Jan. 19, 2007

Illinois vs. Northwestern Photo Gallery 

Champaign, Ill. - The Big Ten season kicked off for the No. 16 Illinois wrestling team as they upset No. 8 Northwestern, 21-13, Friday night at Huff Hall. The Illini took six out of the ten weight classes to avenge last season's heartbreaking three-point loss to the Wildcats. Gabe Flores (125) and Mike Poeta (157) kept their undefeated season intact in the victory. Ryan Lang, Northwestern's top-ranked 141-pounder didn't compete due to injury.

After dropping their first match at heavyweight, the Illini fired off six victories in a row. #10 Gabe Flores (Madera, Calif.) took a decision against Brandon Precin, 8-3. Flores was in control of the entire match as he recorded a takedown, reversal and a two-point nearfall in the win. The Illini appeared to have tied the match, but a team point was subtracted from them because of unsportsmanlike conduct.

After the Flores decision, the next four Illini wins came without allowing their opponents to score a takedown. At 133, freshman Jimmy Kennedy took a 2-0 decision against Eric Metzler. At 141, #12 Cassio Pero dominated James Kohlberg, 15-5. Pero (Chicago Heights, Ill.), who logged seven takedowns in the major decision, only let Kohlberg score on five escapes. #12 Troy Tirapelle followed up with a major decision of his own against Marty Gould in their 149-pound match. With Tirapelle (Clovis, Calif.) up 2-1 heading into the third period, he extended his lead by scoring on an escape, a pair of takedowns and a three-point nearfall.

At 157, #1 Mike Poeta showed Dominic Marella why he's the top 157-pounder in the country in a win via technical fall, 19-4 (7:00). Poeta (Highwood, Ill.) came out firing in the first period as he scored a takedown and picked up three more on back points. Poeta extended his lead in the first as he added another takedown. The Illini sophomore collected two takedowns in each of the next two periods en-route to the technical fall.

At 165, #14 Roger Smith-Bergsrud posted a huge victory against Greg Hagel, 11-7. With no scoring in the first two periods, the action came with a fury in the third. The pair traded takedowns and escapes to start the third. After Hagel took a 7-6 lead later in the period, Smith-Bergsrud (Lake Bluff, Ill.) took the lead back with a takedown. Then, the Illini sophomore sealed the win by picking up three points on a nearfall. At this point in the dual, Illinois had a commanding 21-3 lead.

"We wrestled very tough tonight." Head coach Mark Johnson said. "We wrestled the entire seven minutes of every match and we never let up. We had a goal to get tougher this season and it's showing. I'm very pleased with our performance."

The No. 16 Illini continue Big Ten action on Sunday, Jan. 21 as they host No. 13 Indiana at Huff Hall. Mat time is scheduled for 1 p.m.

No. 16 Illinois 21, No. 8 Northwestern 13
Atttendance: 1,132
HWT: #4 Dustin Fox dec. John Wise, 12-5		0-3
125: #10 Gabe Flores dec. Brandon Precin, 8-3	2-3
133: #9 Jimmy Kennedy dec. Eric Metzler, 2-0	5-3
141: #12 Cassio Pero maj. dec. James Kohlberg, 15-5	9-3
149: #12 Troy Tirapelle maj. dec. Marty Gould, 11-3	13-3
157:  #1 Mike Poeta tech. fall Dominic Marella, 19-4 (7:00)	18-3
165: #14 Roger Smith-Bergsrud dec. Greg Hagel, 11-7	21-3
174: #15 Nick Hayes dec. Matt Winterhalter, 4-1		21-6
184: #1 Jake Herbert maj. dec. #15 John Dergo, 11-3	21-10
197: #2 Mike Tamillow dec. Patrick Bond, 3-2	21-13