Jan. 9, 2009
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -
No. 3 Jimmy Kennedy registered a pin in 1:16 and Mike Poeta earned a second-period technical fall in his season debut to lead No. 7 Illinois to a 26-19 win at West Virginia at the WVU Coliseum. The Fighting Illini won four of the five bouts from 157-197 to take control of the match and improve to 6-0 on the season.
Illinois grabbed a quick six points when West Virginia forfeited at 125 to start the match and Kennedy followed that with an early takedown and a pin of Tyler Oravec in 1:16 at 133. Next up, the Mountaineers' Colin Johnston scored a takedown at 141, but Ryan Prater got a reversal to even the bout after one period. Prater started down in the second and Johnston was able to turn him right before the end of the period for the fall in 4:54.
Eric Terrazas battled 20th-ranked David Jauregui through the first five minutes as Jauregui took a 4-1 lead after one period and moved it to 6-3 after the second. But the Mountaineer poured it on in the third as he chose bottom and escaped then scored three takedowns and got a stalling point in the period to win by major decision, 15-5.
But Poeta turned the tide with a strong showing against Ryan Goodman at 157. He jumped out early with a pair of takedowns from which Goodman escaped, then the Illini senior added another takedown a pair of three-point near falls for a 12-2 lead after three minutes. Goodman chose neutral in the second and Poeta added three more takedowns for an 18-4 margin after two periods. Poeta chose neutral in the third and quickly scored the winning takedown for the 20-4 technical fall in 5:17.
No. 11 Roger Smith-Bergsrud kept the momentum going with his 3-2 win at 165. Smith-Bergsrud got a first-period takedown and Donald Jones escaped for a 2-1 Illini lead after the first. Smith-Bergsrud started down in the second and escaped for a 3-1 lead. Jones chose bottom in the third and escaped, but Smith-Bergsrud was able to fend off late attacks for the 3-2 win.
At 174, No. 13 Kurt Brenner pulled off the 7-4 win over John Dergo despite Dergo tying the bout at 3 in the third period. After Dergo scored a takedown to even the bout, Brenner notched a reversal, Dergo escaped and Brenner got another takedown to reach the final 7-4 score.
No. 15 Jordan Blanton extended Illinois' lead to 23-13 with his 5-3 win at 184 and Patrick Bond took care of Brandon Boyer at 197, 11-5, to give the Illini a 26-13 advantage. Bond and Boyer were tied 2-2 after two periods, but the Illini junior exploded in the third after choosing bottom. He escaped and proceeded to score four takedowns in the period for the 11-5 win. At heavyweight, No. 10 John Wise was upset as Dustin Rogers pinned him in 4:25, for the final score of 26-19.
The Fighting Illini have a quick turnaround as they travel to No. 25 Pittsburgh for a match at 6 p.m. Saturday.
125: B.J. Futrell (Illinois) won by forfeit (6-0)
133: #3 Jimmy Kennedy (Illinois) pinned Tyler Oravec (West Virginia), 1:16 (12-0)
141: Colin Johnston (West Virginia) pinned Ryan Prater (Illinois), 4:54 (12-6)
149: #20 David Jauregui (West Virginia) maj. dec. Eric Terrazas (Illinois), 15-5 (12-10)
157: Mike Poeta (Illinois) tech. fall Ryan Goodman (West Virginia), 20-4 (5:17) (17-10)
165: #11 Roger Smith-Bergsrud (Illinois) dec. Donald Jones (West Virginia), 3-2 (20-10)
174: #13 Kurt Brenner (West Virginia) dec. John Dergo (Illinois), 7-4 (20-13)
184: #15 Jordan Blanton (Illinois) dec. Lance Bryson (West Virginia), 5-3 (23-13)
197: Patrick Bond (Illinois) dec. Brandon Boyer (West Virginia), 11-5 (26-13)
285: Dustin Rogers (West Virginia) pinned #10 John Wise (Illinois), 4:25 (26-19)
