For the second time in two weeks, the No. 12 Penn State wrestling team let an early nine-point lead slip away against a ranked Big Ten opponent, losing to No. 3 Michigan 23-15 on Saturday.
The season high crowd of 2,364 went absolutely crazy when Penn State freshman Jake Streyer flipped a very tired and overmatched Brandon Eliot on his back at the beginning of the third period. When the referee declared the pin at the 5:44 mark to put Penn State up, 12-3, early in the day, the fans went into a frenzy.
Only a year ago, Penn State avoided being shut out with a three-point victory and a forfeit against a Michigan team that ended up second in the nation. Even with a home-mat advantage, the lineups did not look promising with Penn State's co-captains Eric Bradley and Joel Edwards out of the match.
After Streyer's pin at 133, the Nittany Lions middle weight classes allowed Michigan four straight victories, capped off with a No. 3 Ryan Churella pin of Phil Bomberger in the third period.
Penn State allowed its lead to escape in a key matchup between No. 10 junior Nathan Galloway and No. 19 freshman Steve Luke. Galloway fell behind Luke, 8-3, before a last-minute surge that tied the match at nine. Because Luke had already secured the riding time point, Galloway was forced to allow Luke to rise to his feet with ten seconds left. Galloway tried to shoot in the final seconds, but was shut down.
"Steve Luke is a tough kid; we knew he was a good high school wrestler," Sunderland said. "We knew Nathan was going to be in for a battle, but that's the best Nathan has wrestled in a long time."
With Penn State down by seven points, James Yonushonis stepped onto the mat to wrestle No. 11 Nick Roy, Yonushonis' third ranked opponent in three weeks. The wrestlers traded off escape points and fought defensively, taking a 1-1 stalemate into an intense overtime.
Early in the overtime period, Yonushhonis began his offensive and took a shot at Roy's legs. A stunned Roy did all he could to keep his feet, but Yonushonis prevailed with a two-point, sudden-victory takedown, narrowing the Michigan lead and leaving the 184-pound weight class to decide the match. It was Yonushonis' first victory over Roy, who Sunderland said had been considered his nemesis.
Sunderland said Yonushonis has improved because of hard workout sessions on defense and scrambling.
"Some of the takedowns he was able to avoid in this match and the Wisconsin dual are directly related to the time that James has put in," Sunderland said. "He's perfecting his shots. He's always shot a lot, but he's starting to convert now."
With Penn State down by four, tension grew in the gym as spectators looked at their programs anticipating who would wrestle for Penn State at 184. No. 1 Bradley had weighed in for the Lions, but was not 100 percent before the match. Sunderland was finally forced to show his hand and reveal that Bradley was not yet ready to go.
"We weren't going to wrestle him today. He went some matches this week, and he just wasn't quite ready to go," Sunderland said. "We obviously hoped that he could, but we don't want to jeopardize something down the road when he's just not ready."
Michigan coach Joe McFarland said he was getting a little bit nervous seeing Bradley's name listed in such a crucial moment.
"I've watched him wrestle too many times. He's a quality kid," McFarland said of Bradley.
Freshman Neil Bretz once again filled in for Bradley, but was outmatched, losing 18-5. The loss kept Penn State in the cellar of the Big Ten at 0-2 and brought the season record to 3-2 on the year.
