Updated Brackets | Team Scores
New York City, NY — The Fighting Illini will feature four grapplers in tomorrow morning's quarterfinal round after the six wrestlers combined for a 10-2 record on day one of NCAA Championships. #1 Isaiah Martinez dominated his two opponents, while unseeded Brooks Black pulled an upset in round one on his way to to the quarterfinals. Rounding out the foursome, #3 Zane Richards and #6 Steven Rodrigues held their seed line with gutsy victories in the opening rounds to hold their seed line. Zac Brunson and Jeff Koepke dropped matches, but are still alive in the consolation bracket. As a team, Coach Heffernan's squad is in 12th after two sessions.
"Overall a pretty good day here, and a great win for Brooks [Black,"] said Coach Heffernan. "[He] beat the six seed in the first round, and then came back with a hard-fought win in overtime in the second round. [We have] four guys in the quarterfinals and two guys coming back in consolation [rounds], so a pretty productive day. [There's] a huge day ahead of us." Â
Defending Champ Cruises to Quarterfinals
The defending national champion at 157-pounds, and top seed this year, Isaiah Martinez wasted little time in getting to his attack today. The sophomore from Lemoore, California finished off the Robert Henderson in the opening round with three near falls en route to a 16-0 technical fall. Â
In the evening session, Martinez again made quick work of his opponent, this time against #16 Markus Scheidel. After three near falls in round one, Martinez relied on takedowns in round two, twice using a kickstand to take Scheidel to the mat. The red-shirt sophomore, now 29-1 on the season, defeated the Columbia grappler by major decision, 15-4, and will face ninth-seeded Nick Brascetta tomorrow morning. Brascetta and Martinez were originally set to wrestle at the NWCA All-Star Classic back in November, but both chose not to participate.
Back in Black: Brooks Black Surprises on Day 1
Coming off three wins over ranked wrestlers at Big Ten Championships two weeks prior, Brooks Black carried his recent surge into the opening day of NCAA Championships. After his opening-round upset of #6 Denzel Dejournette (Appalachian State), a 7-2 decision, Black faced off against Boyce Cornwell of Gardener Webb in round two. Both heavyweights refused to give an inch throughout the match, scoring points solely on escapes all the way through the second overtime period. However, Black was able to gain a four second riding time advantage to advance by a count of 4-3. In the quarterfinal round tomorrow morning, Black will wrestle third seed Ty Walz (25-2) of Virginia Tech. Â
Richards & Rodrigues Grind Their Way into Quarterfinals  Â
At 133-pounds, Richards (24-1) kick-started the action this afternoon with a hard-fought 5-4 decision over Joey Palmer (Oregon State) with 1:49 of riding time. The red-shirt junior faced Geoffrey Alexander in round two, once again needing a late surge to win the match. Alexander took the lead with a takedown to open the scoring, but Richards battled back to tie it 4-4 entering the final period. After a penalty point against Alexander, Richards finished the match on a 4-1 run, using two takedowns, to win 9-5. With the top seeds holding around him, Richards is set to wrestle #6 George DiCamillo of Virginia in tomorrow's quarterfinal round.
At 165, Rodrigues opened the day with a 5-2 victory in round one over George Pickett (Cornell), a match he controlled from start to finish. In the evening session, the Mount Kisco, New York native got in a tough and tumble battle with Geno Morelli of Penn State. The upset-minded Nittany Lion battled Rodrigues for seven minutes, the 165-pounders only giving up an escape point, and forced overtime. After both rode the other for 30 seconds to force a second sudden victory. However, the Illini middle weight broke through 19 seconds into the one-minute period with a takedown to clinch a spot in the quarterfinals. Tomorrow morning, Rodrigues will meet a familiar foe, Bo Jordan of Ohio State who has handed the Illini senior two of his three defeats this season.
"I just had to stay composed," said Rodrigues. "That's the main thing. You train so hard and you have to train for adversity. I had some adversity in that match and I had to fight through it."
Brunson Upset in Second Round
Zac Brunson started off the day with a victory over unseeded Keaton Subjeck, winning 5-2 and leading throughout. However, Brunson struggled to continue the momentum in the second round when he faced Indiana's Nate Jackson. The Hoosier, after losing to Brunson in the Reno Tournament title bout in December, redeemed himself with a 10-1 victory tonight, bumping Brunson into the consolation bracket.
Koepke Rebounds in Consolation Bracket
Facing fourth-seeded Domenic Abounader in round one, Koepke was unable to revenge his previous two losses to the wolverine, dropping the match 8-0. However, the Illini senior from Prospect Heights showed grit and determination in the first round of the consolation bracket. Facing off against Samson Imonode of Army, Koepke fell in an early hole, surrendering a takedown, and then fell behind 4-2 again in the second period. However, a penalty point against Imonode opened the door for Koepke and he used it to propel him past Imonode, earning a takedown in period three to clinch the 6-5 comeback victory.
The six grapplers return to action tomorrow morning, beginning at 10 a.m. central time with quarterfinals and the continuation of wrestlebacks. For complete coverage of the team, go to fightingillini.com and follow @IlliniWrestling on Twitter and Instagram.
Illini Results:
133: #3 Zane Richards
Champ. Round 1: won by decision over Joey Palmer (ORST), 5-4
Champ. Round 2: won by decision over #14 Geoffrey Alexander (MD), 9-5
Quarterfinals: vs. #6 George DiCamillo (Virginia)
157: #2 Isaiah Martinez
Champ. Round 1: won by tech fall over Robert Henderson (UNC), 16-0
Champ. Round 2: won by major decision over #16 Markus Scheidel (COLU), 15-4
Quarterfinals: vs. #8 Nick Brascetta (Virginia Tech)
165: #6 Steven Rodrigues
Champ. Round 1: won by decision over George Pickett (CORN), 5-2
Champ. Round 2: won by decision over Geno Morelli (PSU), 3-1 (SV-2)
Quarterfinals: vs. #3 Bo Jordan (Ohio State) Â
174: #5 Zac Brunson
Champ. Round 1: won by decision over Keaton Subjeck (STAN), 3-1
Champ Round 2: lost by major decision to #12 Nathan Jackson (IND), 10-1
Cons. Round 2: vs. Nick Wanzek (Minnesota)
184: #7 Jeff Koepke
Champ. Round 1: loses by major decision to Domenic Abounader (MICH), 8-0
Cons. Round 1: won by decision over Samson Imonode (Army), 6-5
Cons. Round 2: vs. Joe Ariola (Buffalo)
HWT: #7 Brooks Black
Champ. Round 1: wins by decision over #6 Denzel Dejournette (APP), 7-2
Champ. Round 2: wins by decision over Boyce Cornwell (GW), 4-3 (2OT)
Quarterfinals: vs. #3 Ty Walz (Virginia Tech)
TEAM STANDINGS
1. Â Penn St. 27.5
2. Â Ohio St. 24.0
2. Â Oklahoma St. 24.0
4. Â Nebraska 20.0
5. Â Iowa 17.5
5. Â Missouri 17.5
5. Â Virginia Tech 17.5
8. Â Michigan 15.0
9. Â NC State 13.0
9. Â Oklahoma 13.0
11. ILLINOIS 12.0
11. Iowa St. 12.0
13. Cornell  11.0
14. Lehigh   10.5
15. Rutgers  10.0
