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No. 8 Michigan wins eight bouts to top No. 13 Minnesota, 30-7, for Gophers first home loss this year

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by Leah Howard, University of Michigan

Image of Drew Mattin of Michigan courtesy of Michigan Athletics.

What you need to know

» No. 8 Michigan won eight of 10 matches, earning bonus points in three, to rout No. 13 Minnesota, 30-7, on the road.

» Malik Amine (149 pounds) and Drew Mattin (125) both avenged earlier-season losses to upset higher-ranked opposition; Amine defeated No. 16 Steve Bleise, 6-4, and Mattin edged No. 4 Ethan Lizak, 4-2, in the tiebreaker.

» Stevan Micic earned a second-period fall against No. 12 Mitch McKee; Myles Amine and Domenic Abounader also earned bonus wins.

Site: Minneapolis, Minn. (Maturi Pavilion)

Score: No. 8 Michigan 30, No. 13 Minnesota 7

Records: U-M (7-2, 4-1 Big Ten), UMN (5-3, 2-2 Big Ten)

Next U-M Event: Saturday, Jan. 27 -- at Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa), 5 p.m. CST


MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- The No. 8-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team claimed eight of 10 matches, earning bonus points in three, to rout No. 13 Minnesota, 30-7, on Sunday afternoon (Jan. 21) at the Golden Gophers' Maturi Pavilion. With the victory, the Wolverines improved to 4-1 in Big Ten Conference duals.


Michigan also earned a pair of big upset wins at 149 and 125 pounds, respectively, when senior/junior Malik Amine and freshman Drew Mattin both turned around losses from earlier in the season to edge higher-ranked opposition.


Amine defeated No. 16 Steve Bleise, 6-4, in the dual's opening bout, locking up a cradle for four points midway through the third period. The match was knotted up at 1 after Amine earned a second-period escape, but gave up a stall point early in the third. He got the cradle off the restart and, despite giving up a late takedown on Bleise's cement-mixer attempt, held on for the win.


Mattin, ranked 13th, used a takedown in the tiebreaker to beat fourth-ranked Ethan Lizak, 4-2, at 125 pounds. After a second-period rideout, Lizak led late with a stall point and 2:00 riding time, but Mattin forced overtime with a takedown off an inside trip at the third-period buzzer -- after a restart with just six seconds left. He chose neutral in the first tiebreaker and scored late on the edge to take a two-point lead before allowing no turns and no warnings in the second 30-second go.


Senior/junior Alec Pantaleo and junior/sophomore Stevan Micic also earned wins over ranked opponents at 157 and 133 pounds, respectively. Pantaleo, ranked fifth, scored two takedowns to defeat 19th-ranked Jake Short, 5-2, finishing on double legs in the first and third frames. Micic, ranked fifth, pinned 12th-ranked Mitch McKee at the 4:13 -- his second straight pin against the Gopher wrestler. Micic scored on a pair of takedowns in the first, then locked up a cradle out of a second-period reversal. It was his first fall of the season.


Junior/sophomore Myles Amine and fifth-year senior Domenic Abounader earned back-to-back bonus wins at 174 and 184 pounds, respectively, to put Michigan up big at the intermission break. Amine, ranked sixth, cruised to a 12-3 major decision over Chris Pfarr, earning four takedowns and four back points. He broke the match up with a two-and-two counter attack late in the second, then iced the bonus point with a takedown at the third-period buzzer.


Abounader, ranked fifth, proved even more dominant with a 16-1 technical fall over Dylan Anderson at 184 pounds. The Wolverine captain scored on an early single, then earned three four-point turns on a pair of turks and a second-period half to end the bout at the 4:33 mark.


Senior/junior Jackson Striggow and graduate student Adam Coon rounded out the Wolverines' winners at 197 pounds and heavyweight. Striggow, a native of Orono, Minnesota, defeated Brandon Krone, 4-3, in his homecoming on the strength of two first-period takedowns. He finished on a high crotch off the whistle and added a single late in the frame. Coon, ranked second, cruised to a 7-2 decision against Rylee Streifel behind two takedowns and 2:24 in riding-time advantage. He improved to 18-0 on the season.


The Wolverines (7-2, 4-1 Big Ten) will return to the road next Saturday (Jan. 27), heading to Iowa City, Iowa, to face Iowa at 5 p.m. CST at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The dual will be aired live on the Big Ten Network.

No. 8 Michigan 30, No. 13 Minnesota 7

Individual rankings by InterMat


149 -- Malik Amine (U-M) dec. No. 16 Steve Bleise, 6-4 [U-M, 3-0]

157 -- No. 5 Alec Pantaleo (U-M) dec. No. 19 Jake Short, 5-2 [U-M, 6-0]

165 -- No. 10 Nick Wanzek (UMN) dec. No. 5 Logan Massa, 14-8 [U-M, 6-3]

174 -- No. 6 Myles Amine (U-M) major dec. Chris Pfarr, 12-3 [U-M, 10-3]

184 -- No. 5 Domenic Abounader (U-M) tech. fall Dylan Anderson, 16-1 (4:33) [U-M, 15-3]

197 -- Jackson Striggow (U-M) dec. Brandon Krone, 4-3 [U-M, 18-3]

Hwt -- No. 2 Adam Coon (U-M) dec. Rylee Streifel, 7-2 [U-M, 21-3]

125 -- No. 13 Drew Mattin (U-M) dec. No. 4 Ethan Lizak, 4-2 TB [U-M, 24-3]

133 -- No. 5 Stevan Micic (U-M) pinned No. 12 Mitch McKee, 4:13 [U-M, 30-3]

141 -- No. 10 Tommy Thorn (UMN) major dec. Sal Profaci, 12-4 [U-M, 30-7]

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