The Wisconsin wrestling team won four matches, but it wasn’t enough as the Badgers fell to Central Michigan 18-11 in a non-conference dual on Thursday night.
CMU grabbed a 6-0 lead after the first two bouts before Brock Horwath (285 pounds) put Wisconsin on the board with a 2-1 win over Newton Smerchek in the second tiebreaker.
Smerchek scored an escape in the second period to take a 1-0 lead. Horwath knotted the score with an escape of his own in the third to force a sudden victory period.
After a scoreless minute, the match went to a tiebreaker. Smerchek chose bottom in the first tiebreaker period and Horwath rode him out.
An escape midway through the second tiebreaker ultimately gave Horwath the win. The victory gave the redshirt senior back-to-back wins since he scored two straight victories on Dec.13 and Dec.29, a span of nine matches.
Johnny Jimenez helped the Badgers tie the dual at 6 apiece with a 7-2 win over Brent Fleetwood at 125 pounds.
No.12 Ryan Taylor made it three in a row for Wisconsin as he hung on to top Corey Keener 9-6. Taylor is now 4-4 in his injury-shortened season. He has won three of his last four.
The Chippewas (10-5) got back on track with three straight wins, regaining the lead at 15-9 with two matches to go.
Wisconsin’s Rylan Lubeck got the start for the Badgers (3-8) at 165 pounds in favor of second-ranked Isaac Jordan. Lubeck made the most of just his third start of the year, grabbing a 7-3 lead after the opening period.
Six of those seven points came by hitting a lateral drop, putting his opponent, Jordan Atienza, straight to his back. Lubeck appeared to have scored a much-needed pin for UW, but the fall was never called.
This brought Wisconsin head coach Barry Davis to the head table for a confrontation with the official, which ultimately led to the Badgers being docked a team point for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Lubeck went on to win the match 11-9 for his second win in three duals this season.
UW needed a major decision in the final bout at 174 pounds to tie the dual, but No.10 Mike Ottinger of Central Michigan had other ideas. He topped Ricky Robertson 6-3 to seal the win for the Chippewas.
The Badgers return home Sunday for the final dual of the season. Wisconsin is set to entertain Northwestern in a Big Ten clash at the UW Field House beginning at Noon.
Central Michigan 18, Wisconsin 11
184: Jordan Ellingwood (CMU) dec. Ryan Christensen, 4-1
197: Jackson Lewis (CMU) dec. Nic Veling, 7-3
HWT: Brock Horwath (WIS) dec. Newton Smerchek, 2-1 (TB-2)
125: Johnny Jimenez (WIS) dec. Brent Fleetwood, 7-2
133: No.12 Ryan Taylor (WIS) dec. Corey Keener, 9-6
141: No.15 Zach Horan (CMU) dec. Gabe Grahek, 4-2
149: Justin Oliver (CMU) dec. Andrew Crone, 9-4
157: No.11 Luke Smith (CMU) dec. TJ Ruschel. 5-3
165: Rylan Lubeck (WIS) Jordan Atienza, 11-9
174: No.10 Mike Ottinger (CMU) dec. Ricky Robtertson, 6-3
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