Fine margins in key matchups hurt Northwestern in a 26-10 loss to No. 15 Michigan Friday.
The Wildcats (2-4, 0-3 Big Ten) entered the night looking for their first conference win after losses to Purdue and Illinois on the road the previous weekend.
“There’s no time to lick wounds or hang your head in the Big Ten season,” coach Matt Storniolo said. “You’ve got to come away from this with something you can use; either that’s momentum or a fire in your belly, or even if it’s anger.”
Redshirt freshman 125-pounder Dedrick Navarro got the night off to a fiery start with a major decision win over Michigan’s Wilfried Tanefeu. Two near-falls in the last minute turned a 5-0 bout into an emphatic 14-0 rout.
The ’Cats jumped out to a 7-0 lead as sophomore 133-pounder Massey Odiotti picked up his second dual win of the season earning an 8-6 decision over Michigan’s Nolan Wertanen. Odiotti was in control from the start, a stark contrast from other contests this season in which he worked to dig himself out of early deficits.
“[In] the matches that we won, we were the aggressors, and we were hungry to score,” Storniolo said. “We’ve got to capitalize on opportunities to score. They don’t give points for almost getting a takedown, and we get too many of those.”
For No. 23 graduate student 141-pounder Chris Cannon, Friday’s matchup was a chance to compete against his former team. After a one-year hiatus in Ann Arbor, Cannon transferred back to NU ahead of this season. Cannon’s career has been plagued by challenges, including a recent shoulder injury that threatened to sideline him against Michigan.
Storniolo said Cannon is still battling his injuries, but he was determined to compete Friday.
“This was a match that Chris wanted to wrestle,” Storniolo said. “Nobody needed to motivate him for this.”
Taking on Michigan’s No. 11 Sergio Lemley with a sleeve over his left shoulder, Cannon delivered a strong performance from the get-go. After deftly navigating a few scrambles, Cannon twisted into a near fall but escaped, and it seemed like he would make it to the second period down 3-1.
With seconds left on the first-period clock, Cannon attempted a throw-by on Lemley, drawing most of his force from his left shoulder to pull Lemley forward. But the move was a recipe for disaster. Cannon crashed to the mat, clutching the same shoulder he had injured five days prior in a match against Illinois. Dominated by his opponent for the remainder of the bout, he lost 10-2 by major decision.
No. 23 redshirt freshman 149-pounder Sam Cartella’s streak of five straight wins was broken in an overtime marathon against Michigan’s Dylan Gilcher. Cartella and Gilcher exchanged takedowns late in the third period before settling into a stalemate in overtime. After a scoreless sudden death period and two scoreless tiebreaker periods, Gilcher won by a 5-4 decision for securing a 30-second riding time advantage.
With the team score tied 7-7, No. 10 graduate student 157-pounder Trevor Chumbley returned after six weeks out with an upper-body injury for a ranked matchup against Michigan’s No. 15 Chase Saldate. Chumbley came back with a bang, securing an early takedown and controlling most of the match en route to a 5-0 decision win.
The Wildcats lost each of the last five bouts, all to ranked Michigan wrestlers. Storniolo said his team had the necessary effort and attitude but lacked execution.
“It’s tough to knock off a team like Michigan if you let opportunities slip, and we let a couple of opportunities slip,” he said.
The ’Cats will try to upset another Big Ten powerhouse as they host No. 8 Minnesota next Sunday.
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