Jan. 28, 2000
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The 21st-ranked Purdue wrestling team dropped a 27-6 decision to 12th-ranked Michigan State on Friday evening at the Breslin Center on the Michigan State campus. Sophomore All-American Jason Silverstein, ranked 16th at 125-pounds, opened the meet with a 6-4 overtime victory for Purdue, but the Spartans won eight of the nine remaining matches to cement the victory. The loss runs the Boilers' record to 7-7 (0-3 Big Ten) and takes the Spartans to 6-1-1 (2-1-1 Big Ten).
"I felt that we got beat on positioning and with smart wrestling. The difference in a lot of matches was that they were scoring at the edge of the mat when we were relaxing," said head coach Jessie Reyes. "Silverstein wrestled a great match. He didn't let the crowd or official get to him and kept his composure. If our entire team would have done a little more of that, the outcome would have been different."
Silverstein's takedown 14 seconds into the overtime period earned him his 14th victory of the season and staked Purdue to a short-lived 3-0 lead. In the following match, a battle of ranked opponents, 17th-ranked Evan Robinson of the Boilers was edged 4-2 by 3rd-ranked Pat McNamara at 133-pounds to even the team score at 3-3. After six straight Spartan victories, including two by major decision, Boiler sophomore Jared Williams defeated Joe Cotant 8-6 at 184-pounds to cut the Michigan State lead to 20-6. In the next match, Purdue senior Mark Colegrove faced top-ranked Nick Muzashvili at 197-pounds. Muzashvili controlled the match and won 16-3 to remain undefeated at 20-0.
The final match of the evening featured two ranked heavyweights. The Boilers' sophomore Jake Vercelli took a 16-4 record and 13th-place ranking into the contest while Spartan junior Matt Lamb was 19-5 and rated 16th in the country. Unfortunately for Vercelli and Purdue, the match was typical of the entire meet, as Lamb won 3-1. The decisive two points came on a Lamb takedown with four seconds remaining in overtime. This result made the final score 27-6 in favor of Michigan State.
Purdue returns to the mat on Sunday, Jan. 30, in Fort Wayne, Ind., at Carroll High School in a Big Ten match with 10th-ranked Michigan. The dual meet begins at 1 p.m. in the high school gym.
Michigan State 27, Purdue 6125-#16 Jason Silverstein, PU def. Chris Williams, MSU 6-4 OT133-#3 Pat McNamara, MSU def. #17 Evan Robinson, PU 4-2141-Mike Castillo, MSU def. Luis Blanco, PU 11-4149-Karl Nadosky, MSU def. Jimmy Hawthorne, PU 11-3157-#7 Gray Maynard, MSU def. Oscar Santiago, PU 15-6165-#13 Greg DeGrand, MSU def. Kirk Moore, PU 2-0174-#16 Will Hill, MSU def. Jon Fitch, PU 7-2184-Jared Williams, PU def. Joe Cotant, MSU 8-6197-#1 Nick Muzashvili, MSU def. Mark Colegrove, PU 16-3Hwt.-#16 Matt Lamb, MSU def. #13 Jake Vercelli, PU 3-1 OT