Rivalry Week got off to a rocky start for the Wolverines, as the No. 4 ranked Michigan wrestling team took its first L of the season, dropping 8 of 10 matches to the No. 10 Lehigh Mountain Hawks in Leeman-Turner arena at Grace Hall.
Michigan may not have the same pedigree as Big Ten wrestling blue blood Iowa or recent juggernaut Penn State, but the Wolverines came into the season with five ranked wrestlers in its starting lineup and high expectations for the season.
Things quickly got out of hand on the road trip to Bethlehem, Penn., however: the Wolverines dropped each of their first five matches, and with that, the rout was on. Although the teams split the four bouts matching ranked wrestlers against one another, Lehigh rode a fast start to an 18-0 lead at intermission and Michigan never recovered.
"It's no question that there was a big advantage to wrestling here in Grace Hall," Lehigh head coach Pat Santoro said. "It was good to have the fans behind us and our guys really fed off of it."
No. 3 Logan Massa and No. 2 Adam Coon provided the only wins for That Team, defeating ranked opponents at 165 pounds and heavyweight, respectively.
Most of the day's matches were close contests, as one might expect from two highly-ranked teams, with only two matches finishing with bonus points, including Massa's tech fall of No. 18 Cole Walter. At 133, Lehigh's No. 3 Scott Parker pinned Mike Volyanyuk midway through the second period.
Like Ohio State, Michigan won its home opener versus Arizona State, though only by a score of 21-18, compared to the 31-12 drubbing the Buckeyes handed the Sun Devils. Also like Ohio State, the Wolverines will next be in action at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, Dec. 1-2.
