Feb. 3, 2006
Big Ten powerhouses collided on Friday as No. 3 Illinois suffered their first loss of the season by falling to No. 4 Michigan 18-17. The defeat was also the team's first loss in the Big Ten in two seasons. With 2,309 fans in attendance, the second largest in team history, the electricity at Huff Gym was undeniable. Last season, the two teams logged the first tie in their program's long history--Friday night's match was just as close. With the loss, the Illini move to 8-1 overall and 3-1 in the Big Ten.
The dual started at 125 pounds and saw All-American Kyle Ott (Huber Heights, Ohio) post an18-6 major decision against Michael Watts. Once again, the Illini senior came out firing and scored three takedowns in the first period. By the end of the match, Ott overwhelmed the Michigan freshman as he added five more takedowns in the victory.
After winning the opening match, Illinois then dropped three in a row. Gabe Flores (Madera, Calif.) lost a 9-3 decision to No. 12 Mark Moos in their 133-pound match. Down 4-0 in the second period, Flores cut the lead in half by scoring a reversal, but as the period expired, Moos scored a reversal of his own to bring his lead back to four. Flores sliced the lead to three with an escape at the beginning of the third but that was as close as he got because Moos answered with a takedown to seal the Wolverine victory. At 141, All-American Cassio Pero (Chicago Heights, Ill.) lost a 7-2 decision to fourth-ranked Josh Churella. The two last met at last year's NCAA tournament with Pero coming away with the victory. Churella only allowed the Illini junior to only score on two escapes. In their 149-pound bout, Troy Tirapelle (Clovis, Calif.) lost a heartbreaker to No. 5 Eric Tannenbaum, 8-6. In the second period, with Tannenbaum leading 4-2, Tirapelle tied the match by scoring a takedown with under a minute to go. In the third, Tannenbaum took the lead with an escape point then added a takedown. The Illinois redshirt-freshman countered with a reversal to make the score 7-6 with :12 seconds left. An escape point by Tannenbaum with :05 seconds left made the match out of Tirapelle's reach.
The Illini finally snapped their losing streak as top-ranked Alex Tirapelle (Clovis, Calif.) got his revenge on No. 11 Steve Luke by taking a 7-1 decision in their 157-pound match. The two last met in the finals of the Las Vegas Invite where Luke handed Tirapelle his only loss of the season. At the end of the first period, the Illini senior scored a takedown to post the early 2-0 lead. In the beginning on the second, Tirapelle added an escape point to extend his lead, 3-0. In the third, with the Illini All-American up 4-1, he added two more points on a takedown for good measure. In the 165-pound bout, No. 8 Mike Poeta (Highwood, Ill.) lost a controversial match to top-ranked Ryan Churella, 6-5, in sudden-death overtime. In the third period, with Churella up 5-3, Poeta sent the crowd to their feet by scoring a takedown to send the match into overtime. The bout ended on a controversial call, however, as the referee gave a point to Churella citing an illegal hold on the Illini redshirt-freshman. Poeta accidentally caught his finger on Churella's knee pad as he was preparing for a score.
Halfway through the dual, down 12-7 the Illini turn the meet around by winning three in a row. No. 16 Donny Reynolds (Frankfort, Ill.) upset No. 10 Nick Roy, 11-5 in their 174-pound bout. With the match tied 5-5 in the second period, Reynolds scored a takedown just as time expired. In the third, with Reynolds up 8-5, he secured the victory by adding another takedown. Reynolds' win brought the Illini within two points, 10-12. At 184, No. 4 Pete Friedl (Orland Park, Ill.) won a major decision against Hassen Beri, 17-4. The senior All-American manhandled the normally 174-pounder by posting six takedowns and, more importantly, adding four precious points to the Illini's team score. Illinois now led the dual, 14-12. At 197, No. 8 Tyrone Byrd (Clinton, Ill.) added three more points to the Illinois cause by winning a 7-3 decision over Casey White. In the first period, Byrd picked up four early points on a takedown and a two-point nearfall. In the second and third periods, the two traded takedowns but White was never in position to recover from deficit.
With the Illini leading the dual, 17-12, dual came down to the heavyweights. Michigan needed a technical fall to tie and a pin to win. In dramatic fashion, Michigan's No. 3 Greg Wagner pinned Illinois' Matt Weight (Batavia, Ill.) at 1:09 in the second period. The pin gave the Wolverines the six points they needed in their come-from-behind victory.
On Sunday, the Fighting Illini look to bounce back from their first loss of the season as they travel north to face No. 16 Northwestern. The dual is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Rolling Meadows High School in Rolling Meadows, Ill.
#3 Illinois vs. #4 Michigan
Feb. 3, 2006 - Attendance: 2,309
125: #3 Kyle Ott (ILL) major dec. Michael Watts (UM), 18-6 4-0
133: #12 Mark Moos (UM) dec. Gabe Flores (ILL), 9-3 4-3
141: #4 Josh Churella (UM) dec. Cassio Pero (ILL), 8-2 4-6
149: #5 Eric Tannenbaum (UM) dec. Troy Tirapelle (ILL), 8-6 4-9
157: #1 Alex Tirapelle (ILL) dec. #11 Steve Luke (UM), 7-1 7-9
165: #1 Ryan Churella (UM) dec. #8 Mike Poeta (ILL), 6-5 sv 7-12
174: #16 Donny Reynolds (ILL) dec. #10 Nick Roy (UM), 11-5 10-12
184: #4 Pete Friedl (ILL) major dec. Hassen Berri (UM), 17-4 14-12
197: #8 Tyrone Byrd (ILL) dec. Casey White (UM), 6-3 17-12
Hwt: #3 Greg Wagner (UM) won by fall Matt Weight (ILL), 3:51 17-18
125: #3 Kyle Ott (ILL) major dec. Michael Watts (UM), 18-6
1st Period:
2:43 Ott takedown (2-0)
2:13 Watts escape (2-1)
1:20 Watts stalling warning
1:17 Ott takedown (4-1)
0:59 Watts escape (4-2)
0:49 Ott takedown (6-2)
2nd Period: Watts chooses bottom
2:00 tt caution, 1:56 Watts escape (6-3)
1:30 Ott takedown (8-3)
1:06 Watts escape (8-4)
0:29 Watts stalling (9-4)
0:28 Ott takedown (11-4)
3rd Period: Ott chooses neutral
1:38 Ott takedown (13-4)
1:07 Ott caution
1:07 Watts escape (13-5)
0:57 Ott takedown (15-5)
0:27 Watts escape (15-6)
0:07 Ott takedown (17-6)
Ott riding time 3:35 (18-6).
133: #12 Mark Moos (UM) dec. Gabe Flores (ILL), 9-3
1st Period:
2:46 Moos takedown (0-2)
0:55 Flores stalling warning
2nd Period: Moos chooses bottom
1:50 Moos reversal (0-4)
0:53 Flores reversal (2-4)
0:22 Moos reversal (2-6)
3rd Period: Flores chooses bottom
2:00 Flores escape (3-6)
0:29 Moos takedown (3-8)
Moos riding time 3:49 (3-9)
141: #4 Josh Churella (UM) dec. Cassio Pero (ILL), 8-2
1st Period: no score
2nd Period: Churella chooses bottom
1:56 Churella escape (0-1)
1:03 Churella takedown (0-3)
3rd Period: Pero chooses neutral
1:33 Churella takedown (0-5)
1:26 Pero escape (1-5)
0:20 Churella takedown (1-7)
0:10 Pero escape (2-7)
Churella riding time 1:16 (2-8)
149: #5 Eric Tannenbaum (UM) dec. Troy Tirapelle (ILL), 8-6
1st Period:
2:37 Tannenbaum takedown (0-2)
2:24 Tirapelle escape (1-2)
0:18 Tannenbaum takedown (1-4)
2nd Period: Tirapelle chooses bottom
1:59 Tirapelle escape (2-4)
0:58 Tirapelle takedown (4-4)
3rd Period: Tannenbaum chooses bottom
1:54 Tannanbaum escpae (4-5)
0:37 Tannanbaum takedown (4-7)
0:12 Tirapelle takedown (6-7)
0:05 Tannanbaum escape (6-8)
157: #1 Alex Tirapelle (ILL) dec. #11 Steve Luke (UM), 7-1
1st Period:
0:12 Tirapelle takedown (2-0)
2nd Period: Tirapelle chooses bottom
1:54 Tirapelle escape (3-0)
0:16 Luke stalling warning
3rd Period: Luke chooses bottom
0:51 Luke stalling (4-0)
0:25 Luke escape (4-1)
0:01 Tirapelle takedown (6-1)
Tirapelle riding time 1:40 (7-1)
165: #1 Ryan Churella (UM) dec. #8 Mike Poeta (ILL), 6-5 sv
1st Period:
2:42 Churella takedown (0-2)
1:56 Poeta escape (1-2)
0:19 Churella takedown (1-4)
2nd Period: Churella chooses bottom
1:45 Churella escape (1-5)
0:02 Poeta takedown (3-5)
3rd Period: Poeta chooses neutral
0:16 Poeta takedown (5-5)
0:08 Churella stalling warning
SV:
0:36 Poeta illegal hold (5-6)
174: #16 Donny Reynolds (ILL) dec. #10 Nick Roy (UM), 11-5
1st Period:
2:30 Roy takedown (0-2)
2:08 Reynolds escape (1-2)
1:41 Reynolds takedown (3-2)
1:35 Roy escape (3-3)
0:39 Reynolds takedown (5-3)
0:13 Roy escape (5-4)
2nd Period: Roy chooses bottom
1:33 Roy escape (5-5)
0:04 Reynolds escape (7-5)
3rd Period: Reynolds chooses bottom
1:57 Reynolds escape (8-5)
0:18 Reynolds takedown (10-5)
Reynolds riding time 1:02 (11-5)
184: #4 Pete Friedl (ILL) major dec. Hassen Berri (UM), 17-4
1st Period:
2:29 Friedl takedown (2-0)
1:05 Berri escape (2-1)
0:49 Friedl takedown (4-1)
0:39 Berri escape (4-2)
2nd Period: Fried chooses bottom
1:55 Friedl escape (5-2)
1:42 Berri stalling warning
1:26 Friedl takedown (7-2)
1:20 Berri escape (7-3)
0:55 Friedl takedown (9-3)
0:42 Berri escape (9-4)
0:20 Friedl takedown (11-4)
3rd Period: Berri chooses top
1:49 Friedl escape (12-4)
1:20 Friedl takedown (14-4)
0:59 Berri stalling (15-4)
0:12 Berri stalling (16-4)
Friedl riding time 3:14 (17-4)
197: #8 Tyrone Byrd (ILL) dec. Casey White (UM), 6-3
1st Period:
2:12 Byrd takedown (2-0)
0:37 Byrd nearfall2 (4-0)
0:23 White stalling warning
2nd Period: White chooses bottom
1:42 White escape (4-1)
0:52 Byrd takedown (6-1)
3rd Period: Byrd chooses neutral
0:14 White takedown (6-3)
Hwt: #3 Greg Wagner (UM) won by fall Matt Weight (ILL), 3:51
1st Period:
1:22 Wagner takedown (0-2)
0:26 Weight stalling warning
2nd Period: Wagner chooses bottom
1:41Wagner takedown
1:09 Wagner pin
