CHAMPAIGN, ILL — The Fighting Illini grapplers prepare for NCAA Championships this weekend. The three-day event will be broadcasted live on ESPNU, ESPN, and ESPN3.com over the course of the meet. Six Illini wrestlers will compete for the Orange & Blue, headlined by No. 1 seed and defending national champion Isaiah Martinez at 157-pounds.
*No. 2 Isaiah Martinez (27-1), No. 2 Zane Richards (23-1), No. 2 Zac Brunson (20-3), and No. 4 Steven Rodrigues (24-3) have com-bined for a 94-8 record this season.
*Zane Richards is a perfect 21-0 this year and owns five wins over ranked opponents this season. He finished the Big Ten season 7-0 after missing the Nebraska and Northwestern matches due to the flu.
*Isaiah Martinez enters NCAA Championships as the defending champion at 157-pounds. He completed his undefeated (35-0) freshman season with a 10-2 major decision over Cornell's Brian Realbuto. The undefeated freshman season was the first sine Cael Sanderson of Iowa State did it in 1999. Martinez won his second Big Ten title two weeks ago against Jason Nolf of Penn State, 4-3 in double overtime.
*Junior Zac Brunson has set a career-high in pins (9) this season, highlighted by his 2:00 fall of Alex Meyer (Iowa) in the semifinal round at Big Ten Championships. Brunson placed runner-up at Big Tens, his best finish of his career.
*Steven Rodrigues has soared past his win total from last season (17), when he wrestled at 141-pounds, with 24 this season and a career-best third-place finish at Big Ten Championships.
*Brooks Black reached the 20-win plateau for the first time in his career, while Jeff Koepke tied his career high in wins with his 21st victory over Kenny Courts (Ohio State) at Big Ten Championships.
#9 ILLINOIS SETS SIGHTS ON NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
Ranked ninth in the W.I.N Tournament Power Index, the Fighting Illini enter NCAA Championships with their best opportunity to finish in the top-ten since they did so in 2012 and 2013 when Coach Heffernan led the Illini to seventh and ninth place finishes, respectively.
SIX ILLINI HEAD TO NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
Although the Illini aren't taking as many wrestlers as they did last year, putting a wrestler in every weight class, the Orange & Blue look to pack a stronger punch with the six grapplers heading to Madison Square Garden. Four Illini are expected to place for the Illini, Zane Richards (133), defending champion Isaiah Martinez (157), Steven Rodrigues (165), and Zac Brunson (174). The foursome each placed in the top-three at Big Ten Championships, headlined by Martinez's victory over undefeated Jason Nolf (Penn State) in the 157-pound title match. One advantage the Illini look to build off of is their experience at Madison Square Garden, winning two dual matches at the historic venue on November 29.
ILLINOIS SEEDS
133: 3RD Zane Richards (23-1, 7-0), r-Jr., Carbondale, Ill.
157: 1ST Isaiah Martinez (27-1, 8-1), r-So., Lemoore, Calif.
165: 6TH Steven Rodrigues (21-2, 7-2), r-Sr., Mount Kisco, Ill.
174: 5TH Zac Brunson (17-2, 4-2), r-Jr., Eugene, Ore.
UNSEEDED ILLINOIS WRESTLERS
184: Jeff Koepke (18-5, 6-3), r-Sr., Prospect Heights, Ill.
HWT: Brooks Black (16-7, 4-5), r-So., Dover, Pa.
NCAA QUALIFIER SPOTS ALLOCATED
The NCAA announced the qualifier allocations for the 2016 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships this afternoon. The The Big Ten was awarded 71 of the 284 slots, and then garnered eighth at-large bids across the ten weight classes. The 79 total wrestlers from the Big Ten is top among all other conferences. Below is a list of each weight class and the automatic and at-large bids from the Big Ten.
Weight BT Auto Qualifiers At-Large
125 7 1
133 9 1
141 7 1
149 6 2
157 7 0
165 6 2
174 9 0
184 7 1
197 6 0
HWT 7 0
ILLINI HISTORY NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Fighting Illini have crowned 23 NCAA Championships since 129, including one in each of the last three seasons. Since Jim Heffernan took the reigns in 2009, the Illini have seen 17 All-American performances across 10 athletes. In total, the Illini have 81 All-Americans and have not had a season without an All-American in a quarter century.
LAST YEAR AT NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Fighting Illini put a full ten grapplers in last year's NCAA Championships in St. Louis. Finishing 12th overall, the Orange & Blue saw elite performances from senior Jason Morse and freshman Isaiah Martinez. At 165 pounds, Morse earned his first All-American honor with a fourth-place finish in his bracket. The freshman phenon Isaiah Martinez completed his perfect (35-0) season last year with win over Brian Realbuto (Cornell) in the 157-pound championship match, defeating him 10-2. The win made Martinez the first undefeated freshman wrestler since Cael Sanderson acccomplished the feat in 1999 at Iowa State.
WEIGHT CLASSES TO WATCH
157 Pounds
After regaining his spot atop the 157-pound rankings with a win in the Big Ten title bout over previously undefeated Jason Nolf, Martinez enters as the top seed in New York. After losing to Nolf on January 23, Martinez has rolled off eight straight wins to enter this weekend 27-1. The hype surrounding this weight class is with the possibility of a winner-take-all title match between Nolf and Martinez after the two split their previous two matches this season. No. 2 seed Thomas Gantt of NC State and No. 6 Oklahoma State's Joe Smith look to figure into the title picture after both won their conference tournaments.
133 Pounds
After suffering his first loss of the season against Cory Clark (Iowa) in the Big Ten 133-pound title match, No. 3 seed Zane Richards will make a push for the NCAA title this weekend. With a team-high seven wins over ranked opponents, Richards has shown that he can survive a rigorous Big Ten slate. Similar to Martinez and Nolf at 157, a third match of the season for Clark and Richards is likely in the national semifinal on Friday night. Cornell's Nahshon Garrett enters as the favorite to prevail in the top half of the bracket and get to Saturday night's title bout.
174 pounds
After an injury-shortened regular season, Zac Brunson showed he is still among the Big Ten's best with a runner-up finish and a pin of Iowa's Alex Meyer in the semifinal match. Having dropped only three matches (20-3) all season, two at the hands at top-seeded Bo Nickal, fifth-seeded Brunson looks prepared to make another run in the NCAA bracket. A potential matchup against fourth-seeded Ethan Ramos (UNC) could decide how deep Brunson can go. Brian Realbuto could provide the toughest test for top-seed Nickal after the Cornell junior lost to Isaiah Martinez in the NCAA title match last year.
165 Pounds
NCAA Championships will be a homecoming for red-shirt senior Steven Rodrigues who grew up just an hour away from Madison Square Garden and will be seeking a strong finish to his collegiate career this weekend. No. 6 seed Steven Rodrigues enters undefeated against everyone without the last name Jordan. Entering with a career-best 24-3 record, Rodrigues has dropped three matches this year, two against No. 3 seed Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin) and one against No. 2 seed Bo Jordan (Wisconsin). Oklahoma State's Alex Dieringer enters as the top-seed at 165 and the favorite in the weight class.
184 Pounds
Like Rodrigues, Jeff Koepke is in the final lap of his college career and seeks to go out in style at one of the nation's most famous arenas. To date, Koepke has tied his career-high for wins (21) on his way to placing sixth at Big Ten Championships. Koepke drew a tough first-round matchup against Michigan's No. 4 seed Domenic Abounader, losing to the Michigan wrestler twice this season.
Heavyweight
Brooks Black will make his second NCAA Championships appearance in as many seasons after the sophomore placed fifth at Big Tens. 20-9 overall, Black entered Big Ten Championships without a win over a ranked opponents. That changed late in the day on Saturday with upset wins over Nick Nevills and Sam Stoll. On Sunday, Black added a third win over a ranked opponent on the weekend with a victory over Colin Jensen in the fifth-place match. Unseeded this weekend, the Illini heavyweight will begin his path through the bracket with sixth-seeded Denzel Dejoumette of Appalachian State. If Black can pull off the upset, his probable second round matchup would be a rematch with Iowa's Sam Stoll.
FOLLOW THE ACTION LIVE ON ESPN NETWORKS
ESPN's family of networks will provide full coverage of every match for the three-day event. Beginning with the first round on Thursday at 11 a.m. CT, ESPNU and ESPN3.com will broadcast the opening round matchups through the end of the afternoon session on Friday. Friday night, ESPN will broadcast the semifinal matches live and will do so again for the title matches on Saturday night at 7 p.m. central time. ESPNU will carry all consolation matches on Saturday, beginning at 10 a.m. CT.
ILLINI STRONG IN COACHES' RANKINGS, RPI
The final NCAA coaches' rankings and the first Ratings Percentage Index were released on Feb. 25 and a number of Fighting Illini wrestlers appeared in one or both. A wrestler's RPI requires him to have a minimum of 15 matches against Division I opponents and is measured by the following formula: win % X opponents' win % X opponents' opponents' win %. The top 33 wrestlers are listed in both the RPI and coaches' rankings.
Wrestlers that meet or exceed threshold levels for all three measures were designated "Gold Standard," while those meeting/exceeding two of the three measures were "Silver Standard." All Gold and Silver Standard wrestlers earned an NCAA qualifier position for their weight class at that qualifying event. Below are Illinois' wrestlers in the final RPI standings and coaches' rankings, which included the top 33 at each weight class:
Wt Name RPI Coaches Rk
133 Zane Richards 2 2
157 Isaiah Martinez 9 2
165 Steven Rodrigues 8 4
174 Zac Brunson 15 3
184 Jeff Koepke 17 22
HWT Brooks Black 20 24
