More than 1,000 people came to Jenison Field House on Friday night to see some big-time wrestling, and big-time wrestling was what the fans got.
In what could be a preview of late NCAA Championship matchups, No. 1 Sam Hazewinkel of Oklahoma faced MSU's No. 3 Nick Simmons at 125 pounds. Two matches later, No. 2 Teyon Ware grappled with No. 6 Andy Simmons at 141 pounds.
No. 7 Oklahoma defeated No. 20 MSU 31-10.
Nick Simmons came out aggressively in the first match of the night, coming close to scoring a takedown on more than one occasion early into the match, but the first period ended scoreless.
Hazewinkel, who has been ranked No. 1 all season, scored an escape to go up 1-0 with 55 seconds left in the second, and that was the way it ended. Hazewinkel also received a point for riding time once the match ended to win, 2-0.
"If Nick gets one of those early takedowns - boom it's different," MSU head coach Tom Minkel said. "There are two or three kids at that level with Nick at the NCAAs, so that just shows you what you have to do."
Nick Simmons finished the regular season with a 24-2 record.
Following his brother's example in the first match, Andy Simmons made some quick moves and scored a takedown to get out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first period at 141 pounds.
But Ware, the 2003 national champion, battled back and went up 4-2 before Andy Simmons reinjured a knee that had been aggravating him all season. Simmons finished the season with a 27-3 record.
"The margin is very, very small, but it's great preparation for the Big Tens and it's great preparation for three weeks from now at the NCAAs," Minkel said.
The Spartans received a dominating performance from No. 12 R.J. Boudro at 174 pounds as he defeated Brad Martens by major decision, 18-5. Boudro led 2-0 going into the third period, and realized Martens was tired.
"I broke that guy, and I had him in the palm of my hands," Boudro said. "I noticed him look up at the clock, and he just wanted the match to be over, and once he started doing that, I knew I had him."
With the victory, Boudro improved his dual meet record to 7-2 and finished the regular season at 16-5.
In another exciting match at the heavyweight class, MSU's Max Lossen battled hard against No. 14 Jake Hager, as the score was tied for much of the match. Hager scored a late takedown to win the match, 3-1.
The other six points of the evening for MSU came from an Oklahoma forfeit at 149 pounds.
MSU finishes the season with a 7-6-1 overall record.
The Spartans return to action Saturday and Sunday at the Big Ten Championships in Iowa City, Iowa.
