Michigan State University
Purdue
Wrestlers Drop Heartbreaker to Purdue
1/27/2008 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Jan. 27, 2008
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State wrestling (3-7-0, 0-2-0) lost its second heartbreaker of the weekend, losing 18-16 to Purdue (9-3-0, 1-1-0) Sunday afternoon in Jenison Field House. The Spartans headed into the event's final bout ahead by one point, but suffered a late loss, their second-straight in which the match was decided by the final weight class.
"It just came down to missed opportunities," head coach Tom Minkel said. "But it was a great match, and Eddie Skowneski wrestled really well. He wrestled one of the toughest kids in the nation and took him to overtime. And with Micah [Carter], it comes down to experience. He's new to the starting lineup, and this is the second night this weekend that he's been the deciding match; but he'll get better with learning from these experiences."
No. 5 Franklin Gomez defeated his fifth consecutive opponent to remain perfect in dual action, 10-0, and extends his overall mark to 18-1. John Fulger, Joel Trombly, and Joe Williams also earned points in the Spartans' persistent effort.
Purdue jumped out to a 3-0 lead with an initial victory at 149 pounds. While Eddie Skowneski drew first blood taking down fifteenth-ranked Jake Patacsil, the Boilermaker escaped and returned with a takedown to go up 3-2 after the first. Neither wrestlers tallied numbers in the second, which set up an exciting third period. Skowneski regained the lead with a takedown 37 second into the match, but Patacsil escaped 13 seconds later to force a tie and overtime. In the sudden death extra minute, the pair battled back and fourth for 59 seconds before Patacsil was awarded with a last-second dual-deciding takedown, giving Purdue the 6-4 victory.
But the Spartans soon switched the advantage and gained the lead for the first time this afternoon. At 157 pounds, Fulger wrestled the Spartans back into the match by pinning Nick Bertucci at 0:51. Fulger led the match 4-0 with a takedown and two near-fall points before sticking Bertucci to mat to end the bout. The fall, Fulger's fourth of the season, put Michigan State ahead 6-3.
Rex Kendle entered the circle next for the Spartans and squared off against Purdue's Luke Manuel at 165 pounds. After a single point awarded in the first to Kendle, Manuel evened the score with an escape, having chosen to start the second period in the defensive down position. After clashing in neutral, Kendle regained the lead with a takedown at 1:08 and continued to record riding time until Manuel escaped with 45 seconds left in the period. Down one, Manual put Purdue in position to take the bout with a late takedown in the second. A scoreless third and nearly two minutes of riding time gave the Boilermakers the 5-2 individual decision, while tying the team score, 6-6.
After a scoreless first at 174 pounds, Murphy wisely chose to start the second down, and earned an escape point moments after the whistle. The pair battled through neutral for the remainder of the period, forcing each other out of bounds, before Corpe nearly took Murphy down, though the buzzer ended his momentum. Entering the third, Purdue chose down and picked up the escape point five seconds into the final period. Again the pair returned to neutral action, both clawing for a solid hold to earn points, but again, the horn halted the action. In the first moments of overtime, Corpe came close to a takedown before Murphy regained composure and brought the action back to neutral to force a second overtime. In the first 30-second period, Murphy chose down and escaped to take the lead going into the second 30-second period, where Corpe followed suit by choosing down and tallying an escape. In the final one-minute overtime, the grapplers again tangoed for position until Murphy was called for an illegal head scissor, surrendering the match to Purdue; the Boilermakers then led 9-6.
Palmieri took the mat next for the 184-pound bout, and took control with the first takedown at 1:46, and built 10 seconds of riding time before A.J. Kissel escaped. After maneuvering for 90 seconds for position, Palmieri tallied another takedown but managed control just for a moment before Kissel escaped again. With a 4-2 lead heading into the second, Palmieri started down and couldn't manage an escape while the Boilermaker recorded valuable riding time, until eventually putting Palmieri on the mat for two near-fall points. In the final period, Kissel took Palmieri down for two points then added on two additional near-fall points to clinch the 11-4 decision, with one more point for his 2:59 riding time, and gave Purdue a 12-6 advantage
Joe Williams came out against the Boilermakers' Logan Brown at 197 pounds, and had to fight back into the match at Purdue's initial takedown. With an escape nine seconds later, Williams cut the lead in half and brought the action back to the center of the mat for the remainder of the period. In the second block, Williams chose down and came out with an escape to even the score, 2-2, after 18 seconds. The pair battled through neutral to remain tied going into the third. Purdue took the strategic choice of starting down, hoping to tally an escape point, but Williams wrestled tough and held Brown down for the entire two minutes, accumulating significant riding time for the deciding point in the 3-2 match. Williams' win inched the Spartans closer to Purdue, who led 12-9
Freddie DeRamus made his first start in Jenison Field House against Christ Kasten, filling in for regular-starter Alan O'Donnell at 285 pounds, who was out with the flu. After a scoreless first, Purdue chose down on the deferral and picked up the first points with a reversal 32 seconds into the period. The Boilermaker reversal held up as the only points in the bout, giving Kasten the 2-0 lead and the Boilermakers the 15-9 team advantage
Down six, the Spartans entered the 125-pound bout with an urgency for points. Joel Trombly came out aggressive and took Akif Eren down at 1:14 to take a 2-0 lead. After Purdue defers for position at the beginning of the second, Trombly chooses the defensive down and effectively escapes to go up 3-0, then quickly extended his advantage to 5-0 with another takedown. Eren took advantage of the neutral position at the start with a takedown, only to have Trombly negate his points with a reversal. Although Eren would eventually escape and earn another takedown, Michigan State took the bout 8-5, with the help of Trombly's effective riding time, and the Spartans came within three of the Boilermakers.
Knowing his win was crucial for an overall team victory, Gomez took the mat in standard fashion and easily took care of Purdue's Sean Schmaltz with an 18-6 major decision, earning MSU four team points for the 16-15 lead. Gomez worked to gain as many points as possible, strategically allowing Schmatlz to escape his holds after takedowns in order to counteract the one escape point with two more takedown points. With seconds remaining, Gomez fought hard for the one last takedown that would give the Spartans five points for a technical fall, but time expired. Gomez hardly settled for a tremendous four-point major decision to give MSU the lead heading into the final bout.
Carter, for the third time in four bouts, wrestled the deciding match for the Spartans, but couldn't hold on to his early lead. Carter dominated the first period with two takedowns, while Purdue kept the bout close with escapes. Ahead 4-2, Carter struggled to escape after choosing to start the second period down, allowing Purdue's Matt Redmond to work for important riding time. After a scoreless second, Purdue started the third period down and moved the score to within one with an escape, then sealed the match with a takedown and three near-fall points.
The Spartans continue Big Ten action on the road in the first weekend of February. MSU takes on Wisconsin in Madison, Wis., on Friday, Feb. 1 at 8 p.m., then the Spartans travel to Indiana to face the Hoosiers at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 3.
Purdue, 18 def. Michigan State, 16
Wt.: Decision; Team Score
149: #15/14 Jake Patacsil (PUR) dec. Eddie Skowneski (MSU) Dec. 6-4 (OT); PUR leads 3-0
157: John Fulger (MSU) dec. Nick Bertucci (PUR) Fall 2:09; MSU leads 6-3
165: Luke Manuel (PUR) def. Rex Kendle (MSU) Dec. 5-3; Tied 6-6
174: Nick Corpe (PUR) dec. #19 John Murphy (MSU) Dec. 3-2; PUR leads 9-6
184: A.J. Kissel (PUR) dec. Nick Palmieri (MSU) Dec. 11-4; PUR 12-6
197: #15/18 Joe Williams (MSU) dec. Logan Brown (PUR) Dec. 3-2; PUR leads 12-9
285: Chris Kasten (PUR) dec. Freddie DeRamus (MSU) Dec. 2-0; PUR 15-9
125: Joel Trombly (MSU) dec. Akif Eren (PUR) Dec. 8-5; PUR leads 15-12
133: #5/6 Franklin Gomez dec. Sean Schmaltz (PUR) Major Dec. 18-6; MSU leads 16-15
141: Matt Redmond (PUR) dec. Micah Carter (MSU) Dec. 9-4; PUR clinches 18-16
Players Mentioned
