Central Michigan University Athletics
Wrestling Opens Conference Schedule
1/21/2002 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Jan. 21, 2002
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The Central Michigan wrestling team (4-4, 0-0 Mid-American Conference) opens its MAC season with duals against Ohio and Eastern Michigan. CMU has won the conference title the past three years and is gunning for its fourth straight. On Friday, Jan. 25, the Chippewas host Ohio in Rose Arena at 7:30 p.m. CMU travels to Eastern Michigan on Sunday, Jan. 27, with the match beginning at 1 p.m.
In its matchup on Friday, CMU hosts defending conference tournament champions, the Ohio Bobcats. The Bobcats lead the all-time series,16-13, while CMU won the last meeting, 19-15. These two teams were picked by the MAC coaches to finish first and second in the conference, with CMU being picked to finish first and Ohio second.
CMU travels to Eastern Michigan on Sunday. The Chippewas lead the all-time series 43-9-1 and won the last season, 26-6.
THE COACH-Tom Borrelli is in his 11th season as head coach of the Chippewas. CMU is 111-65-5 overall and 39-11 in the MAC under Borrelli. The veteran coach has been named MAC "Coach of the Year" four times and was tabbed "National Coach of the Year" by two organizations in 1998. He has coached 27 MAC champions and 11 All-Americans. Central has finished in the top 20 nationally in three of the last four seasons.
BORRELLI'S THOUGHTS - "We did a nice job against Edinboro and picked up a great win over a top 15 opponent. We would of liked to have wrestled Iowa and Iowa State a little better. If you look at how we did last year against Iowa State compared to this year, you can see the improvements we have made. We are really close to taking that next step and, hopefully, we can get back on track against Ohio and Eastern Michigan."
NEW CHIPPEWA IN TOWN - CMU got a new addition to its lineup over the holiday break with 174-pounder Tony Gansen (Belle Plaine, Minn./Sr.) joining the squad. Gansen wrestled at Oklahoma State before transferring to CMU. Gansen went 2-1 for the Chippewas over the weekend at the National Duals, scoring a critical major decision over Edinboro and picking up a win over 18th-ranked Nick Passolano of Iowa State, 4-1. At Oklahoma State, he was a national qualifier his sophomore year, taking third at the Big 12 Conference tournament. He joins CMU with a 3-2 record so far this season after going a perfect 13-0 last year. He was the Minnesota "Wrestler of the Year" his senior season at Scott West High School, going 38-0 and winning a state title. He was a teammate with volunteer coach Pat McNamara.
LAST WEEK - CMU scored a dramatic win over No. 15 Edinboro, 17-16, but didn't have enough to defeat Iowa, 36-6, and Iowa State, 24-17, at the National Duals in Columbus, Ohio. The two losses eliminated CMU from the tournament.
Central Michigan got off to a slow start, losing its first eight matches in a loss to No. 5 Iowa, 36-6. CMU's lone win was by Bill Stouffer (Lowell/Fr.) when 13th-ranked Ryan Fulsaas of Iowa injury defaulted.
Central Michigan battled back against No. 15 Edinboro, picking up the victory, 17-16. The dual came down to the final match between heavyweights Jack Leffler (Morris, Ill./Sr.)of CMU and Josh Pearce of Edinboro. Edinboro entered with a two-point team lead and the match was tied entering the third period before Leffler was able to takedown Pearce and gain the riding time point by two seconds for the victory, 4-3.
CMU wrestled No. 6 Iowa State next, falling to the Cyclones, 24-17. The Chippewas got on the board first when Jason Borrelli (Mount Pleasant/Fr.) won by forfeit. Iowa State went on to win the next five matches before Gansen broke that streak with a victory over 18th-ranked Nick Passolano, 4-1. At 184, Alex Lammers (Huber Heights/Fr.) beat ninth-ranked Austen Palmer in double overtime after not allowing Palmer to score in the second overtime period.
