March 4, 2007

East Lansing, Mich. - The sixth-ranked Illinois wrestling team finished in seventh place at the 2007 Big Ten Championships and had all 10 wrestlers on the medal stand. Eight wrestlers in Gabe Flores (125), Jimmy Kennedy (133), Cassio Pero (141), Mike Poeta (157), Roger Smith-Bergsrud (165), John Dergo (184), Patrick Bond (197) and John Wise (HWT) automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships because they finished in the top-seven of the tournament.

Senior All-American Cassio Pero (141) qualified for his third-straight national tournament with a sixth-place finish. Gabe Flores (125) and Mike Poeta (157) qualified for their second-straight with fourth-place finishes. Jimmy Kennedy (133), Roger Smith-Bergsrud (165), John Dergo (184), Patrick Bond (197) and John Wise (HWT) will make their first trip to the NCAA Championships.

The Illini dropped the first six bouts the placing round. At 125, fifth-seeded Gabe Flores was edged by third-seed Angel Escobedo (IU), 4-1, in overtime. At 133, No. 2-seed Jimmy Kennedy fell to third-seeded Mack Reiter (Minn.) in 4:02. At 141, fourth-seeded Cassio Pero lost by fall to top-seeded Manuel Rivera (Minn.) in 4:17. At 149, No. 7-seed Troy Tirapelle fell to No. 4-seed Jake Patacsil (PU) in 2:54. At 157, top-seeded Mike Poeta was upset by third-seeded Craig Henning (Wisc.), 7-2. At 165, fourth-seeded Roger Smith-Bergsrud dropped a 3-0 decision to No. 5-seed Chris Vondruska (OSU).

Third-seeded Patrick Bond edged No. 7-seed Nick Roy (Mich.), 3-2 in overtime in the fifth place match of the 197-pound weight class. With the match tied 1-1 in the third period, the bout headed to extra time. In overtime, Bond took the lead with an escape in the first 30-second tie-break period. Then, Roy scored an escape of his own in the second 30-second tie-break period to send the match into its second sudden-victory session. In the period, Bond planted Roy for a takedown to take fifth place and qualify him for his first national tournament.

Earlier in the seventh place match, heavyweight John Wise also qualified for his first NCAA Championships after outlasting eighth-seeded Corey Morrisson (OSU), 7-2. Morrisson took the early lead on a takedown in the first period, but Wise cut into the margin with an escape. Then, in the second, Wise tied the match with another escape. The Illini sophomore finally took the lead when he took Morrisson down on the mat, minutes later. Wise added another takedown in the third to put the match away and finish in seventh-place in his first Big Ten Tournament.

"This tournament is about toughness - and we didn't wrestle tough today." Said head coach Mark Johnson. "I'm disappointed about the way we wrestled because I know that we're better than seventh-place. There are two weeks until nationals and we're going to work harder than we have all year to make sure we're not only physically tough, but mentally tough as well."

The Fighting Illini are back in action on March 15-17 when travel to the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Mich. for the 2007 NCAA Championships.

ILLINOIS PLACEWINNERS
4th: Gabe Flores (125), Jimmy Kennedy (133), Mike Poeta (157)
5th: John Dergo (184), Patrick Bond (197)
6th: Cassio Pero (141), Roger Smith-Bergsrud (165)
7th: John Wise (HWT)
8th: Troy Tirapelle (149), Matt Winterhalter (174)

TEAM STANDINGS
1. 	Minnesota	156.0
2.	Wisconsin	99.5
3. 	Iowa 		91.0
4.	Penn St.	90.5
5.	Indiana		86.0
6.	Northwestern	84.0
7. 	ILLINOIS	83.5
8.	Michigan	79.5
9.	Ohio St.	68.5
10.	Purdue		33.0
11.	Michigan St.	30.5

WEIGHT-BY-WEIGHT RESULTS
125: No. 5-seed, #8 Gabe Flores (Jr., Madera, Calif.)
Quarterfinals: No. 4-seed, dec. #7 Franklin Gomez, (MSU), 10-3
Semifinals:  Lost by fall to No. 1-seed, # Jayson Ness (Minn.), 4:22
Consolation Semifinals: Dec. No. 7-seed Mark McKnight (PSU), 6-4
Third Place: Lost by dec. to No. 3-seed Angel Escobedo (IU), 4-1 (TB1)
133: No. 2-seed, #8 Jimmy Kennedy (Fr., Ingleside, Ill.)
Quarterfinals: Dec. No. 7-seed, #17 Mario Galinakis (Iowa), 7-6 (SV)
Semifinals: Lost by dec. to No. 6-seed, #19 Andrae Hernandez (IU), 3-1
Consolation Semifinals: Dec. No. 8-seed T.J. Enright (OSU), 6-1
Third Place: Lost by fall to No. 3-seed Mack Reiter (Minn.), 4:02
141: No. 4-seed, #10 Cassio Pero (Sr., Chicago Heights, Ill.)
Pigtail Round: Dec. Scott Kelly (Indiana), 4-1
Quarterfinals: Lost to No.-5 seed, #15 Kyle Ruschell (Wisc.), 6-5
Consolation 1st Round: Dec. Bryan Heller (PSU), 3-1 (SV)
Consolation Semifinals: Lost by dec. to No. 6-seed Alex Tsirtsis (Iowa), 6-2
Fifth Place: Lost by fall to No. 1-seed Manuel Rivera (Minn.), 4:17
149: No. 7-seed, #17 Troy Tirapelle (So., Clovis, Calif.)
1st Round: Lost by maj. dec. No. 2-seed, #3 Josh Churella (UM), 10-2
Consolation 1st Round: Lost to No. 6-seed, #15 Dan Vallimont (PSU), 6-1
Seventh Place: Lost by fall to No. 4-seed Jake Patacsil (PU), 2:54
157: No.1-seed, #1 Mike Poeta (So., Highwood, Ill.)
1st Round: Dec. No. 8-seed Rob Sulaver (UM), 10-5
Semifinals: Lost by dec. to No. 4-seed, #7 C.P. Schlatter (Minn.), 2-1 (TB1)
Consolation Semifinals: Won by fall No. 6-seed Bubba Jenkins (PSU), 4:57
Third Place: Lost by dec. to No. 3-seed Craig Henning (Wisc.), 7-2
165: No.4-seed, #11 Roger Smith-Bergsrud (So, Lake Bluff, Ill.)
Pigtail Round: Dec. Jake Donar (Wisc.), 4-3
Quarterfinals: Lost to No. 5-seed, #17 Chris Vondruska (OSU), 2-1 (TB1)
Consolation 1st Round: Dec. Greg Hagel, 3-2
Consolation 2nd Round: Dec. No. 8-seed Max Dean (IU), 6-2
Consolation Semifinals: Lost by dec. No. 6-seed Justin Fraga (PU), 2-1
Fifth Place: Lost by dec. to No. 5-seed Chris Vondruska (OSU), 3-0
174: No. 7-seed, Matt Winterhalter (Sr., Durand, Ill.)
1st Round: Lost to No. 1-seed, #5 James Yonushonis (PSU), 6-2
Consolation 1st Round: Dec. Tommy Priestly (OSU), 3-2
Consolation 2nd Round: Lost to No. 5-seed Trevor Perry (IU), 3-2
Seventh Place: Lost by dec. to Nick Hayes (NU), 4-2
184: No. 7-seed, #16 John Dergo (Fr., Morris, Ill.)
1st Round: Lost to No. 2-seed, #2 Roger Kish (Minn.), 9-7
Consolation 2nd Round: Dec. Phil Keddy (Iowa), 9-8
Consolation Semifinals: Lost to No. 4-seed Tyrel Todd (Mich.), 3-1
Fifth Place: Won by inj. def. No. 3-seed Mike Pucillo (OSU)
197: No. 3-seed, #9 Patrick Bond (R-Fr., Chesapeake, Va.)
Pigtail Round: Dec. Dan Erekson (Iowa), 7-5 SV2
Quarterfinals: Dec. No. 6-seed, #14 Nate Moore (PU), 8-7
Semifinals: Lost by dec. to No. 2-seed Mike Tamillow (NU), 2-1
Consolation Semifinals: Lost to No. 5-seed Dallas Herbst (Wisc.), 4-3
Fifth Place: Dec. No. 7-seed Nick Roy (Mich.), 3-2 (SV2)
HWT: No. 7-seed, John Wise (So., Pittsfield, Ill.)
Pigtail Round: Dec. David Pisarcik (PU), 6-1
Quarterfinals: Lost by maj. dec. to No. 2-seed, #3 Aaron Anspach, 11-3
Consolation 1st Round: Dec. Casey White (UM), 4-0
Consolation 2nd Round: Lost to No. 6-seed Josh Buuck , 10-5
Seventh Place: Dec. No. 8-seed Corey Morrisson (OSU), 7-2