Grapplers mixed on Spartan dual By Dan Williams Daily Sports Writer Cliff Keen Arena reached higher levels of tension and anticipation yesterday with each passing match in the dual wrestling meet between No. 9 Michigan and No. 11 Michigan State. Ultimately, both sides went home somewhat-satisfied. Perhaps it was the incursion of Michigan State fans that got the juices flowing. Maybe the second meeting between two ranked rivals caused the collective anxiety. But in any case, Michigan fed off the adrenaline and escaped to tie the Spartans, 18-18, despite having two fewer ranked wrestlers in the lineup. "I was proud of the way my guys came out and wrestled. They wrestled hard," Michigan coach Joe McFarland said. "It was a great dual meet, and a little bittersweet." Without the services of injured superstars Joe Warren and Otto Olson, the Wolverines had to scratch and claw for every point. Since each team won five matches, it was important that the top stars for each team attain extra points. All-American 184-pound sophomore Andy Hrovat recorded a six point fall. Freshman Mike Kulczycki also turned in a key win for Michigan against junior Corey Posey, his fourth straight victory since coming back from a knee injury. "He's undefeated since he's been back and he's a great wrestler," McFarland said. "He works really hard and I like seeing him have that kind of success." But Michigan's ability to avoid extra point losses kept them in the meet. In his best match since taking over for Olson, 174-pound sophomore Charles Martelli fell to No. 19 Will Hill in the closing seconds. It marks the first time this year Martelli wasn't beaten by major points. "That was a heck of a match," McFarland said. "Chuck wrestled a great kid and you can see, Chuck is getting better every week." Junior Joe DeGain couldn't keep his match close against senior Mick Musashvili, the No. 1 197-pound wrestler, but he did manage to avoid getting pinned. Facing Michigan State's best wrestler, DeGain barely managed to keep his second shoulder from touching the mat. This saved his team from losing two more points, and the meet. "I should have concentrated on getting more points instead of trying to pin him," Muzashvili said. "I tried my hardest to do it, but he defended really well." Michigan held an 18-15 advantage going into the final battle, a rematch between Michigan junior Jason Rawls and Michigan State's senior Greg DeGrand at the 165-pound weight class. Rawls won a 6-2 decision earlier this year in a dual match at Michigan State. DeGrand, an Ann Arbor native, achieved his payback in front of a large crowd of friends and family. "It's redemption," DeGrand said. "The first time I got gassed in the middle of the match. (Rawls) has improved a lot this year." The results left both teams wondering what might have happened if a few holds had worked out differently. But for Wolverines, the tie demonstrated that without their top wrestler, Olson, they can still be competitive against Big Ten foes. "A lot of our Big Ten duals are going to be just like that," McFarland said. "It's going to come down to winning those tough matches, and we've got to make sure that we win those tough matches in order to pull these duals out." "That was a heck of a match," McFarland said. "Chuck wrestled a great kid and you can see, Chuck is getting better every week." Junior Joe DeGain couldn't keep his match close against senior Mick Muzashvili, the No. 1 197-pound wrestler, but he did manage to avoid getting pinned. Facing Michigan State's best wrestler, DeGain barely managed to keep his second shoulder from touching the mat. "I should have concentrated on getting more points instead of trying to pin him," Muzashvili said. "I tried my hardest to do it, but he defended really well." Michigan held an 18-15 advantage going into the final battle, a rematch between Michigan junior Jason Rawls and Michigan State's senior Greg DeGrand at the 165-pound weight class. Rawls won a 6-2 decision earlier this year in a dual match at Michigan State. DeGrand, an Ann Arbor native, achieved his payback in front of a large crowd of friends and family. "It's redemption," DeGrand said. "The first time I got gassed in the middle of the match. (Rawls) has improved a lot this year." Despite the draw, the Wolverines will extract positives from the match. "A lot of our Big Ten duals are going to be just like that," McFarland said. "It's going to come down to winning tough matches, and we've got to make sure that we win them in order to pull these duals out." Originally on page 1B in the 1-24-2000 issue of the Daily.