second straight season, Nick Simmons took fourth in the nation, making him a three-time All-American in as many tries. Simmons dominated his first three opponents of the tournament, notching falls against Northern Iowa's Seth Wright, Lock Haven's Obenson Blanc and Cal Poly's Chad Mendes to reach the final four. His first loss of the season came to Cornell freshman Troy Nickerson by a 2-1 decision in the semifinals, but Simmons rebounded to drop Oklahoma State's Coleman Scott in front of a thousands of Cowboy supporters. His season ended the same way 2005 did, with a loss to Oklahoma's Sam Hazwinkel in the consolation finals, 6-2.
Andy Simmons improved one spot on his 2005 finish by claiming fifth to become a two-time All-American. Simmons disposed of his first two opponents quite easily, notching a fall against Bloomsburg's Brad Forbes and a shut-out win against C.J. Ettleson. The younger Simmons claimed a spot in the semifinals for the second straight year by defeating Michigan's Josh Churella for the first time ever, claiming a 4-2 sudden-victory decision. Andy Simmons dropped to the consolation bracket following a narrow loss to eventual national champion Nate Gallick , from Iowa State. H e then went 1-1 in the final session, losing to Northwestern's Ryan Lang in a rematch of Big Ten finals before claiming an 11-2, major decision over West Virginia's Brandon Rader to claim fifth.
SPARTANS TAKE EIGHTH AT THE 2006 BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS, NICK AND Andy Simmons TAKE INDIVIDUAL TITLES - Nick Simmons won his second consecutive Big Ten Championship and his younger sibling Andy won his first as the brother combination became the first at MSU since Pat and Tom Milkovich in 1972 to capture conference titles in the same season. R.J. Boudro claimed third in exhilarating fashion at 174 pounds at the 2006 Big Ten Championships, hosted by Indiana, while Darren McKnight also qualified for the NCAA Championships as he earned one of two wild-card selections. Overall, the Michigan State wrestling team took eighth at the Big Ten Championships with 68 points.
In a rematch of the 2005 finals at 125 pounds, Nick Simmons dominated Illinois' Kyle Ott, claiming a 7-0 decision to become the first Spartan wrestler since David Morgan in 1996 to win back-to-back conference titles. Simmons split postseason matches with Ott last season, winning in the conference finals before falling to the two-time NCAA finalist in the national semifinals two weeks later. This season, Simmons outscored Ott, 21-0, in two matches. He entered the NCAAs 32-0.
Andy Simmons duplicated his brother's act two matches later with an 8-2 decision over Northwestern's Ryan Lang at 141 pounds. After giving up the first takedown of the match, the younger Simmons nearly pinned Lang in the second frame, but settled for the six-point decision. It marked the second time in a month that Simmons had defeated Lang, avenging a loss in the MSU Open finals last November.
R.J. Boudro battled through adversity to claim third, winning four consecutive matches following a heavily-disputed loss in the opening round. The MSU 174-pounder narrowly fell, 9-8, in a protested bout to Illinois' Donny Reynolds, but fought through the consolation bracket, dropping Indiana's Marc Bennett, Purdue's Nick Corpe and Penn State's James Yonushonis before edging Gabriel Dretsch, 3-1, in the consolation finals.
DUAL-MEET YEAR IN REVIEW - It was a season of ups and downs for the Spartans in dual-meet competition, with the Green and White finishing 4-10, 2-6 in Big Ten competition for ninth in the regular-season standings. After a narrow loss to now four-time national champions Oklahoma State to start the season, MSU struggled against intrastate rival Central Michigan, falling 25-6 but rebounded to finish the first semester on a high note, pummelling Cleveland State, 33-9.
State traveled to Pittsburgh and picked up a big win in mid-January to start a grueling stretch of 11 meets in 35 days, but dropped its next three duals, including its first two Big Ten conference meets at Penn State and Michigan. The Spartans rebounded nicely in their opening weekend of conference action at home, dropping Purdue on Friday, 22-11, and upsetting then-No. 7 Iowa on Sunday afternoon, 19-17, to move to 2-2 in Big Ten action. The remaining five duals were a struggle, as State fell in nailbiting "swing" matches at Northwestern and Illinois, as well as at home against Wisconsin, dropping the three duals by scores of 21-13, 22-15 and 22-15, respectively. Michigan State fell to then-No. 1 Minnesota on Senior Day, 41-3, to close out the Big Ten portion of its schedule, and ended the regular season with a 24-11 loss at Oklahoma.
SIMMONS BROTHER CHASING HISTORY - Nick and Andy Simmons will enter their senior seasons in 2006-07 chasing several records in the MSU history books. Both will undoubtedly end up in the top three in all-time wins, as they have averaged over 30 victories in their first three seasons. Andy holds a narrow lead over Nick in the wins category, 101-97. Nick will start the season just 10 falls away from Jim Mason's all-time record of 45 set from 1980-84. Both brothers should end their careers in the top five in NCAA Tournament victories as well, after strong showings this season.
