Nov. 7, 2007
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -
A year after the Illini expected to spend a season rebuilding and ended up with an 11-1 record in dual meets and a second-place finish in the Big Ten dual meet season, Illinois wrestling returns eight starters who have qualified for the NCAA Championships in their college careers. Seven Illini earned preseason rankings by the National Wrestling Coaches Association, with Mike Poeta leading the way at No. 3 in 157.
Those eight wrestlers look to lead the Fighting Illini through a typically tough Mark Johnson schedule that includes the Las Vegas Invitational, the Midlands tournament and kicks off the Big Ten schedule with a trip to Michigan. After another road match at defending national champion Minnesota, Illinois wraps up the Big Ten season with a Senior Day match against archrival Iowa.
The Illini lost former All-American Cassio Pero from last season's squad as well as Matt Winterhalter at 174. The open tournaments early in the season will help solidify the 149- and 184-pound weight classes.
125
NWCA No. 13 Gabe Flores is the only senior in this season's projected lineup, which bodes well for the Illini in 2008-09. But having Flores in the lightest class will be an advantage for the Illini this season, as he has qualified for the past two NCAA Championships and should enter 2007-08 with an impressive ranking. Flores is healthy entering the season for the first time since his redshirt-freshman year and enters the campaign after a productive off-season. Flores will provide leadership after going 21-7 in 2006-07, his first season at his natural weight class. Redshirt-freshman John Deneen will back-up Flores at 125.
133
Sophomore Jimmy Kennedy enters his second season as the starter at 133 after being named the No. 1 rookie in the weight class in the country by Amateur Wrestling News. Kennedy, ranked No. 5 by NWCA, went 29-7 last season, including an 11-1 record in duals that accounted for the second-most dual points by an Illini, and was the No. 9 seed at the NCAA Championships as a true-freshman. A student of the sport, Kennedy will be shooting for an All-America honor after dropping a sudden-victory match in the round of 12 at the NCAA Championships last season. Freshmen state champions Zeke Rowan and Ryan Prater, and senior Joe Gomez will also wrestle at 133.
141
Troy Tirapelle slips down to the 141-pound class in his junior season after competing at 149 for two seasons. An All-American his freshman year, Tirapelle fought through a serious ankle injury during the latter part of the 2006-07 season that severely limited his performance at last year's Big Ten Tournament. As the son of a successful coach and the youngest in a long line of brothers who found success on the mat, Tirapelle is looking for another All-America honor in 2007-08. True-freshman state champion Vince Vercelli will back up Tirapelle.
149
This is the first of only two weight classes in which the Illini do not return a starter from the 2006-07 campaign. Senior Dan Zeman and redshirt-freshmen Sean Reynolds and Joe Kotowski will battle it out throughout the open tournaments for the spot in the Orange and Blue lineup. Zeman has filled in at 149 and 157 the past two seasons, and Reynolds is coming off a redshirt season in which he recovered from a knee injury.
Fully healthy, Reynolds looks to return to the form that made him a two-time undefeated state champion in high school and a three-time Junior National All-American. Kotowski was a state runner-up in high school who also redshirted in 2006-07. Adding depth to the class will be redshirt-freshman Matt Lee and true-freshmen Grant Paswall and Jake Beechy.
157
Team captain and 2007 All-American Mike Poeta will lead the Illini from his spot at 157 pounds, where he is ranked No. 3 by NWCA. Poeta dominated his class last season, winning the Midlands championship and racking up a 25-3 record with a 9-0 record in duals. He finished third at the NCAA Championships, fourth at Big Tens and held the No. 1 ranking for nine consecutive weeks before suffering his first loss of the season at the Big Ten Tournament.
With a career record of 53-10, Poeta is likely to be near the top of the rankings once again. Working behind him will be Clint Arlis, who wrestled in three Big Ten duals last season in Poeta's absence. Senior Andrew Lukanich also will wrestle at 157 after battling injuries the past two years, and redshirt-freshman Adam Domanico returns from shoulder surgery in 2006-07.
165
NWCA No. 8 Roger Smith-Bergsrud enters his junior season after a stellar campaign a year ago. Smith-Bergsrud placed sixth at the Big Ten Tournament, qualifying for the NCAA Championships, and also proved to be durable as the only wrestler to compete at 165 for the Illini in 2006-07. After racking up a record of 32-11, including a 10-2 mark in dual action, Smith-Bergsrud enters 2007-08 looking for more. Dubbed a surprise by many in his first year in the lineup, Smith-Bergsrud reached the round of 12 at NCAAs. Transfer Joe Barczak will back him up at 165.
174
A year after qualifying for the NCAA Championships at 184 pounds with a fifth-place finish at the Big Ten Championshipsas a true-freshman, John Dergo will drop to a more natural weight class at 174. A member of Amateur Wrestling News' All-Rookie team in 2006-07 and with a No. 13 preseason NWCA ranking, Dergo will strive to continue the great success he has had throughout his athletic career. Redshirt-freshmen Ben Friedl, brother of former Illini All-American Pete Friedl, and Clinton Polz will back-up Dergo.
184
The other weight class where the Illini don't return a starter, 184-pounds will see some strong competition between seniors Pat Brownson and Dave Gleissner, and redshirt-freshman Ben Friedl. Both wrestlers competed in open events a year ago, with Brownson racking up a 6-5 mark and placing fourth at the Missouri Open and fifth at the UNI Open. Gleissner was 11-7 last season, finishing third at the Dubuque Open.
197
National qualifier and preseason NWCA No. 13 Patrick Bond returns after a highly successful redshirt-freshman year in which he went 16-7 with a 7-2 record in duals. Bond placed fifth at the Big Ten Tournament and was named to Amateur Wrestling News' All-Rookie team. Bond looks to return even stronger after spending three weeks at the United States Olympic Training Center, where he trained with the Pan American and World Championship teams. Sophomore Jake Norman and freshman Harold White also will wrestle at 197.
HWT
NWCA No. 13 John Wise made the most of his first season as a full-time starter in 2006-07, qualifying for the NCAA Championships after placing seventh at the Big Ten Tournament. Wise has improved his size and strength as well as his technique in the off-season, pointing toward more success in 2007-08. He will be pushed by redshirt-freshman Mike Shaub, who went 12-5 in open tournaments a year ago, and true-freshman Joe Rizqallah.
