Session 1 Bracket
Session 1 Team Scores
New York City, NY — The Orange & Blue began the opening session with five victories in six of their matches. Two Fighting Illini grapplers stole the show for the Illini during the opening round, Isaiah Martinez with a 16-0 tech fall and Brooks Black with a 7-2 upset of #6 Denzel Dejournette. As a team, the Illini have scored 6.5 points and sit in a tie for 10th after the opening session. Â
Defending Champ Rolls Through Round One
The defending national champion at 157-pounds, and top seed this year, Isaiah Martinez wasted little time in attacking Robert Henderson of North Carolina. After a takedown to start the scoring, Martinez proceeded to dominate the rest of period one with three four-point near falls to lead 14-0 after just three minutes. The sophomore from Lemoore, California finished off the tech fall with a reversal in period two, winning 16-0 in just 4:15. Martinez (28-1) will face #16 Markus Scheidel (40-8) tonight in the second round.
Brooks Black Provides Highlight of Session 1
Coming off three wins over ranked wrestlers at Big Ten Championships two weeks' prior, Brooks Black carried his recent surge into his opening-round bout with #6 Denzel Dejournette of Appalachian State. Black used early takedowns in both the first and second period, combined with over two minutes of riding time, to take a commanding lead. Black rode Dejournette out for the remaining period to win 7-2. He will take on unseeded Boyce Cornwell (GW) in round two after the Cornwell upset Iowa's #11 Sam Stoll this afternoon.
#Illini Seeded Wrestlers Hold Seed in Opening Session Â
Seeded wrestlers #3 Zane Richards, #5 Zac Brunson, and #6 Steven Rodrigues all held serve in their opening matches to advance to tonight's second round matches.
At 133-pounds, Richards (24-1) kick-started the action this afternoon with a hard-fought 5-4 decision over Joey Palmer (Oregon State). After a takedown to start the action, unseeded Palmer played it close to the vest and refused to let Richards get to his offense. In the second period, Palmer surged ahead but the Illini 133-pounder rebounded to tie the score with an escape in the third period. Tied 4-4 at the end of the seven minutes, Richards won 5-4 on account of 1:49 of riding time in his favor. The red-shirt junior will face Geoffrey Alexander of Maryland in tonight's second round.
At 165, Rodrigues earned a takedown in the first period and never relinquished his lead over George Pickett (Cornell). The senior from Mount Kisco, New York added on another takedown and escape during the remaining four minutes to earn a 5-2 decision. Rodrigues (26-3) will face upset minded Geno Morelli of Penn State after the Nittany Lion defeated #11 John Staudenmayer (UNC) 5-3 in round one.
Similar to teammates Richards and Rodrigues, Brunson was methodical in his 3-1 decision over Keaton Subjeck of Stanford. Subjeck hung tight with Brunson throughout the match, not allowing Brunson to get on the attack. After remaining deadlocked at zero after the opening three minutes, Brunson got to work in period two with an escape and then a takedown to stretch the lead to 3-0. The three points proved to be enough as Brunson allowed just an escape the rest of the way. Brunson (21-3) will wrestle Indiana's Nathan Jackson (32-7) tonight in the second round, a rematch of the Reno Tournament title match that Brunson won by a count of 8-4.
Koepke Looks to Rebound Tonight in Consolation Bracket
The only defeat of session one for the Fighting Illini came at 184-pounds. Facing fourth-seeded Domenic Abounader for the third time this season, Koepke was unable to revenge his previous two losses to the wolverine, giving up two takedowns in period one, dropping the match 8-0. In tonight's consolation bracket, the Illini senior (20-9) will look to keep his season alive against Army's Samson Imonode (15-18). Â
Full Illini Results:
133: #3 Zane Richards
Champ. Round 1: won by decision Joey Palmer (ORST), 5-4
Champ. Round 2: vs. #14 Geoffrey Alexander (MD)
157: #2 Isaiah Martinez
Champ. Round 1: wins by tech fall over Robert Henderson (UNC), 16-0
Champ. Round 2: vs. #16 Markus Scheidel (COLU)
165: #6 Steven Rodrigues
Champ. Round 1: wins by decision over George Pickett (CORN), 5-2
Champ. Round 2: vs. Geno Morelli (PSU) Â
174: #5 Zac Brunson
Champ. Round 1: wins by decision over Keaton Subjeck (STAN), 3-1
Champ Round 2: vs. #12 Nathan Jackson (IND)
184: Jeff Koepke
Champ. Round 1: loses by major decision to Domenic Abounader (MICH), 8-0
Cons. Round 1: vs. Samson Imonode (Army)
HWT: Brooks Black
Champ. Round 1: wins by decision over #6 Denzel Dejournette (APP),
Champ. Round 2: vs. Boyce Cornwell (GW)
TEAM STANDINGS
1. Â Ohio St. 16.5
2. Â Penn State 16.0
3. Â Nebraska 13.0
4. Â Iowa 11.0
5. Â Michigan 10.0
5. Â Missouri 10.0
5. Â Oklahoma St. 10.0
8. Â NC State 9.0
8. Â Virginia Tech 9.0
10. ILLINOIS 6.5
10. Rutgers  6.5
