Central Michigan University Athletics
No. 4 Wrestling Claims Eighth Straight MAC Crown
2/22/2006 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Feb. 22, 2006
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
MOUNT PLEASANT -- In a season when the Central Michigan University wrestlng program appeared to be vulnerable, it proved just how dominant it has the ability to be.
The Chippewas swept through the Mid-American Conference unbeaten for the seventh time in the past eight seasons and claimed their eighth straight MAC title. Along the way, they knocked off five ranked opponents, placed second at Midlands, took fourth at National Duals and won a staggering 42-of-50 individual bouts in MAC competition.
Despite that resume, 15th-year head coach Tom Borrelli will not let his grapplers rest on their regular season laurels as they prep for the 2006 MAC Championships.
CMU had held six consecutive opponents to seven points or fewer prior to Sunday's regular season finale at Kent State. The Flashes won four of the six individual matchups and threatened what was an 18-match MAC winning streak for the Chippewas entering the day. According to Borrelli, the close call may be the best thing that could have happened to his team.
"I think it's really good for us," Borrelli said. "Hopefully it's a wake-up call for our guys and sends a message that we need to be sharp heading into the conference tournament. There is a lot of good competition in this conference."
CMU now has almost two full weeks to prepare for the conference tournament, an event it has won seven of the past eight years, including each of the past four.
"This week we're going to continue to train really hard," Borrelli said. "Next week, we'll taper a little and rest in order to get ready for the weekend."
The Chippewas will enter the MAC Championships on a roll, having won seven straight duals. Individually, the Chippewas have won 58 of the past 70 individual bouts overall.
The CMU roster for the conference championships will be a mixed bag. Four defending MAC champs (Luke Smith, Jason Borrelli, Mark DiSalvo, Wynn Michalak) will make the trip to the Northern Illinois, while five others (Andy Keller, Trevor Stewart, Brandon Sinnott, Christian Sinnott, Bubba Gritter) will be making their first MAC Championships appearance.
Michalak Collects MAC Honor: Wynn Michalak was named the MAC Wrestler of the Week after he pinned Ohio's Nick Terbay and Kent State's Ardian Ramadani over the weekend. The top-ranked 197-pounder in the country, Michalak has now won the weekly honor three times. He is also a three-time MAC Scholar-Athlete of the Week selection this season.
Reviewing the MAC Championships: CMU put together one of the most dominating performances in the history of the MAC Championships last season. The Chippewas tied their own tournament record with eight individual champions and posted the second-highest team score (119.5) in tournament history. Only the 1999 CMU squad tallied more team points (124.5) at the MAC Championships. The team title was CMU's fourth in a row.
Goin' Streakin': CMU wraps up the dual season with a pair of winning streaks intact. The Chippewas will enter the 2006-07 season having won 19 straight MAC duals and 22 straight MAC duals in Rose Arena. The Chippewas have won 43 of their past 44 conference duals dating back to the 1997-98 season.
Movin' On Up: This week is CMU's second at No. 4 in the NWCA/InterMat top 25 poll. The No. 4 ranking is the highest in program history. CMU had spent two different weeks this year at the fifth slot in the NWCA/InterMat top 25. Prior to this season, the Chippewas had never climbed higher than sixth in the national rankings.
Major Borrelli: Senior 133-pounder Jason Borrelli closed out the dual season with a flourish, winning each of his final three matches by major decision. Borrelli enters the MAC Championships with a 21-6 record this season. A look at Borrelli's season-ending run:
Date Opponent Result2/5/06 Chad Vandiver (NIU) 10-22/17/06 Terry Jackson (Ohio) 13-12/19/06 Drew Opfer (KSU) 10-2Mr. Automatic: Wynn Michalak is 27-1 this season after recording a pair of pins over the weekend. Thirteen of Michalak's 27 wins this year have been by fall; in the other 14, Michalak has won by an average score of 9.0-2.2. An All-American as a redshirt freshman last season, Michalak is 61-11 with 24 pins in his CMU career. Michalak's 13 pins this season are tied for the eighth-most in a single season at CMU, and his 24 career pins are the ninth-most in CMU history.
Taking on the Top 25: CMU has faced off against nine teams that were ranked in the InterMat top 25 this season and is 5-4 in those matches. Of the Chippewas' first 10 dual opponents, only two were not ranked at the time the teams met.
Leading the Pack: Wynn Michalak, ranked first in the nation at 197, is the first Chippewa to be ranked first in his weight class since Jason Mester during the 2002-03 season. Mester was the top-ranked 141-pounder for two weeks during his junior season, in which he earned All-America honors by finishing fifth at the NCAA Championships. Michalak is now in his ninth week atop the national rankings at 197.
Coming Up: CMU visits Northern Illinois University for the MAC Championships on March 3-4. The NCAA Championships are slated for March 16-18 in Oklahoma City, with each of the 10 MAC titleists and nine wild cards earning trips to nationals.
