DUAL INFORMATION
No. 22 Purdue (8-7, 1-5 B1G) vs. No. 16 Michigan (5-4, 3-3 B1G)*
Sunday, Feb. 8 // 1 p.m. ET // Holloway Gymnasium // West Lafayette, Ind.
*Michigan hosts Nebraska Friday
DUAL LINKS
Purdue Dual Notes // Rankings, Results, #BoilerNotes and much more
Michigan Dual Notes
Live Results // TrackWrestling
Twitter // @PurdueWrestling
Watch // BTN2Go
Play-by-Play // Cory Palm
PROMOS // MILITARY APPRECIATION DAY
- Tickets for all active or retired service members are just $1
- Honor our service men and women and support the Wounded Warriors Project by bidding on special-edition singlets worn by the Boilermakers during Sunday's dual. Bids may be placed at the Fan Services table through intermission.
- Team autograph session after the dual
SOCIAL MEDIA
Always be in the know, go behind the scenes and travel with the Boilermakers all season long.
- Facebook // Purdue Wrestling
- Instagram // @PurdueWrestling
- Tumblr // purduewrestling.tumblr.com
- Twitter // @PurdueWrestling
- Hashtags // #BoilerUp #AlwaysAggressive
- Tony Ersland // Instagram @tonyersland // Twitter @tonyersland
- Zach Tanelli // Instagram @ztanelli // Twitter @ZachTanelli
- Tyrel Todd // Instagram @tyrel_todd // Twitter @Tyrel_Todd
| PURDUE BOILERMAKERS // PROBABLE LINEUP | |||||
| Weight | Rank | Name | Year | Record | Hometown |
| 125 | Aaron Assad | R-Fr. | 9-12 | Brecksville, Ohio | |
| Luke Welch | R-Fr. | 9-10 | Newburgh, Ind. | ||
| 133 | 11 | Danny Sabatello | R-Jr. | 21-5 | Long Grove, Ill. |
| 141 | Nick Lawrence | R-Sr. | 17-12 | Westlake, Ohio | |
| 149 | Brandon Nelsen | R-Sr. | 18-9 | Indianapolis, Ind. | |
| 157 | 10 | Doug Welch | R-Jr. | 23-7 | Newburgh, Ind. |
| 165 | Pat Robinson | R-Sr. | 10-13 | Noblesville, Ind. | |
| 174 | Chad Welch | R-Jr. | 17-12 | Newburgh, Ind. | |
| 184 | Patrick Kissel | R-Sr. | 14-10 | Sheboygan, Wis. | |
| Tanner Lynde | R-So. | 6-8 | Delphi, Ind. | ||
| 197 | 11 | Braden Atwood | R-Sr. | 11-4 | Delphi, Ind. |
| 285 | Gelen Robinson | Fr. | 1-1 | Schererville, Ind. | |
| Tyler Kral | R-So. | 8-17 | Crown Point, Ind. | ||
Head Coach // Tony Ersland (Iowa, 1997)
Assistant Coaches // Zach Tanelli (Wisconsin, 2009) and Tyrel Todd (Michigan, 2009)
| MICHIGAN WOLVERINES // PROBABLE LINEUP | ||||||
| Weight | Rank | Name | Year/Elig. | Record | Hometown | |
| 125 | Conor Youtsey | Jr./So. | 15-9 | Parma, Mich. | ||
| 133 | 8 | Rossi Bruno | Jr./Jr. | 14-6 | Brandon, Fla. | |
| Zebulon Hilyard | 5th/Sr. | 1-2 | Adrian, Mich. | |||
| 141 | George Fisher | So./Fr. | 20-12 | St. Charles, Ill. | ||
| 149 | 13 | Alec Pantaleo | Fr./Fr. | 15-5 | Canton, Mich. | |
| 157 | 11 | Brian Murphy | So./So. | 18-7 | Carol Stream, Ill. | |
| 165 | 10 | Taylor Massa | Jr./So | 13-4 | St. Johns, Mich. | |
| 174 | Jake Salazar | 5th/Sr. | 3-9 | Midway, Utah | ||
| 184 | 10 | Domenic Abounader | So./So. | 14-5 | Gates Mills, Ohio | |
| 197 | 8 | Max Huntley | 5th/Sr. | 15-4 | Emerald Isle, N.C. | |
| 285 | 7 | Adam Coon | So./So. | 22-3 | Fowlerville, Mich. | |
Head Coach // Joe McFarland (Michigan, 1985)
Associate Head Coach // Sean Bormet (Michigan, 1994)
Assistant Coach // Josh Churella (Michigan, 2008)
Volunteer Coach // Kellen Russell (Michigan, 2012)
Individual rankings // InterMat (2/3)
SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES
- Michigan will host No. 10 Nebraska (8-1, 6-1 B1G) on Friday before coming to West Lafayette. The Wolverines are 1-2 on their home mat, with conference losses to Ohio State (25-15) and Penn State (19-15). They own a 4-2 mark when wrestling on the road/at neutral sites.
- Michigan is even in B1G duals at 3-3. The Wolverines have defeated Michigan State (28-9), Wisconsin (24-12) and Indiana (34-6). Their third loss was at Minnesota, 20-19.
- The 19-15 loss to Penn State was Michigan's last outing on Jan. 30. The Wolverines claimed four bouts in the dual, including a pin from Domenic Abounader at 184, but dropped the opening four matches, including favored matchups at 141 and 149.
- Abounader has earned wins over ranked opponents in five of his last seven matches and claimed big bonus points in the last two. The 184-pounder registered a 15-0 tech fall of Indiana's Jake Masengale, followed by a 3:52 stick of No. 17 Matt McCuthcheon of Penn State. He is 5-1 in B1G dual competition.
- Eighth-ranked Rossi Bruno (133) returned to the lineup against Penn State after missing three straight duals. Bruno was dealt a 9-3 setback by then-No. 9 Jimmy Gulibon. The loss was his sixth of the season to a ranked opponent. He has one win over ranked competition, a 7-5 tiebreaker decision against then-No. 6 Mason Beckman of Lehigh at the Southern Scuffle.
- Four Wolverines own 5-1 B1G marks: Alec Pantaleo (149), Brian Murphy (157), Abounader and Adam Coon (285).
- A pair of season-ending injuries for All-American Steve Dutton (141) and Davonte Mahomes (174) forced George Fisher to bump from 133 to 141 and Jake Salazar to jump two weights, from 157 to 174. Fisher is 3-4 since taking over the starting role two duals into the season. Salazar made his first start at 174 two weeks ago and has gone 1-2. His win was an 8-3 decision over Wisconsin's Frank Cousins, who Boilermaker Chad Welch defeated, 3-2.
LAST MEETING // JAN. 11, 2014 // ANN ARBOR, MICH.
- The No. 20 Purdue wrestling team won three matches in a 22-12 loss to No. 18 Michigan in Cliff Keen Arena. Cashé Quiroga, Danny Sabatello and No. 16 Braden Atwood provided dramatic victories as the Boilermakers slipped to 3-3, 0-3 B1G. Michigan improved to 5-2 overall while picking up its first win in conference action.
No. 18 Michigan 22, No. 20 Purdue 12
125 // Conor Youtsey (Michigan) dec. Camden Eppert (Purdue), 7-4
133 // Cashé Quiroga (Purdue) dec. No. 20 Rossi Bruno (Michigan), 6-5 (TB1)
141 // Danny Sabatello (Purdue) dec. Angelo Latora (Michigan), 6-1
149 // No. 12 Eric Grajales (Michigan) dec. Brandon Nelsen (Purdue), 7-3
157 // No. 16 Brian Murphy (Michigan) dec. Kyle Mosier (Purdue), 8-3
165 // No. 7 Dan Yates (Michigan) dec. Chad Welch (Purdue), 8-4
174 // Collin Zeerip (Michigan) dec. Patrick Kissel (Purdue), 6-3
184 // Domenic Abounader (Michigan) dec. Tanner Lynde (Purdue), 7-1
197 // No. 16 Braden Atwood (Purdue) pinned Chris Heald (Michigan), 6:18
285 // No. 2 Adam Coon maj. dec. Alex White (Purdue), 14-4
SERIES HISTORY // MICHIGAN
- Sunday's dual will be the 70th all-time meeting between Purdue and the Wolverines ... series dates back to Jan. 19, 1924 ... it will be the second time they have met on Feb. 8 ... in 1997 Michigan took a 21-12 dual from the Boilermakers in West Lafayette.
- Michigan leads the series 53-15-1 ... the Wolverines are 23-8 when wrestling in West Lafayette ... 28-7-1 in Ann Arbor and 2-0 on a neutral mat ... third consecutive season Michigan and Boilermakers have met ... Purdue won in 2013 and Wolverines avenged the loss in 2014.
- The last meeting in West Lafayette was one for the record books. A fall from sophomore Braden Atwood (197) and a major decision from Brandon Nelsen (141) were the difference makers in a 19-18 upset for the 18th-ranked Boilermakers over No. 17 Michigan on Feb. 3, 2013. Purdue snapped a streak of nine consecutive losses to the Wolverines, getting its first win in the series since 1998. It was also the third straight Big Ten dual victory for the Boilermakers, a feat that hadn't been accomplished since 2003, when they topped Indiana, Ohio State and Wisconsin in succession. It also clinched the Boilermakers' first four-win Big Ten dual season since 2004.
WE'VE MET BEFORE
- Assistant coach Tyrel Todd will face his college coach, Joe McFarland, from the opposite corner for the first time in a dual setting. Todd, a 2009 Michigan grad, was a three-time All-American and 2009 Big Ten champion while wrestling under the guidance of McFarland.
- 125 // Connor Youtsey defeated Aaron Assad at the Michigan State Open, 4-2, back in November. Assad took Youtsey down in the first period and they were tied at 2-2 going into the final period thanks to a pair of escapes by the Wolverine. A third-period takedown by Youtsey was the difference.
- 197 // Braden Atwood and Michigan's Max Huntley split matches during the 2013 season. In the dual, as noted above, Atwood pinned Huntley in 1:18. A little over a month later at the Big Ten Championships, the Wolverine avenged the loss with a 7-3 decision in wrestlebacks.
- 285 // Michigan's Adam Coon had a 6-1 lead on Tyler Kral at the Michigan State Open before the Boilermaker injury defaulted at 4:18.
A CLOSER LOOK AT PURDUE'S PROBABLE LINEUP
- Sunday's dual marks just the second time this season that the Boilermakers have just one dual in a weekend since Dec. 6. Of the 15 duals, there has been one double-header, one triple-header, one instance of duals on back-to-back days and six have been on one day's rest.
- Danny Sabatello (133) boasts a 13-2 dual record, including a 4-2 mark against B1G foes. He leads the team in dual points scored with 50. With eighth-ranked Rossi Bruno as his probable opponent, Sabatello will be going into battle against a top-10 wrestler for a fourth-consecutive dual. Sabatello carries a 6-3 record against ranked competition, including a 2-2 mark against those ranked in the top 10, all of which have been from the B1G.
- For a seventh time this season and the third in the last four matches, Doug Welch (157) will face a ranked opponent.
- Career milestones Sunday: Braden Atwood will be making his 70th dual start and is seeking his 50th-career dual win ... Nick Lawrence will be wrestling in his 100th career match ... Brandon Nelsen will wrestle his 130th match and is seeking his 80th career victory.
- There have been seven duals this season with all three Welch brothers in the lineup and in three of those duals, they were all victorious (North Carolina, Wisconsin, Northwestern).
- Through 15 duals, Purdue has scored 284 points with 10 different lineups. Sabatello, Nick Lawrence, D. Welch and Pat Robinson (165) have wrestled in every dual.
- The Wisconsin dual (1/11) was the first and is the only dual so far in which the starting weight has been drawn. That dual started at 141. All other duals have gone straight up starting at 125.
- Purdue's wrestlers have combined for an overall dual record of 79-71. Through 15 duals, the Boilermakers have posted 58 decisions, 10 falls, six major decisions, three technical falls and have received two forfeits. Of the 71 losses, 53 have been by decision, 12 by major decision, three by technical fall and they have been pinned three times.
- Through six B1G duals, the Old Gold & Black own a combined record of 21-39. Purdue has held the lead after five weights in half of the duals. The Boilermakers trailed to Nebraska, Ohio State and Illinois, 9-6. Five conference duals into the 2013-14 season, Purdue's lineup was 13-47.
- Coach Ersland's squad is 4-1 at home, 2-4 on the road and 2-2 at neutral sites. They are 3-7 against ranked teams.
- Additional dual stats can be found in the dual notes.
RANKINGS NOTES
- For a third-straight week, the Boilermakers are listed in the USA Today/NWCA Division I Coaches Poll, checking in at No. 22 with 48 points.
- Braden Atwood has been ranked by InterMat for 53 consecutive weeks dating back to Oct. 28, 2012. The redshirt senior is listed at No. 11 on InterMat's 197-pound list for a second consecutive week. His career high by InterMat is No. 8, a spot he held earlier this season from Nov. 17 - Dec. 8.
- Despite a 1-1 outing last weekend, Doug Welch improved his position in three of the five polls. The 157-pounder climbed higher in two different top 10s, ASICS Flowrestling (7) and Gregg Henry's (8). When it comes to InterMat, he has spent four weeks on the 157-pound list, improving position each week. This week he cracks the top 10 for the first time in his career at No. 10.
- After spending two weeks at No. 14 on InterMat's 133-pound rankings, and thanks to his upset of then-No. 4 Zane Richards of Illinois, Sabatello jumped three spots to No. 11. That ranking stands has the highest of his career.
- The last time three Boilermakers were ranked by InterMat was Feb. 17 - March 3, a span of three weeks, in Cashé Quiroga (133), Sabatello (141) and Atwood. Sabatello, D. Welch and Atwood have been ranked together for four weeks (1/12 - current).
- Fourteen weeks of rankings have been issued and 10 Boilermakers have appeared at least once in one of the five polls. There have been three weeks in which a trio of grapplers, Sabatello, D. Welch and Atwood, are ranked on all five (1/19 - current).
- Purdue wrestlers have gone up against 85 ranked opponents and won 16 times (16-69; .188). Ten of the 16 wins were by an unranked Purdue grappler and six have been in head-to-head matchups. The Boilermakers are 5-37 when facing an opponent ranked among the top 10. Sabatello and D. Welch have a pair of those wins and Atwood has the other.
- D. Welch's 5-4 (TB1) upset of Nebraska's then-No. 2 James Green (1/9) stands as the highest ranked opponent that a Boilermaker has beaten this season. D. Welch, who was unranked at the time, also provided the program's biggest upset since 165-pounder Luke Manuel upended top-ranked and top-seeded Mack Lewnes of Cornell in the first round of consolation wrestling at the 2009 NCAA Championships, 3-1. Although Manuel was unseeded at NCAAs, he was ranked 15th when he beat Lewnes. Prior to that upset, D. Welch was 0-8 in his career against ranked competition.
- Sabatello leads the team with six wins over ranked opponents (6-3) and all have been upsets. He's beaten Nos. 4, 7, 12, 14, 15 and 19. His losses have been to Nos. 4, 7 and 14.
- In 29 matches this season wrestled by Boilermakers that are ranked by InterMat, they are 21-8 (.724). Of those eight losses, four have been at the hands of an unranked opponent, one was an upset to a lower-ranked opponent and three have been to a higher-ranked opponent.
- Polls monitored, a complete list of recognized Boilermakers and their movement the past two weeks can be found in the dual notes.