Feb. 15, 2007

ATHENS, Ohio - Sophomore Albert Madsen defeated the 17th-ranked wrestler in the country to move to 5-0 in Mid-American Conference duals but the Bobcats fell to No. 5 Central Michigan 31-9 Thursday at the Convocation Center.

"I think we needed to try to take it to them and get some wins and get ready for the MAC tournament," Head Coach Joel Greenlee said. "I think at 33, 41 and 49 we did what we had to do and from there on out we didn't necessarily do as well as we could have."

The Chippewas (16-4-1, 4-0) were ranked fifth in the country according to the latest NWCA Coaches Poll. Ohio (16-8-1, 2-3) won three more matches than the meeting between these two teams last year, when the Chippewas earned a 34-0 shutout.

The meet began 125 pounds, where freshman Seth Morton (Canal Winchester, Ohio) got into a 5-0 hole before earning two points on a reversal against CMU's Luke Smith. Smith scored the match's next five points for a 10-2 lead after one period before going on to a 16-5, major decision victory. He entered the match ranked 18th in the country at 125.

At 133 pounds, sophomore Terry Jackson (Uhrichsville, Ohio) earned an early two points on a takedown and built a riding time advantage of more than two minutes in the first period. CMU's Conor Beebe earned an escape in the second period but Jackson earned one of his own to start the third for a 3-1 lead. Jackson earned a 4-1 win after the riding time advantage to make the score 4-3 in favor of the Chippewas. Jackson improved to 13-7 on the season.

The 141-pound match featured the second-ranked wrestler in the MAC in Madsen (Strongsville, Ohio) against top-ranked Eric Kruger. Madsen earned a quick takedown for a 2-0 lead and Kruger escaped, but not before Madsen earned a riding time advantage. Kruger started the second period with an escape to tie the score at two but Madsen answered with another takedown.

After another Kruger escape, Madsen took him down again for a 6-3 lead after two periods. Kruger started the third with a takedown but Madsen countered with an escape and a takedown of his own for a 10-6 win over the 17th-ranked wrestler in the country at 141. The win gave Ohio a 6-4 lead and moved Madsen to 10-7 on the season and a perfect 3-0 in MAC dual meets.

"I knew these guys were tough and we were going to have to work for our wins, Madsen said. "Terry won and I just wanted to keep it going and stay perfect in the MAC. It's a big confidence booster heading into the MAC Championship."

After a scoreless first period in the 149-pound match, CMU's Tyler Grayson scored an escape and a takedown but redshirt freshman Clay Tucker (Martins Ferry, Ohio) equaled it for a 3-3 score in the third period. Tucker took down Grayson against with one minute left in the match and held on for a 6-3 victory. Tucker moved to 9-18 on the season as Ohio took a 9-4 lead.

"(The win) feels pretty good," Tucker said. "I've had a tough year, pretty much. It feels good to come out here and get a win in our last regular season match."

"I think Clay Tucker's tougher than anybody," Greenlee said. "He is maturing at the right time."

Ohio sophomore Jake Frerichs (Uniontown, Ohio) was unable to wrestle due to injury at 157 and the Bobcat forfeit gave Central Michigan a 10-9 lead. Frerichs is currently the top-ranked wrestler in the MAC at 157 pounds.

The 165-pound match started out with a scoreless period between redshirt freshman Jacob Ison (Batavia, Ohio) and Chippewa freshman Mike Miller. After a pair of escapes by Miller sandwiched around an Ison takedown the score remained tied at two. Miller got a takedown of his own for a 4-2 lead heading into the third period and held on to win by a score of 5-2. The loss was just Ison's 10th of the season against 29 wins but gave the Chippewas a 13-9 lead.

Junior Antione Love (Gahanna, Ohio) looked to pull Ohio closer at 174 against Brandon Sinnott, ranked seventh in the country. Sinnott earned two takedowns and a reversal around three Love escapes for a 6-3 lead heading into the third period. Love started the third with an escape but Sinnott recorded another takedown and continued his way to a 15-7, major decision win to give CMU a 17-9 lead.

The Chippewas extended the lead to 21-9 when ninth-ranked Christian Sinnott earned a 15-4 major decision win at 184 pounds against junior Adam Faires (Glouster, Ohio). The match was Faires' third of the season at 184.

The Bobcats faced another nationally-ranked opponent at 197 where sophomore Larry Reichard (New Albany, Ohio) battled ninth-ranked Wynn Michalak. Michalak started things off with a takedown and built a riding time advantage in the first period and went on to earn an 8-0, major decision win for a 25-9 Chippewa lead. Central Michigan won by the final score after second-ranked Bubba Gritter earned a pin in 5:33 against Joe Ellwood (New Philadelphia, Ohio) in just Ellwood's seventh match of the season.

The Bobcats will spend the next two weeks getting healthy and preparing for the MAC Championship, March 3 and 4 in Buffalo, N.Y.

Central Michigan 31, Ohio 9
125: Luke Smith (CMU) maj. dec. Seth Morton (Ohio), 16-5
133: Terry Jackson (Ohio) dec. Conor Beebe (CMU), 4-1
141: Albert Madsen (Ohio) dec. Eric Kruger (CMU), 10-6
149: Clay Tucker (Ohio) vs. Tyler Grayson (CMU)
157: Forfeit (Ohio) vs. Andy Keller (CMU)
165: Mike Miller (CMU) dec. Jacob Ison (Ohio), 5-2
174: Brandon Sinnott (CMU) maj. dec. Antione Love (Ohio), 15-7
184: Christian Sinnott (CMU) maj. dec. Adam Faires (Ohio), 15-4
197: Wynn Michalak (CMU) maj. dec. Larry Reichard (Ohio), 8-0
HWT: Bubba Gritter (CMU) fall Joe Ellwood (Ohio), 5:33