The MSU wrestling team continued its successful homestand with stunning upsets against Iowa and archrival Michigan.
The 14th-ranked Spartans (7-5, 4-1 Big Ten) defeated the No. 2 Hawkeyes (12-3, 2-1) for the first time since 1971. MSU also handed Iowa its first loss in conference competition.
"None of my staff was born, and I was in college the last time we beat them," MSU head coach Tom Minkel said. "Friday was a historic match. It wasn't just a win, it was historic."
The Spartans took a 19-14 lead into the final match of the night. And after Hawkeye heavyweight and No. 1 Steve Mocco took a technical fall from MSU heavyweight John Wechter, the score was knotted at 19 apiece.
The deciding factor was Spartan senior Arsen Aleksanyan, who recorded the only pin of the night.
"Friday, I wasn't really feeling great," he said. "I got a little tired halfway through the match. I wasn't intending on hitting that move. He just came toward me. It was kind of a gift from God."
Sunday's match was a hotly contested one as MSU slid past No. 7 Michigan (8-6, 3-3) 16-15. It was the Spartans' third straight victory over a top-10 team.
Junior Mike Keenan picked up his first victory in dual competition as he defeated No. 9 heavyweight Greg Wagner.
It looked as though Keenan pinned his opponent, but the official took the fall away because of an injury to Wagner just before the pin was counted.
"On the way down, I just sort of twisted my hips and landed on top of him," Keenan said of his near fall. "I asked our coach and they said he was hurt so the ref took the pin away."
Keenan only had a day to prepare for his opponent because of Wechter's injury.
With a 7-3 victory in the 197-pound weight class Sunday, senior Nik Fekete won his 10th-consecutive match.
Minkel said he was worried about the matchup problems Michigan posed for MSU. He also said he was concerned the team wouldn't be able to stay focused after the win against Iowa.
"Emotionally, I didn't think we could get up for Michigan," Minkel said. "But the team performed well."
Minkel said the best part about the two monumental victories is being able to share it with the fans. And although the two weekend triumphs are great for the program, Minkel said his team is far from its apex.
"They supported us when we were down," he said. "It just makes the wins that much better - having them to share it with.
"There's still some things we need to work on. There's certainly some areas we can improve on. We're not going to let up and get comfortable. We still have to get after it."
