Updated Brackets | Team Scores
New York City, N.Y. — The consolation bracket competition wrapped up this afternoon at Madison Square Garden with Zane Richards and Steven Rodrigues reaching the podium. After both grapplers clinched All-American honors yesterday, Richards and Rodrigues both split their two matches today. Richards won his first bout and dropped his second to place fourth at 133-pounds, while Rodrigues finished fifth at 165-pounds with a win in his second match today.
Richards Places Fourth
After falling just short in the semifinal last night against #2 Cory Clark, Richards returned to the mat today to earn a third-place finish. The All-American began the day with a morning decision over Penn State's Jordan Conaway. The Illini junior nabbed a takedown in the opening minute to open the scoring. From there, the two Big Ten foes had multiple scrambles throughout the remaining two periods, but nothing materialized. Winning by a 3-2 decision, Richards moved on to the third-place match.
"For us, our biggest concern was, coming off a tough semifinal loss where he got taken down at the buzzer, I knew his match this morning was going to be his toughest match," said Coach Heffernan. "We had to make sure he got ready for that one and wasn't feeling sorry for himself."
His opponent for the third-place bout was defending national champion Cody Brewer of Oklahoma. Similarly, to his first match of the day, Richards opened with an early takedown. However, Brewer held the Illini 133-pounder in check for most of the remaining six plus minutes. Brewer notched two takedowns in the opening frame, and then added another one in period two. An escape and point for riding time for Brewer sealed the 9-4 decision.
"If you come in fourth, you're good," said Heffernan. "But, I think he's capable of a lot more."
Richards completes his junior season with a 27-3 overall record, a runner-up finish at Big Ten Championships two weeks ago, and his first All-America honor of his career this weekend.
Rodrigues Finishes Illini Career with 5th Place Finish
In Rodrigues' consolation semifinal, the Illini All-American never was able to get to his offense this morning. Daniel Lewis took Rodrigues to the mat towards the end of the opening minute of action and rode him out for the remaining two minutes, adding two back points in the process. After an escape to start period two, Lewis once again got Rodrigues on the mat, this time pinning him (3:50).
In the fifth-place match, Rodrigues fell behind early after Virginia Tech's David McFadden notched an early takedown. However, true to the wrestler he's been for the past four years, Rodrigues showed grit and determination in battling back.
"He's a tough guy, and that's one thing we always knew about him," said Coach Heffernan. "You're going to get everything he's got, every day in practice and every time he competes. A couple of those matches, even in overtime, didn't really concern me so much because I knew if it came down to toughness, he was going to win."
Trailing 3-1 early in the second period, Rodrigues went to work with two takedowns to fight his way to a 5-4 lead.
"I kind of got sloppy, wanting him to fold," said Rodrigues. "I knew that if I got to my offense, he couldn't keep that pace."
After riding McFadden out for the remaining time in period two, Rodrigues padded his lead with a takedown to begin period three. A riding point by Rodrigues capped off his 8-5 decision and earning him a fifth-place finish at NCAA Championships.
"He's a fighter, everyone at this level is good, and I knew I had to ride [him] hard," said Rodrigues. "It was my last match and so I gave it everything I had."
Steven Rodrigues completes his career with 89 career victories, three NCAA Championships qualifications, a third-place finish at Big Tens two weeks ago, and his first All-American honor in his home state to cap it all off.
"Once I clinched [being an All-American], and kind of got that monkey off my back, that was probably the most fun I've had in my wrestling career," explained Rodrigues. "There's probably about 500 people here from my area coming to watch me wrestle. It's a great feeling to get my last win here."
Isaiah Martinez Wrestles for NCAA Title Tonight at 7 p.m.
In one of the most anticipated matches in the championship round tonight, #1 Isaiah Martinez (31-1) and #3 Jason Nolf (33-1) continue their rivalry with the rubber match tonight at Madison Square Garden. Martinez was pinned by Nolf back in January at Huff Hall, his first collegiate loss after winning 54 straight matches to begin his Illinois career. A month and a half later, Martinez got even with Nolf with a 4-3, double-overtime decision in the 157-pound title match at Big Ten Championships. The championship round will be broadcasted live on ESPN at 7 p.m. central time.
Complete 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: won by major decision over #6 George DiCamillo (UVA),12-4
Semifinals: lost by decision to #2 Cory Clark (Iowa), 4-3
Cons. Semifinal: won by decision over #5 Jordan Conaway (Penn State),3-2
3rd-Place Match: loses by decision to #4 Cody Brewer (OU), 9-4
Zane Richards Places 4th
157: #1 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: won by decision over #8 Nick Brascetta (VT), 6-3
Semifinals: won by decision over #4 Ian Miller (Kent State), 7-5 (SV-1)
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: lost by major decision to #3 Bo Jordan (Ohio State), 10-2
Cons. Round 4: won by decision over #8 Chad Welch (PUR), 4-2
Cons. Round 5: won by decision over #10 Austin Wilson (NEB), 3-1 (SV-1)
Cons. Semifinal: lost by fall to #4 Daniel Lewsi (MIZ), 3:50
5th-Place Match: won by decision over David McFadden (VT), 8-5
Steven Rodrigues Places 5th
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: won by decision over Nick Wanzek (Minnesota), 9-2
Cons. Round 3: lost by decision to #3 Blaise Butler (Missouri), 3-1
Zac Brunson eliminated
184: 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: won by decision over Joe Ariola (Buffalo), 2-1
Cons. Round 3: lost by decision to #6 Blake Stauffer (ASU), 5-3 (SV-1)
Jeff Koepke eliminated
HWT: 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: lost by decision to #3 Ty Walz (Virginia Tech), 4-1
Cons. Round 4: lost by decision to #9 Michael Kroells (MINN), 4-2
Brooks Black eliminated
TEAM STANDINGS
1. Penn State 114.0
2. Oklahoma St. 89.5
3. Virginia Tech 82.0
4. Iowa 81.0
5. Ohio St. 78.0
6. Missouri 70.5
7. Cornell 59.0
8. Nebraska 58.0
9. Michigan 50.5
10. NC State 49.0
11. ILLINOIS 46.5
