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Michigan wrestling: Amine, Parris shine in Wolverines’ loss to Ohio State

On Friday night, No. 3 Michigan wrestling fell to No. 6 Ohio State, 23-15. Despite the loss, Cameron Amine and Mason Parris shined against the Buckeyes.

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© Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

Friday evening, No. 3 Michigan wrestling (8-2, 4-2 Big Ten) welcomed the 6th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes (10-1, 4-1 Big Ten) to the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, MI. The Wolverines were coming off of a busy weekend a week ago — No. 1 Penn State defeated Michigan by 22 points last Friday, but the Wolverines bounced back with a 24-9 win at No. 24 Rutgers last Sunday.

Tonight, Michigan wrestling fought valiantly yet still fell to the 6th-ranked Buckeyes at the end of the night. Still, the Wolverines saw much upside from its stars, such as Cameron Amine and Mason Parris.

Michigan wrestling falls to Ohio State, 23-15

After a weekend of mixed results last week, Michigan wrestling appears to be on a downward trend again with tonight’s 8-point loss to the Buckeyes.

After the first four matches of tonight’s meet, Michigan wrestling trailed the Buckeyes, 14-0. The Wolverines had suffered four-straight losses, yet managed to buy one in overtime as Michigan’s Will Lewan won in sudden death and got Michigan on the board. Things did not get a whole lot better from there, though the Wolverines managed to win three of their remaining matches for 15 points.

The loss is Michigan’s second defeat in its first ten dual meets this season; the Wolverines remain winless against top-10 competition during the 2022-23 season.

Meet results

  • 125lbs: No. 10 Malik Heinselman (Ohio State) defeated No. 20 Jack Medley (Michigan). (Ohio State 3, Michigan 0)

Michigan’s 20th-ranked Medley took the Buckeyes’ top-10 Malike Heinselman down to the wire — the match remained tied heading into the third and final period, though Heinselman managed to edge out Medley via decision and give the Buckeyes a 3-0 lead early in the meet.

  • 133lbs: No. 9 Jesse Mendez (Ohio State) defeated No. 12 Dylan Ragusin (Michigan). (Ohio State 6, Michigan 0)

After dropping the first match of the meet, the Wolverines dropped their second-straight match; Dylan Raguson failed to overcome Ohio State’s Jesse Mendez and saw a sudden death loss. The Buckeyes back-to-back victories gave them a 6-0 lead early on in the match.

  • 141lbs: No.18 Dylan D’Emilio (Ohio State) defeated No. 23 Cole Mattin (Michigan). (Ohio State 9, Michigan 0)

Cole Mattin and Dylan D’Emilio have now met three times — D’Emilio leads the series, 2-1, after tonight’s win. Mattin went down early, yet managed to climb his way back into the match and tied it up at 4-4 midway through. As the match went on, Mattin appeared to grow stronger, though eventually headed into the 3rd period down 5-4.

Early on in the 3rd, Mattin tied it up at 5-5, before Ohio State’s D’Emilio scored the matches final points, and took home a narrow 7-5 victory.

  • 149lbs: No. 3 Sammy Sasso (Ohio State) defeated Fidel Mayora (Michigan). (Ohio State 14, Michigan 0)

Fidel Mayora, the nation’s No. 3 149lbs wrestler, dominated Michigan’s Fidel Mayora, 20-5. The Buckeyes continued to pile onto their impressive lead.

  • 157lbs: No. 10 Will Lewan (Michigan) defeated No. 23 Paddy Gallagher (Ohio State). (Ohio State 14, Michigan 3)

Heading into the 3rd period, Ohio State’s Gallagher led Michigan’s Lewan, 4-3. With his back against the wall, Lewan swiftly scored a 1-point escape, tying the match at 4-4. Lewan then forced sudden death overtime, and promptly scored a takedown to win it.

  • 165lbs: No. 6 Cameron Amine (Michigan) defeated No. 9 Carson Kharchla (Ohio State). (Ohio State 14, Michigan 9)

Michigan’s 6th-ranked Cameron Amine led the match 1-0 heading into the 3rd period; however, the Buckeyes’ Kharchla managed to tie it up early on at 1-1. In a low-scoring affair, the Wolverines and Buckeyes went to sudden death overtime — the 3rd overtime of the meet to this point — yet even that was not enough to settle this massive top-10 showdown.

Michigan’s Cameron Amine won the match in the second overtime as Amine scored a fall — Crisler erupted as the Wolverines shaved Ohio State’s lead down to five.

  • 174lbs: No. 8 Ethan Smith (Ohio State) defeated Max Maylor (Michigan) (Ohio State 17, Michigan 9)

After Cameron Amine got the Crisler Center on its feet, Michigan’s Max Maylor took the mat with Ohio State’s Ethan Smith — the 8th-ranked wrestler in the 174lbs weight class. Though Maylor managed to keep it close throughout the first two periods. The Buckeyes’ 8th-ranked Smith was too much to handle and defeated Maylor, further extending Ohio State’s lead.

  • 184lbs: No. 5 Kaleb Romero (Ohio State) defeated No. 8 Matt Finesilver (Michigan). (Ohio State 20, Michigan 9)

As the final matches of the dual meet approached, Michigan wrestling was in need of some assistance on the scoreboard. While Cameron Amine’s victory brought the score within five, the Wolverines’ immediate loss extended Ohio State’s lead to 17-9.  Finesilver entered the 3rd period in the down position and swiftly scored a point; Ohio State responded with two points of its own, and the match sat at 5-2. Another escape for Finesilver brough it within two before Ohio State scored another takedown.

The Buckeyes went on to win, 7-4, and pushed their lead to 20-9 over the 3rd-ranked Wolverines.

  • 197lbs: No. 21 Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State) defeated Rylan Rogers (Michigan) . (Ohio State 23, Michigan 9)

In Rylan Rodgers’ dual meet debut for Michigan wrestling, he faced off against Ohio State’s 21st-ranked Gavin Hoffman. Rodgers kept it closer (2-1) after one period; however, the Buckeyes managed to maintain their lead heading into the 3rd and final period (5-3).

Rylan Rodgers could not overcome Hoffman, and again, the Wolverines fell even further behind.

  • 285lbs: No. 1 Mason Parris (Michigan) defeated No. 16 Tate Orndorff (Ohio State). (Ohio State 23, Michigan 15)

After a huge weekend against Penn State just seven days ago, Mason Paris earned the No. 1 ranking in the 285lbs class. As many expected, Parris floored the 16th-ranked Orndorff en route to a massive victory. It was not enough for the Wolverines to overcome the Buckeyes in the dual meet; however, the win brought the score closer and will keep Parris in the nation’s top spot heading into Sunday’s meet against Maryland and next weekend’s meet against No. 10 Oklahoma State.

One of the biggest points of emphasis from tonight’s dual meet should be how dominant Mason Parris looks. He essentially does what he wants when on the mat regardless of opponent. Parris won via fall, pinning Tate Orndorff.

FINAL: Ohio State 23, Michigan 15

What’s next for Michigan wrestling?

The Wolverines have five regular season meets remaining on the 2022-23 slate: vs. Maryland (1/19), vs. No. 10 Oklahoma State (2/3), at No. 2 Iowa (2/10), vs. No. 25 Indiana (2/12), and vs. Central Michigan (2/19).

The Big Ten Championships are set to be held on Saturday, March 5th, and end on Sunday, March 6th. The NCAA championships will begin on Thursday, March 16th, and end on Saturday, March 18th.

Thank you for reading Blue by Ninety. For more Michigan Athletics content from Blue by Ninety, follow us on TwitterFacebookand Instagram. You can also subscribe to our YouTube Channel. For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email our Managing Editor at Cj@BluebyNinety.com or DM him on Twitter, @CJsWrld_.

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Michigan hockey named No. 1 seed in NCAA tournament

Could this be the year?

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Michigan forward Rutger McGroarty (2) skates with the puck during the Michigan-Notre Dame NCAA hockey game on Saturday, November 12, 2022, at Compton Family Ice Arena in South Bend, Indiana. Michigan Vs Notre Dame

Michigan Hockey is Big Ten Champions yet again, and they are onto the NCAA Tournament. For the second year in a row, the Michigan Wolverines beat the top-seeded Minnesota Gophers in a sold-out 3M Arena at Mariucci. The final score was 4-3, which was the same score as last year’s championship game.

With two goals in nearly 30 seconds from Freshman Rutger McGroarty, the momentum boosted within the Michigan hockey squad. From there on out, Michigan never let off the gas. 

This Michigan team wanted it more. That desire and want to win the Big Ten trophy again paid off. And now the Michigan Wolverines are back-to-back Big Ten Champions.

Still, the season is far from over, and the Wolverines still have one more goal to achieve. In the post-game press conference, Freshman Rutger McGroarty commented about the team’s future goals. McGroarty said, “The Big Ten is awesome, but we still got another tournament to win.

NCAA Tournament Berth

Selection Sunday for the NCAA Ice Hockey Tournament was a good one for the Wolverines. Michigan hockey was named the tournament’s No. 1 seed in the Allentown region.

The other No. 1 seeds are Minnesota, with the No. 1 overall seed, Quinnipiac, and the reigning national champions, Denver. As the third No. 1 seed in the tournament, the Wolverines may have one of the best chances to make it to the Frozen Four.

The Road to the Frozen Four

The NCAA Tournament is almost here, and the first games begin this weekend. In the Allentown region with Michigan, there are teams from two other conferences, along with another Big Ten representative. 

Michigan’s first matchup will be against the Colgate Raiders from the ECAC. Colgate is 19-15-5 overall. Colgate has pulled off multiple upsets this season against No. 2 ranked Quinnipiac and the No. 6 ranked Harvard in the ECAC tournament.

Meanwhile, the other two teams are the Penn State Nittany Lions from the Big Ten and the Michigan Tech Huskies from the CCHA. Penn State is 21-15-1 overall, and the Huskies are 24-10-4.

While Michigan must beat Colgate first, all three teams are beatable. If Michigan hockey plays as they did during the Big Ten Tournament, they should have no problem making it to the Frozen Four of the NCAA Tournament.

Revenge Tour

After a soul-crushing overtime loss against Denver last season in the Frozen Four, this team will do everything possible to ensure that does not happen again. It will not be easy to get there; however, this team has a lot of fight left in them. If anyone can win the national championship, it is this Michigan hockey team.



Thank you for reading Blue by Ninety. For more Michigan Athletics content from Blue by Ninety, follow us on TwitterFacebook, and Instagram. You can also subscribe to our YouTube Channel. For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email our Managing Editor at Cj@BluebyNinety.com. Also, be sure to check out our shop and our podcast, which is available on Apple PodcastsSpotify, and all other steaming platforms. It is because of your support that we have become one of the fastest and most influential Michigan media outlets there is!

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Michigan baseball takes weekend series over Bradley

The Wolverines improved to 9-10 on the season, winning two of their three games against Bradley over the weekend.

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Michigan baseball Connor O'Halloran
@Adiel_Photography (Instagram)

ANN ARBOR, MI — Despite the cold weather and a few late schedule changes, the Wolverines hosted the Bradley Braves in a three game series this past weekend. Spurred by a series of incredible performances by Connor O’Halloran and other Wolverine standouts, the Michigan baseball team won two of the three games and improved to 9-10 on the season. Following a six-game losing skid, Michigan baseball has now won five of their last seven games.

Here are three of our takeaways from the Wolverines’ weekend series against Bradley.

Michigan baseball gets dominant start from Connor O’Halloran

While Michigan pitching hasn’t been amazing this year, starting pitcher Connor O’Halloran is certainly doing his job. Boasting an earned run average of 1.62, the junior southpaw has dominated the mound in all five of his starts this season. In his last 21 innings, O’Halloran has struckout 34 batters.

On Friday, O’Halloran pitched six innings without allowing an earned run. He struck out 12 batters in the process. The choice to remove Connor O’Halloran in the seventh had little to do with his performance, but rather his pitch count which reached 114 before he was removed.

Each of O’Halloran’s five starts have been “quality starts,” meaning he has pitched six or more innings with three or less earned runs in each. Having a reliable arm that consistently pitches into later innings is crucial for a Michigan team with limited talent in the bullpen.

Jefferis shines on offense

Graduate transfer Cody Jefferis started the series out right with a first pitch base hit up the middle. The early count aggression didn’t let up, and Jefferis stayed hot throughout the weekend, skyrocketing his on base percentage more than 50 points. Jefferis went from a .281 OBP entering the weekend to a .337 OBP by the end.

Jefferis reached base on 61.5 percent of his plate appearances against Bradley. These came from five hits, two walks, and a hit by pitch.

Once on base, Jefferis continued to contribute. Jefferis flashed his speed going two for two on stolen bases over the weekend. On top of batting in two runners, Jefferis himself scored four times in the series. When asked about his first pitch aggression, Michigan baseball star Cody Jefferis said “If you see something in the zone, you’re going to be swinging at it. It doesn’t matter if you’re the leadoff guy or whatnot. You’re up there to hit, that’s what I’m trying to do.”

Jefferis has been starting at shortstop and batting in the leadoff spot all season, and will look to maintain his hot streak on offense as conference play approaches.

Kim settling in to starting role

Freshman outfielder Jonathan Kim began the season on the bench but has seen more playtime in the past 10 days, starting five of the past seven Michigan baseball games. While the sample size may be limited, Kim has been tearing it up at the plate. On Friday, Kim went 4-4 with a double, RBI, and Run to his name.

While he was relatively quiet on offense for the rest of the series, Kim still finished the weekend with a .500 batting average, bringing his season BA up to .435 from 23 at bats. Kim has looked comfortable in the outfield and will likely be a starter or keep a platoon role for the foreseeable future.

Head coach Tracy Smith talked about Kim’s development following a “natural progression” for freshmen, noting how not every freshman is ready to start on day one. “When guys can sit back and watch the games, I think it slows it down for them.” He added, “I’m happy for him because we probably put him in a few games ago because somebody else wasn’t doing what they were supposed to… it’s nice to see him take advantage of it and say, ‘you know what? I’m gonna go take this job.’”

Michigan baseball will return to action this Tuesday at home against the Akron Zips at 4 PM ET.



Thank you for reading Blue by Ninety. For more Michigan Athletics content from Blue by Ninety, follow us on TwitterFacebook, and Instagram. You can also subscribe to our YouTube Channel. For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email our Managing Editor at Cj@BluebyNinety.com. Also, be sure to check out our shop and our podcast, which is available on Apple PodcastsSpotify, and all other steaming platforms. It is because of your support that we have become one of the fastest and most influential Michigan media outlets there is!

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Michigan Hockey looking for second consecutive Big Ten Championship

Can Michigan hockey make it two Big Ten Championships in a row?

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Michigan goaltender Erik Portillo looks to pass against Denver during the second period of the Frozen Four semifinal at the TD Garden in Boston on Thursday, April 7, 2022.

The Big Ten Championship game is just a few short days away, and the Michigan hockey team is looking to win their second Big Ten Championship trophy in a row.

Last Saturday, Michigan hockey defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Semifinal game. The Wolverines dominated the No. 10 ranked Buckeyes from start to finish; the final score was 7-3.

However, this weekend, Michigan has a much tougher matchup on its hands. They will be traveling to Minneapolis to take on the No. 1 ranked Minnesota Gophers, not to mention in a sold-out 3M Arena at Mariucci.

For both teams, this is by far the most important game of the season. Michigan has an overall record of 23-11-3 and a Big Ten record of 12-10-2. On the other side, Minnesota’s season record thus far is 26-8-1, and they are 19-4-1 in conference play.

Michigan is 1-3 against the Gophers this season. But these teams are more evenly matched than the record makes it out to be. In the first series, Michigan was severely depleted due to sickness throughout the team, so much so that Michigan’s third string goalie went into the game as a forward. The second series was split between the teams, with both games going into overtime.

How will Michigan win a Big Ten Championship?

Controlling and limiting Minnesota’s potent offense will be vital to winning the game. Their top line on offense is the best in the country. Matthew Knies, Logan Cooley and Jimmy Snuggerud won’t be easy to contain, but if the Wolverines can, they should be able to win this game.

Not only that, but we saw how successful the Wolverines were last weekend when limiting penalties. Michigan’s biggest weakness is penalties, and if they remain disciplined, they can play their best hockey.

What a Big Ten Championship will mean for Michigan

While both teams are ranked top five in the country, the rankings no longer matter. Their previous records on the season mean nothing now. Whoever wins this game will have ultimate bragging rights until next season, being the reigning Big Ten Tournament champions.

This would be a huge win against an insanely talented team and put the Wolverines in a phenomenal position heading into the NCAA tournament.

Where to Watch

On Saturday, you can watch the Michigan Wolverines play the Minnesota Gophers in the Big Ten Championship. The game will air on Big Ten Network at 8:00 p.m. EST.



Thank you for reading Blue by Ninety. For more Michigan Athletics content from Blue by Ninety, follow us on TwitterFacebook, and Instagram. You can also subscribe to our YouTube Channel. For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email our Managing Editor at Cj@BluebyNinety.com. Also, be sure to check out our shop and our podcast, which is available on Apple PodcastsSpotify, and all other steaming platforms. It is because of your support that we have become one of the fastest and most influential Michigan media outlets there is!

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