Nov. 15, 2008
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -
No. 9 Illinois opened the dual season with three convincing wins at the ACC/Big Ten Clash, defeating No. 21 Virginia, 39-7, North Carolina State, 40-7, and North Carolina, 26-9, as the ninth-ranked Illini, No. 12 Wisconsin and Michigan State all won their three matches against that trio of ACC foes at Eddie Smith Field House. No. 6 John Wise put forth an award-winning performance, posting a pair of pins in a combined 2:49 and defeating the Tar Heels' No. 13 Justin Dobies, 3-2, to finish off the successful day.
In addition to Wise's banner afternoon, fourth-ranked Jimmy Kennedy notched a trio of major decisions at 133 and true-freshman Jordan Blanton scored two pins and won by injury default to go 3-0 at 184. Fellow rookie B.J. Futrell also went 3-0, winning two bouts by major decision and a third by forfeit at 125. No. 13 Roger Smith-Bergsrud went 3-0 with three decisions at 165, and No. 14 Troy Tirapelle was 2-1 at 149 with his only loss coming by an 8-4 score to No. 4 Darrion Caldwell of N.C. State.
Illinois started the day against the Wolfpack, with Futrell and Kennedy earning consecutive major decisions and Prater scoring a first-period pin to jump out to an early 14-0 lead. N.C. State got back-to-back wins at 149 and 157, but Smith-Bergsrud got the Illini back on track with a 9-3 win, Ben Friedl scored a 15-0 technical fall at 174 and Blanton pinned Hank Penree at 184 with nine seconds left in the match. No. 8 Patrick Bond won by injury default at 197 and Wise pinned Bobby Isola in 1:38 to finish the 40-7 win.
The Illini also jumped out quickly against the No. 21 Cavaliers, racking up a 27-0 lead. Futrell won by forfeit, Kennedy got an 11-3 major decision and Prater notched a 5-0 win. Tirapelle pinned Pete Ferrara in 4:42 and Grant Paswall earned a 16-1 technical fall at 157. Smith-Bergsrud finished the onslaught with a 4-2 win at 165. Friedl dropped his bout at 174 to No. 15 Chris Henrich, 15-4, but Blanton fought back with a pin in 3:35. Bond dropped a 9-3 upset, but Wise notched his second pin of the day in 1:11 as Illinois cruised to a 39-7 win.
The Orange and Blue once again got great production from its lightweights against North Carolina, as Futrell got a 19-6 major decision at 125 and Kennedy scored a 15-6 major decision at 133. Prater sustained a 5-2 loss, but Tirapelle battled back for a 5-3 win at 149. After Paswall dropped a 9-4 decision, Smith-Bergsrud finished his perfect day with a 3-2 win and Friedl earned a 3-1 decision. Blanton won by injury default to finish his day 3-0, but Bond suffered another upset defeat in a 5-3 match. Wise finished the day on a positive note, though, with his 3-2 win over No. 13 Dobies.
Illinois finished the day with six pins, two technical falls and five major decisions. Last season, the Illini had 29 pins with the top pinners being Wise, Paswall and Mike Poeta with four each. After one weekend, Wise and Blanton already each have a pair of pins.
The Illini will compete in their first open tournament next weekend when they head to the Missouri Open on Nov. 23. Complete results will be available on fightingillini.com following the completion of the day's events.
No. 9 Illinois 40, North Carolina State 7
125: B.J. Futrell maj. dec. Taylor Cummings, 11-3 (4-0)
133: No. 4 Jimmy Kennedy maj. dec. Darius Little, 13-3 (8-0)
141: Ryan Prater pinned Ryan Tice, 2:07 (14-0)
149: No. 4 Darrion Caldwell dec. No. 14 Troy Tirapelle, 8-4 (14-3)
157: Kody Hamrah maj. dec. Grant Paswall, 13-5 (14-7)
165: No. 13 Roger Smith-Bergsrud dec. Quinton Godley, 9-3 (17-7)
174: Ben Friedl tech. fall Jake Burge, 15-0 (22-7)
184: Jordan Blanton pinned Hank Penree, 6:51 (28-7)
197: No. 8 Patrick Bond inj. def. Mark Jahad (34-7)
HWT: No. 6 John Wise pinned Bobby Isola, 1:38 (40-7)
No. 9 Illinois 39, No. 21 Virginia 7
125: B.J. Futrell wins by forfeit (6-0)
133: No. 4 Jimmy Kennedy maj. dec. Matt Bonson, 11-3 (10-0)
141: Ryan Prater dec. Derek Valenti, 5-0 (13-0)
149: No. 14 Troy Tirapelle pinned Pete Ferrara, 4:42 (19-0)
157: Grant Paswall tech. fall Jedd Moore, 16-1 (24-0)
165: No. 13 Roger Smith-Bergsrud dec. Beau Fisher, 4-2 (27-0)
174: No. 15 Chris Henrich maj. dec. Ben Friedl, 15-4 (27-4)
184: Jordan Blanton pinned Joe DeGaravilla, 3:35 (33-4)
197: Brent Jones dec. No. 8 Patrick Bond, 9-3 (33-7)
HWT: No. 6 John Wise pinned Ebe Nelson, 1:11 (39-7)
No. 9 Illinois 26, North Carolina 9
125: B.J. Futrell maj. dec. Nick Shields, 19-6 (4-0)
133: No. 4 Jimmy Kennedy maj. dec. Jared Royer, 15-6 (8-0)
141: Vincent Ramirez dec. Ryan Prater, 5-2 (8-3)
149: No. 14 Troy Tirapelle dec. Nick Stabile, 5-3 (11-3)
157: Thomas Scotton dec. Grant Paswall, 9-4 (11-6)
165: No. 13 Roger Smith-Bergsrud dec. Keegan Mueller, 3-2 (14-6)
174: Ben Friedl dec. Ben Fiacco, 3-1 (17-6)
184: Jordan Blanton inj. def. Robert McCarthy (23-6)
197: Daniel Llamas dec. No. 8 Patrick Bond, 5-3 (23-9)
HWT: No. 6 John Wise dec. No. 13 Justin Dobies, 3-2 (26-9)
