Chippewa Wrestlers Head to MSU Open
11/14/2015 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - The 24th-ranked Central Michigan wrestlers will partake Sunday in the Michigan State Open.
No team scores will be kept and nearly every wrestler on CMU's 30-man roster will compete in the event, which is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.
The Chippewas opened the season last weekend with a pair of dual-meet wins, one over Purdue, the other over Rider. In addition, seven CMU wrestlers placed in the top six in their respective weight class last weekend at the Eastern Michigan Open.
"We were in two very, very competitive matches," CMU coach Tom Borrelli said of CMU's dual-meet performance last weekend. "The individual matches were tight, they were hard fought, and we had to gut out some wins, especially in the Rider match."
While both duals ended in wins for CMU, they unfolded as polar opposites. Against Rider, CMU won the first five matches, but only one of the final five. Against Purdue, CMU overcame a 16-3 deficit and needed a pin from Jackson Lewis at 197 pounds and a 2-1 win from Newton Smerchek at heavyweight to pull out the victory.
"Other than Mike Ottinger (174), our upper weights didn't wrestle up to their capabilities against Rider," Borrelli said. "The Purdue match, we're again in very close matches the whole time.
"We were tested in every one of those matches and we were losing 16-3 after the first six matches. To see our upper weights step up after the disappointment against Rider, to forget that 90 minutes later, and to compete and pull the dual meet our for us -- those are all positives."
The victories were important from a confidence perspective, Borrelli said. CMU started 1-4 in duals last season, but won eight of its last 10. Several wrestlers who figure to regularly be in the lineup this season sat out a year ago because of injuries.
In short, the 2015-16 version of the Chippewas is much more experienced, and the expectations are higher.
"When you're winning you can analyze things a little differently and the motivation for improvement is better," Borrelli said. "If we'd lost both of those matches I don't know that the guys would have come back into the room with the same attitude. You hope that they would, but it's hard to do that."
The open at Michigan State serves several purposes for the Chippewas, who open Mid-American Conference competition next Friday (8 p.m.) with a dual at Northern Illinois.
"We're trying to get some good competition for all our guys," Borrelli said of Sunday's open. "They have to get matches in, they have to get used to competing, and we continue to build confidence. For our individuals these opens are big events."
