Wisconsin out dueled by 19th-ranked Chippewas

[TomM]

Wisconsin outdueled by 19th-ranked Chippewas
Badgers earned wins in 125-, 133-, 165- and 285-pound matches
On the web: http://go.wisc.edu/q71y2t
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – In its last non-conference dual of the season on Thursday, the Wisconsin wrestling team came back from an early deficit but No. 19 Central Michigan proved to be too much, as it defeated the Badgers, 18-11, at McGuirk Arena.
Trailing 15-11 entering the final match, UW needed at least a major decision victory in order to force a tiebreaker.
174-pounder Ricky Robertson wrestled No. 12 Mike Ottinger to a stalemate in the first period.
The CMU wrestler came out hot in the second, earning an escape and a takedown to go up, 3-0, but Robertson responded with an escape of his own as the period expired to narrow the score.
Despite outscoring Ottinger in the third, Robertson could not tally enough points to complete the comeback, as he lost, 6-3.
Wisconsin got down, 6-0, early in the dual but was able to rattle off three-straight wins to take a 9-6 advantage.
Ryan Christensen battled Jordan Ellingwood at 184 pounds in the event's opening bout.
Ellingwood notched an escape and a takedown in the second period to take the lead.
Christensen got on the board with an escape to get within two points. His opponent held tough, though, adding an additional riding time point to take the match, 4-1.
CMU went up 6-0 after Jackson Lewis defeated Nic Veling in a 7-3 decision.
In the heavyweight matchup Brock Horwath edged Newton Smerchek in a low-scoring affair.
A scoreless first period was followed by a one-point second, as Smerchek earned an escape.
Horwath tied the score in the third to force overtime.
After the wrestlers failed to record a takedown in the first sudden victory period, the match moved to the first tiebreaker.
With Smerchek on the bottom, Horwath denied multiple escape attempts to earn a scoring opportunity in the second tiebreaker.
The Wisconsin heavyweight made the most of his chance, as he gathered an escape for the win.
Johnny Jimenez tacked on another three points to UW's team score with a 7-2 triumph over Brent Fleetwood at 125 pounds.
After dropping his last match at Maryland, 11th-ranked 133-pounder Ryan Taylor came out aggressive against Corey Keener.
The ranked Badger earned two takedowns to Keener's two escapes in the first period.
CMU's competitor outscored Taylor in the second but still trailed, 5-3, entering the final two minutes.
Like the first, Taylor went for two takedowns in the third, as he finished off Keener, 9-6.
Three of the last five matches featured ranked Central Michigan wrestlers, as the Chippewas took four.
At 141 pounds Gabe Grahek had No. 14 Zach Horan on the ropes but was unable to earn a takedown to force overtime, losing by a score of 4-2.
Andrew Crone's six-match winning streak was snapped by ninth-ranked Justin Oliver, as the CMU wrestler was victorious in his 12th-straight grapple.
Crone was only able to muster two reversals in the 9-4 defeat.
Similar to Grahek, TJ Ruschell was beat by just two points in the 157-pound match versus No. 11 Lucas Smith.
Smith scored two takedowns in the first period but did not score again until he was awarded a riding time point following the match's completion. Ruschell had an escape and a reversal to fall, 5-3.
Wrestling in place of UW's regular starter at 165 pounds, No. 2 Isaac Jordan, Rylan Lubeck used a big first period to beat Jordan Atienza, 11-9.
The Badgers competitor started hot with an escape, takedown and four-point near fall, getting out to a 7-3 lead after three minutes on the mat.
Atienza managed to get within one point but Lubeck held on to take the decision.
Wisconsin finishes its regular season with a home dual against Northwestern on Sunday at 12 p.m.

125: Johnny Jimenez (UW) dec. Brent Fleetwood (CMU), 7-2 (6-6)
133: Ryan Taylor (UW) dec. Corey Keener (CMU), 9-6 (9-6)
141: Zach Horan (CMU) dec. Gabriel Grahek (UW), 4-2 (9-9)
149: Justin Oliver (CMU) dec. Andrew Crone (UW), 9-4 (12-9)
157: Luke Smith (CMU) dec. TJ Ruschell (UW), 5-3 (15-9)
165: Rylan Lubeck (UW) dec. Jordan Atienza (CMU), 11-9 (15-11)*
174: Mike Ottinger (CMU) dec. Ricky Robertson (UW), 6-3 (18-11)
184: Jordan Ellingwood (CMU) dec. Ryan Christensen (UW), 4-1 (3-0)
197: Jackson Lewis (CMU) dec. Nic Veling (UW), 7-3 (6-0)
285: Brock Horwath (UW) dec. Newton Smerchek(CMU), 2-1 (TB-2) (6-3)

*One point was deducted from Wisconsin's team total for a second bench warning during the 165 lb. match