Jan. 19, 2003
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The 2003 NWCA National Duals concluded Sunday afternoon with the No. 10 Arizona State wrestling team defeating No. 9 Michigan, 27-13, to take home seventh place in the prestigious event. Since 1989, the Sun Devils have participated in the event 13 times, including this year, and have placed seven times. With its 2003 result, ASU finished in seventh for the fourth time and placed in the event for the first time since finishing sixth in 2000.
UM opened the dual with a major decision from No. 7 A.J. Grant over ASU's Adam Chavira (Sr., Parker, Ariz.). From there, the Sun Devils ran off three wins in a row, starting with No. 13 Mike Simpson's (So., Anaheim, Calif.) upset of No. 5 Foley Dowd, 8-7, at 133. Simpson had to fight off a furious charge by Dowd in the end, but held on for the victory to cut the Wolverine lead to 4-3.
No. 4 Dana Holland (Sr., Glendale Heights, Ill.) continued his winning ways by pinning No. 20 Clark Forward at 4:13. Holland had Forward on his back in the first period and was unable to pick up the fall. In the second, Holland used the same move and finished the match with the pin, putting ASU ahead, 9-4. No. 1 Eric Larkin (Sr., Tucson, Ariz.) followed Holland with an 11-2 major decision to push the advantage to 13-7.
After Patrick Williams (So., Homestead, Fla.) dropped a 10-6 decision to No. 5 Ryan Bertin at 157, No. 9 Nick Frost (Jr., Tucson, Ariz.) won his 165 bout with a 9-5 decision. No. 9 Curtis Owen (Sr., Coeur D'Alene, Idaho) followed with a major decision, defeating R.J. Boudro 12-3 at 174. The ASU momentum was halted again at 184 when Willie Breyer pinned Ron Renzi at 3:18.
Ryan Bader (Fr., Verdi, Nev.) then came to the mat and scored an upset of No. 6 Kyle Smith at 197. Smith took the early advantage on Bader before the Sun Devil turned the tables and looked to be approaching a pinfall, but the end of the period came first. In the second, Bader again nearly pinned his foe, adding more back points to win the major decision, 18-4. No. 4 Kellan Fluckiger (Sr., Preston, Idaho) finished off the dual with a win, defeating No. 15 Greg Wagner in overtime, 5-3.
The Sun Devils return to action Jan. 24 at 7 p.m. inside Wells Fargo Arena when Pac-10 foe Cal Poly comes calling.