During the No. 21 Michigan men’s wrestling team’s first dual match of the season yesterday, both the crowd and the Michigan bench chanted two words: “Keep wrestling.”
But the Wolverines couldn’t stage a comeback. An inability to capitalize in scoring situations led to a disappointing defeat, 21-9, to No. 14 Lehigh.
Though there was a strong turnout of maize-and-blue-clad fans, some even donning claws, Michigan didn’t give them much to cheer about.
Freshman Sean Boyle (125 pounds) lost the first match 4-0, and the team went on to lose three of the four next matches to go down 12-3 at intermission. Despite pleas from their bench, the Wolverines simply couldn’t wrestle strong for the entire seven minutes of a match.
“We had guys that, when things got tough, they didn’t respond,” Michigan coach Joe McFarland said.
Things looked like they might turn around when redshirt junior Aaron Hynes (165 pounds) came out after the intermission and defeated Lehigh’s Brandon Hatchett in overtime.
Hyne’s resilience electrified the building as he worked his way back and earned a takedown with 30 seconds remaining to win the match and cut Lehigh’s lead to 12-6.
But the rest of his teammates couldn’t keep up the momentum. Michigan went on to win only one more match, when redshirt junior and team captain Anthony Biondo defeated Lehigh’s Joe Kennedy 6-4.
Still, the Wolverines struggled even when they won.
“Anthony Biondo won the match, but he stopped wrestling when he got the lead,” McFarland said. “That’s been a problem that I need to fix. You have to compete for seven minutes.”
On the whole, Michigan lacked aggressiveness and toughness yesterday. When the Wolverines got behind, they seemed to lose spirit.
“It’s the effort and being a competitor and a warrior when you get on the mat,” McFarland said. “And some of our guys just didn’t step up tonight.”
Sophomore captain Zac Stevens (133 pounds) was one of the few who did step up, winning his early match 7-5 to tie the score at 3-3. Unlike many of his teammates’ matches, Stevens was in control much of the the entire bout.
“Zac stayed aggressive,” McFarland said. “He’s got that great toughness and that’s what it takes to win matches. I’ve got guys that didn’t do that tonight, and in the end, it cost us.”
The Wolverines have a chance to show they have learned their lesson when they travel to Guilderland, N.Y. on Sunday for three sets of duals against Bloomsburg, American and Penn. McFarland hopes that this weekend his team learned that they need to stay focused both when they’re behind and when they’re ahead.
“I want my kids winning in the third period,” McFarland said. “I want my kids winning those tough matches like Aaron Hynes did. It goes into overtime, I want my kids winning because I want my kids feeling that they deserve to win.”