It was in the year 1925 that The New Yorker magazine was created, the Scopes trial was held and The Great Gatsby was published.

That was also the last year that the Michigan wrestling team went winless in the Big Ten.

The Wolverines came into Evanston trying to close out the regular season on a high note, but they ultimately fell to the Wildcats 20-16, finishing 0-8 in the conference and 4-15 overall.

"In some areas we have (improved)," Michigan assistant coach Kirk Trost said. "In others, I think we have a long ways to go, in just being consistent in our wrestling, in what we’re going out there to do."

The meet started out in promising fashion for the road team. Redshirt freshman heavyweight Ben Apland secured an 11-2 major decision victory over an overmatched opponent.

Northwestern's Marcus Shrewsbury began the season in the 184-pound weight class but moved up two classes to compete as a heavyweight. Apland used his weight advantage and superior aggressiveness to tire out the Wildcat wrestler, keeping him constantly secured on the mat.

But the Wolverines failed to capitalize on their early momentum, dropping their next four matches. The losses were particularly disappointing for Michigan because its grapplers scored first on three of the four occasions and were unable to maintain their leads.

Most heartbreaking for the Wolverines was 141-pound sophomore Mark Weber’s defeat. The Goodrich, Mich. native held a 5-3 lead late in the third period, but his opponent, Northwestern’s Levi Mele, managed a two-point takedown with just seconds remaining and quickly notched another one in overtime to steal the match.

Adding to the disappointment is the fact that the Wildcats forfeited every single Big Ten 141-pound match until Sunday and that Mele was wrestling above his weight class.

Though the Wolverines would rebound to win three of the final five matches, it wasn’t enough to overcome the Wildcats’ lead.

Redshirt freshman Hunter Collins' victory at 184 pounds was one of the few Michigan highlights. The young grappler was able to quickly dispatch his counterpart, pinning Northwestern’s Aaron Jones after only 2:48 had eclipsed in the match. Collins had momentum coming into the meet, having defeated then-No. 16 Travis Rutt of Wisconsin last weekend.

"He fought off a couple of attacks by the other kid," Trost said. "That’s just what we’re trying to get, is the guys to keep wrestling and fighting to win these matches in the last month."

The team’s futility is not overly surprising. Coming into the season, with such an inexperienced squad and no seniors, the Wolverines knew that 2009-10 would be a difficult campaign.

But though the team experienced another disappointing meet loss, there is little time to sulk. Michigan is hosting the 2010 Big Ten Championships March 6-7, and despite a disappointing regular season, the group still has goals it aims to accomplish.

"Just hoping that these guys, some of them who have struggled, throw their best wrestling together and put aside some of the mistakes that have been made and have a good weekend performing," Trost said. "Being as young as we are, the more guys we can get through to the NCAA Tournament, it’ll give us a lot more experience coming back for next year.”