Michigan at Lehigh
  Nov. 22, 2002  Grace Hall  Bethlehem, Pa.   
    Michigan and Lehigh will face off Friday night in the final dual ever in the historic Grace Hall on Lehigh's campus. This dual has sold out in advance, which marks the first time ever that a dual at Grace Hall sold out days before the meet.    Over the years, these two teams have developed quite a rivalry. Both are in the same position: trying to move up to the top of the ladder. But one must climb over the other in order to get there.    Last year Lehigh had a great NCAA Tournament, while a strong Michigan dual team fizzled in the postseason. This year, both squads are rebuilding with the hope of being the top team in the nation in two or three years. This is a real expectation and goal for both teams, making this rivalry one of the best in the land.    125 - A.J. Grant (Michigan) vs. Mario Stuart (Lehigh)  Grant was an All-American in 2001 but was disappointing last season. He came back in dominating fashion at the Michigan State Open earlier this season and should return to his form of two years ago. He needs to improve his wrestling from the bottom position, but he is very solid on his feet. Stuart was also an All-American two seasons ago, but it was very unexpected when he did it. He has been inconsistent during the last two regular seasons. He was 1-2 at the NCAA Tournament last year and has been pushed by teammate Terrance Clendenin for the starting role. Last year, these two had a very exciting match with Grant pulling out the win. Look for the same this year, but Stuart will have to provide good counter attacks to Grant's shots in order for him to pull out the win.  TheMat.com Prediction: Grant    133 - Foley Dowd (Michigan) vs. Cory Cooperman (Lehigh)  This may be the best and most exciting match of the entire dual. Dowd greatly improved last season but seemed to be burned out by the end of the season. He was very disappointing at the NCAA Tournament and would like to have at least one of those matches back. Cooperman is a highly talented wrestler who transferred at mid-season last year from Minnesota. He was solid in some open tournaments early last season and has an explosive offense from his feet. It will be tough for Dowd to counter Cooperman's shots. Cooperman is stronger right now, which could give him an advantage in this match. Dowd is best on his feet as well, which means the more inexperienced Cooperman will need to dominate this area of the match in order to win.   TheMat.com Prediction: Dowd    141 - Clark Forward (Michigan) vs. Tristan Boyd (Lehigh)  Forward improved last season, even though he was inconsistent throughout the year. He had streaks where he looked like he would be an All-American and other streaks where he looked like he could barely crack this lineup. He sat out the end of last season with a strange virus on his ankle. Coaches feel he has a restored confidence this season, which may be enough to get this veteran over the top this year. Boyd's biggest problem last year was that he gave up a lot of points on his feet. This will be a good opponent for him to start against this year and gain some confidence of his own. The winner of this match may be whoever scores the first takedown. It will give the offensive wrestler confidence while shoot the other down.  TheMat.com Prediction: Forward    149 - Jeremiah Tobias (Michigan) vs. Aaron Kling (Lehigh)  Tobias will step in because of injuries to both Mike Kulczycki (who will most likely move up to 157) and Ryan Churella. Tobias is a pinner. He is tough on top and has a good front headlock. These will need to be the things that the inexperienced Kling has to avoid. Kling also likes to score points, but technically he is not where Tobias is right now. He needs to try to get into a takedown match with Tobias. If that happens, he can win, but if Tobias gets too many chances from the top position, Kling could find himself on his back at some point.  TheMat.com Prediction: Tobias    157 - Ryan Bertin (Michigan) vs. Derek Zinck (Lehigh)  Bertin is quick and talented, but last year he had a tough time keeping intensity in his matches for a full six minutes. With a year of experience under his belt, he should be able to pull out those close matches in the end as well as score more third period points. Zinck wrestled tough in some tournaments last season. He is just one of the great young stars that this program has in their future. Offensively, he has improved a great deal over the course of the past year. Look for this to be a closer matchup than one would think. Experience is the main factor here. Bertin should be more dominant this season and could make a run at a national title, but if he is going to get beat early on, this will be the match it happens. This could be an offensive showcase  TheMat.com Prediction: Bertin    165 - Pat Owen (Michigan) vs. Troy Letters (Lehigh)  Owen will move up in weight this season. He did not see much action last year which could hurt him at the start of this season. This young talent needs time to mature and gain experience against quality Division I competition. On the other hand, Letters gained a lot of experience last year, including some big wins over All-Americans and All-American candidates. This leads us to believe he is already one of the top five wrestlers in the nation at this weight. He has great strength and quickness, but he is relentless from the top position. Letters is a gritty wrestler who can take over a match in a matter of moments. Owen needs to slow the pace of this match and avoid tie-ups if he plans to win. If he cannot accomplish that, then he could be in for a long afternoon.  TheMat.com Prediction: Letters    174 - R.J. Boudro (Michigan) vs. Brad Dillon (Lehigh)  This may be the weakest weight for Michigan right now. Coaches feel that Boudro, a sophomore, is a slight step ahead of true freshman Nick Roy at this point. Though he has improved tremendously since last year, he still struggles to score points. This will not be a good match to have offensive troubles. Dillon was finally coming into his own last season before an injury in late February put him out for the rest of the year. He is a legitimate All-American candidate this season and could be a dominant force nationally at this weight. He is very skilled and knows what it takes to win every match, which is why he never gets beaten by more than a couple of points.  TheMat.com Prediction: Dillon    184 - Willie Breyer (Michigan) vs. Travis Frick (Lehigh)  Breyer basically has zero solid Division I experience heading into this match, which will hurt him big time this season. He gets scored upon a lot and has been easily turned in the past. Frick is also very inexperienced, but technically, is a better wrestler, especially on the defensive end. Both are sophomores and both are inexperienced. This match is a push, but the winner of it could win the dual for their team. Breyer will have a tough time scoring against Frick in this match, and that may be the difference here. If Breyer takes just a couple of bad shots, this match will most likely be over.  TheMat.com Prediction: Frick    197 - Kyle Smith (Michigan) vs. Jon Trenge (Lehigh)  Smith came on strong last season to earn All-American status. He is big, strong and pretty athletic. He, like many other Michigan wrestlers, was not very good at scoring escapes last year, though. Hopefully for Wolverine fans, that has changed. Trenge is simply a dominant wrestl