Wrestlers short on team victories

The Michigan coaches say the No. 10 Michigan wrestling team is not winning the matches it should be winning - and the team knows it.

Riding a four-match losing streak, the Wolverines traveled to Iowa City to compete in the National Team Dual Championships last weekend. They lost two out of three matches, making for a dismal 3-6 overall record on the season.

"We are not coming out strong, and we are giving up points early in the matches," said assistant coach Joe McFarland. "We need to start winning in all three periods, and we need to stay focused."

In the first match of the championship tournament, Michigan faced No. 23 West Virginia. The Wolverines were dominated by the Mountaineers, 28-10, and their losing streak grew to five in a row.

"We need to start finishing people and we need to win the close matches," said captain Jeff Catrabone, who was the only Wolverine to win his match beside heavyweight Airron Richardson, who won by forfeit.

In the next match, the Wolverines finally returned to the victory column, crushing unranked Missouri Valley, 34-6.

Michigan won eight of the 10 weight classes, including falls by Catrabone and Richardson, a technical fall by junior Chris Viola and a major decision by sophomore Joe Warren.

"There have been a lot of real close matches, but this one we just came out and beat them good," Warren said. "It was nice to get a win under our belt."

But the Wolverines couldn't put together a win streak, and was next eliminated from the championship by No. 9 Nebraska, 24-13.

The team fell behind early, dropping five of the first six weight classes and could not regain its composure. The only wins came from Warren, Catrabone and Richardson.

"We have some guys that are fired up right now, and they are consistently winning," McFarland said, referring to the weekend's victors. "But other guys need to pick it up and they know it. We can't win with just 2-3 guys winning every time out."

The problem for the Wolverines throughout the weekend was winning the close matches and finishing. Of all the losses, nine defeats were by two or fewer points.

"We are far from where we want to be, and far from what we are capable of," Richardson said. "We need to keep focused and keep our confidence high and hopefully work hard enough to finish the season strong."

The Wolverines travel to Northwestern and Illinois this weekend for dual meets.

01-20-98