Jan. 11, 2003
The fourth-ranked Illinois wrestling team won six matches, including the match-winning decision at 197 pounds, to beat conference-foe No. 10 Penn State, 19-12 to take third-place at the 23rd Annual Virginia Duals in Hampton, Va.
No. 14 Kyle Ott (Huber Heights, Ohio) got Illinois on the board at 125 pounds with a dominating match over Adam Smith, a 16-5 major decision. In seven minutes of wrestling, Ott rode Smith for 4:22 and still managed to score seven takedowns. No. 13 Mark Jayne (So., Elyria, Ohio) got only one takedown on No. 8 Josh Moore at 133 pounds, but it wasn't enough as he fell, 7-3 to make the Illinois 4-3.
The Moore brothers got the sweep as No. 14 Scott Moore got the 8-2 decision over Illinois' No. 19 Cal Ferry (Fr., Machesney, Ill.) at 141 pounds. At 149 pounds, No. 14 Tony Pedrosa (Fr., Oregon, Ill.) took on No. 15 Nathan Gallaway for the second time this season and got the win for the second time this season in a 1-0 decision. Pedrosa escaped at 1:58 in the third and that was all he needed to push Illinois ahead of the Nittany Lions, 7-6.
Ninth-ranked Alex Tirapelle (Fr., Clovis, Calif.) was in control of Nate Wachter from the first takedown at 2:34 in the first period. He got his second takedown at 1:05 in the third for the 5-2 win. No. 1 Matt Lackey (Sr., Moline, Ill.) had a scare at 165 pounds as he went for a takedown with five seconds remaining in the match. Leading 9-4, Lackey shot and Doc Vecchio countered to take him to his back, tying the match at 9-9, but a point for riding time gave him a 10-9 lead and pushed Illinois to 13-6.
Fifth-ranked Brian Glynn (So., Orland Park, Ill.) got a takedown at 1:27 in the first and rode Dan Waters the duration of the period to establish riding time and three more escape points were all he needed to capture the 5-2 decision. In one of the most gut-wrenching matches of the evening, No. 18 Jason Potter (Jr., St. Charles, Ill.) dropped an 11-7 decision to No. 5 Mark Becks. With 22 seconds remaining in the second period, Potter suffered a severe injury to his right ankle. Knowing the team couldn't give up six points in an injury default, he suffered through the final 2:22 of the match and even managed to tie the score at 6-6 before giving up three stalling points and a final takedown.
No. 19 Tyrone Byrd (So., Clinton, Ill.) came through in the clutch with a 3-1 decision over Ryan Cummins. He reversed Cummins at 1:43 in the second period and allowed only an escape and with over two minutes of riding secured the Illinois win and third-place in the tournament. Chris Little (Fr., Mahomet, Ill.) dropped a 9-2 decision in the heavyweight match to seventh-ranked Pat Cummins.
#4 Illinois (5-1) vs. #10 Penn State Team
125: #14 Kyle Ott (ILL) major dec. Adam Smith (PSU), 16-5 4-0
133: #8 Josh Moore (PSU) dec. #13 Mark Jayne (ILL), 7-3 4-3
141: #14 Scott Moore (PSU) dec. #19 Cal Ferry (ILL), 8-2 4-6
149: #14 Tony Pedrosa (ILL) dec. #15 Nathan Gallaway (PSU), 1-0 7-6
157: #9 Alex Tirapelle (ILL) dec. Nate Wachter (PSU), 7-2 10-6
165: #1 Matt Lackey (ILL) dec. Doc Vecchio (PSU), 10-9 13-6
174: #5 Brian Glynn (ILL) dec. Dan Waters (PSU), 5-3 16-6
184: #5 Mark Becks (PSU) dec. #18 Jason Potter (ILL), 11-7 16-9
197: #19 Tyrone Byrd (ILL) dec. Ryan Cummins (PSU), 3-1 19-9
HWT: #7 Pat Cummins (PSU) dec. Chris Little (ILL), 9-2 19-12
