Central Michigan Life

Issue date: 3/21/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Matthew Stephens Wynn Michalak and Penn State's Phil Davis during the 197-pound title bout Saturday night. Michalak lost the match 7-2.

ST. LOUIS - The small group of CMU fans in the Scottrade Center had been rowdy and loud all weekend, but when Wynn Michalak walked off the mat a loser after his 197-pound title bout with Penn State's Phil Davis, they fell silent, and so did CMU's dreams of bringing home a champion.

Michalak never got things going in his 7-2 loss against Davis. Davis came out of his corner aggressive, converting a takedown after a lengthy scramble in the first period to take a 2-0 lead.

After escaping Davis, Michalak was quickly given a stalling warning before the first period expired. A quick second-period escape tied the match for Michalak, but Davis countered with a takedown to put the match out of Michalak's reach.

"I just didn't wrestle real well," said a somber Michalak. "Phil came out ready to wrestle and I didn't."

Despite ending his career with a loss, Michalak's runner-up finish was the best of his career and the highest on the podium a CMU wrestler has stood since current assistant coach Casey Cunningham was a national champion in 1999.

"I wanted a national championship and I'm disappointed," Michalak said. "I had a great season and came away with a lot of great experiences and some great friends."

Central Michigan entered the weekend ranked seventh in the USA Today/InterMat/NWCA pre-NCAA Tournament coach's poll, and Tom Borrelli had high expectations for his nine national qualifiers.

"We need to get guys on the podium and bring home a trophy," Borrelli said prior to the weekend.

Only the top four finishers take home trophies and in the end CMU proved the coaches right by finishing seventh with 69 points, 48.5 points behind first-place Iowa.

"It's great for the team to get national exposure on ESPN," Borrelli said. "I was happy with the way the team wrestled. Sixty-nine points is the most we've ever scored, and for the most part, we wrestled better than our seed."

Three other Chippewa seniors accomplished their goal of earning All-American honors. Christian Sinnott, Brandon Sinnott and Bubba Gritter finished fourth, fifth, and seventh in their respective weight classes.

Continued...

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