Ohio was rolling along against No. 5 Central Michigan ' until the match at 157-pounds.
The Bobcats' 157-pounder Jake Frerichs was held out because of a knee injury, forcing Ohio to hand six points to the Chippewas, who rolled to a 31-9 win. The forfeit couldn't have come at a worse time, just after three straight Ohio decisions that gave the 'Cats a 9-4 lead.
After it was announced, all the energy of a raucous, senior-night crowd at The Convo was extinguished. Coach Joel Greenlee knew it wasn't going to be easy.
It's tough
he said. You'd like to put someone in there so you don't have to give up six but there's nothing you can do about it so we just had to try and overcome it.
Before the scratch, Ohio had strung together three wins from Terry Jackson, Albert Madsen and Clay Tucker at the 133-, 141- and 149-pound weight classes respectively.
At 133, Jackson scored an early takedown before riding out a 3-1 win that, at one point, required him to desperately hang on to Central Michigan's Conor Beebe to prevent an escape.
Madsen toppled No. 17 Eric Kruger to establish himself as the Mid-American Conference's best at 141 with a 5-0 record against conference opponents. Madsen said the win means a lot, especially at this point in the season.
It's a big confidence booster he said. Especially going into the MAC tournament and after being ranked third or fourth at the beginning of the year.
Ohio's winning ways continued at 149-pounds when Ohio's Clay Tucker earned an exciting 6-3 decision after scoring a takedown in the final minute. The win is Tucker's ninth of the year and caps a regular season that was marred with ups and downs.
I've had a tough year Tucker said. It feels good to come out here and get a win in our last regular season match.
Ohio (16-7, 2-3 MAC) was unable to stop the Chippewas (16-4-1, 4-0 MAC) following Tucker's win, dropping six straight matches. Regardless, Greenlee feels that his team gained something last night.
I think we needed to try and take it to them and get some wins and get ready for the MAC tournament
he said. I think at '33
'41 and '49 we did what we had to do and from there on out we didn't necessarily do as well as we could have.
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Ohio University sophomore Terry Jackson competes with Central Michigan freshman Conor Beebe during yesterday's wrestling match. The Bobcats lost to the Chippewas 31-9.
