Churella's bout against Minnesota's top-ranked Dustin Schlatter proved quite typical to the series between the two Big Ten rivals and featured a lot of hand fighting and very little scoring. Churella, ranked No. 2 in the nation at 149 pounds, dominated the shots in the first period, but it was Schlatter that emerged with the advantage after he countered a Wolverine shot to score on a single-leg attempt of his own. Churella picked up a quick escape and another early in the second period to knot the score at 2-2. The U-M captain's first shot in the middle frame drew a warning call on Schlatter, but Churella was hit with a warning himself early in the third after hanging onto the Gopher wrestler and failing to return him to the mat. Churella continued to ride tough in the third, but Schlatter earned his escape just shy of the one-minute riding time mark to secure a 3-2 decision victory.
Tannenbaum, also ranked No. 2 in the nation at 165 pounds, earned his second All-Star Classic victory in as many appearances at the event, shutting out Arizona State's third-ranked Patrick Pitsch 4-0. Pitsch took the first shot of match -- a quick single-leg attempt -- but Tannenbaum proved the aggressor for the remainder of the frame, attempting several single legs and a late leg sweep but failing to score. Starting down in the second, Tannenbaum gained the only lead he would need with a quick escape and padded his advantage with a takedown late in the period off an errant Pitsch shot. With the Sun Devil wrestler out of position, Tannenbaum snapped him down and spun around top for two points. The Wolverine added a final point at match's end after riding out Pitsch for the entirety of the third period, using a deep legride and a couple of lifts and hard returns to keep the ASU wrestler on the mat.
Churella and Tannenbaum are the 30th and 31st Wolverine wrestlers to participate in the NWCA All-Star, and it marks the 10th time in program history that Michigan has boasted multiple wrestlers in the all-star lineup. Tannenbaum is the seventh Wolverine to earn repeat selection to the annual event, adding to his 2005 appearance at which he upset top-ranked, defending NCAA champion Zack Esposito 7-3 in the 149-pound match.
Tannenbaum, Churella and the rest of the Wolverines will kick off the season on Saturday (Nov. 24) at the Journeymen/Brute Northeast Duals in Troy, N.Y. Michigan will square off against Bucknell, Maryland, Bloomsburg and Virginia at the dual-meet event.
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