EVANSTON, Ill. -- Despite owning a significant advantage at the midway point, the No. 23-ranked University of Michigan wrestling team could not hold on, falling to No. 14 Northwestern 20-14 in its regular-season finale Sunday evening (Feb. 18) at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The dual came down to the final match, as the Wildcats rallied late with four straight wins to claim a narrow three-point advantage entering the 133-pound contest. Freshman Chris Diehl (Burton, Mich./Flint Kearsley HS) could not find a way to score and had difficulty getting out from underneath as Northwestern's Eric Metzler sealed his team's victory with a 4-0 decision. Northwestern also carried the initial lead after top-ranked Travis Lang earned a technical fall at the opening weight of 141 pounds. However, senior/junior captain Josh Churella (Northville, Mich./Novi HS) kicked off a series of four Wolverine wins as U-M charged back to establish control in the dual meet. Churella set the pace early against the Wildcats' Marty Gould at 149 pounds with a quick single-leg takedown just seconds into the opening frame. The Wolverine captain, ranked third by NWCA/InterMat, initiated a game of cat and mouse in the latter periods, adding four more takedowns while accumulating 4:15 in riding time to claim a 15-5 major decision. Fifth-year senior Rob Sulaver (Dearborn, Mich./Dearborn HS) claimed his second straight dual victory with a 7-2 decision against Dominic Marella at 157 pounds. The Wolverine struck first late in the opening period, scoring out of the scramble that immediately followed his double-leg shot off a restart. Marella evened the score early in the second when Sulaver was caught riding too high and the Wildcat wrestler dumped him from top to claim a reversal. But with a pair of escapes, including one to start the third frame, Sulaver maintained a narrow two-point edge. He sealed the win just moments later out of another scramble in which he spun around to score. Sulaver rode out the remainder of the period to gain 2:23 in riding time. Senior/junior captain Eric Tannenbaum (Naperville, Ill./North HS) put on a takedown clinic at 165 pounds, scoring on seven attempts, including four in the first period, to claim a 16-5 major decision against Greg Hagel. The Wolverine, ranked second, scored on his low single at will in the opening frame and added a few counters in the later frames to give the Wolverines their first lead of the dual and remain perfect on the season at 21-0. In his first competitive match in more than a month, junior/sophomore Steve Luke (Massillon, Ohio/Perry HS) needed overtime to earn a 5-3 decision over Nick Hayes. Luke struck first with a single leg midway through the opening period, but the Wildcat wrestler neutralized that with an extra escape and riding time. Midway through the extra frame, Luke reached down for an ankle pick, and when Hayes lifted up his leg, the Wolverine blew through on a double to score the deciding takedown. The evening's marquee match at 184 pounds lived up to its billing as fourth-ranked junior/sophomore Tyrel Todd (Bozeman, Mont./Bozeman HS) fell just shy in his upset bid against top-ranked Jake Herbert. The Wildcat wrestler took early control with single-leg takedowns in the first and second periods. Todd, however, stormed back in the third as the wrestlers exchanged early takedowns. Earning his choice after Herbert's second injury timeout, Todd registered an escape and quickly locked up another takedown on the edge of the mat to knot the score at 8-8. With 16 seconds remaining and Herbert possessing time advantage, Todd cut him loose but could not score again, leaving the Wildcat with a 10-8 final decision. Northwestern claimed decisions at the next three matches to steal away the lead for good as the Wildcat wrestlers outcored U-M 16-2 in the three matches. The Wolverines will take a two-week break to prepare for the 2007 Big Ten Championships, scheduled for March 3-4 in East Lansing, Mich. Hosted by Michigan State University, the two-day tournament will be held at the Jack Breslin Center. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #14 Northwestern 20, #23 Michigan 14 Individual rankings from NWCA/InterMat 141 -- #1 Ryan Lang (NU) tech. fall Justin Chrzanowski, 17-2 (5:49) NU, 5-0 149 -- #3 Josh Churella (U-M) major dec. Marty Gould, 15-5 NU, 6-4 157 -- Rob Sulaver (U-M) dec. Dominic Marella, 7-2 U-M, 7-6 165 -- #2 Eric Tannenbaum (U-M) major dec. Greg Hagel, 16-5 U-M, 11-5 174 -- #6 Steve Luke (U-M) dec. Nick Hayes, 5-3 SV U-M, 14-5 184 -- #1 Jake Herbert (NU) dec. #4 Tyrel Todd, 10-8 U-M, 14-8 197 -- #7 Mike Tamillow (NU) dec. #20 Nick Roy, 4-0 U-M, 14-11 Hwt -- #4 Dustin Fox (NU) dec. Casey White, 6-1 Tie, 14-14 125 -- #18 Brandon Precin (NU) dec. Michael Watts, 6-1 NU, 17-14 133 -- Eric Metzler (NU) dec. Chris Diehl, 4-0 NU, 20-14