Wrestling drops second MAC dual meet to Northern Iowa
After winning five of 10 matches, the Central Michigan wrestling team lost the Mid-American Conference dual meet against Northern Iowa with a final score of 17-16.
At the end of 10 matches, CMU and UNI were tied at 16. UNI won on fourth criteria because it had the most total match points.
"I thought we competed hard," head coach Tom Borrelli said. "I'm proud of our guys. That is the kind of match that we need at this time of the year. Obviously, you want the outcome to be different for the team but we learned a lot of things that will help us."
The Chippewas were trailing 13-7 with four matches left in a tight matchup with Northern Iowa. In the 125-pound match, CMU's junior Brent Fleetwood ignited a comeback with an exciting 3-1 win against UNI's Jay Schwarm.
After Fleetwood's decision over Schwarm, CMU senior Corey Keener matched up against UNI's Josh Alber, who was ranked No.1 in the MAC coming into today's dual meet. Alber scored two takedowns late in the third period to win 6-2 and boost UNI's lead to 16-10 over CMU.
In one of the most eventful matches of the dual meet, redshirt freshman Mason Smith opened scoring with near fall points when he put UNI's Jake Hodges on his back in the first quarter.
UNI's head coach Doug Schwab challenged the call and after the review, the official revoked Smith's points and reset the clock.
After the controversial call, Hodges answered by scoring a takedown when the match continued. Smith answered back with a takedown of his own, he went from being up 4-0 to being tied 2-2 at the end of the first period.
After the first period, both wrestlers score one more takedown to force the match into a sudden victory overtime period. Smith scored a takedown to win the match in overtime.
"I try not to pay too much attention to the officiating, I am trying to concentrate on how our guys are competing and the situations they are in," Borrelli said. "Some coaches get caught up in badgering the official, but I felt like the official did a fine job."
CMU's bench was cheering with excitement after Smith stepped over Hodges to meet the referee in the center of the mat.
The final match came down to CMU sophomore and former All-American Justin Oliver against UNI's Max Thomsen. Oliver went on to win 4-1 by decision.
"I knew he was going to be a tough kid to wrestle," Oliver said. "Throughout the week I have been watching film and getting myself prepared for what he does."
CMU came back to tie the score, but ended up losing because UNI had more total points scored in the match.
The Chippewas will head to East Lansing next Friday to take on Michigan State at 7 p.m.
