Jan. 23, 2011

Final Stats |  Illinois-Minnesota Photo Gallery 

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - No. 15 Illinois won three of the four matches from 133 to 157 pounds, grabbing a 13-12 lead over No. 5 Minnesota, but the Gophers won the next three bouts and took a 21-16 win Sunday at Huff Hall. No. 7 B.J. Futrell scored a first-period pin at 133 and Jackson Morse notched a major decision at 157, but Illini wrestlers couldn't pull an upset over any of Minnesota's top-15 wrestlers from 165-184 as the Gophers earned the victory.

"More than anything, today I thought we really competed hard and put ourselves in positions to win matches," Illinois head coach Jim Heffernan said. "It helped to get a pin from B.J. and get everybody excited, and I thought Daryl Thomas and Ben Friedl both did good jobs of stepping up and fighting hard against some really good guys."

The match started at heavyweight, where No. 9 Tony Nelson quickly went from the tie-up to a single-leg and tripped Pat Walker for the takedown. He locked in a tilt and got a three-point near-fall with 15 seconds left in the period to go up 5-0. Nelson started down in the second and escaped quickly for a 6-0 lead. The pair wrestled neutral the rest of the period and Walker chose a neutral start for the third period. Walker was called for stalling with 90 seconds left in the bout but neither man scored the rest of the match, Nelson added the riding-time point and took a 7-0 decision.

At 125, a scramble off the opening whistle ensued but neither man gained control and Logan Arlis and No. 5 Zach Sanders restarted neutral. Off a restart, Sanders initiated another scramble and scored a takedown but Arlis managed to escape after 43 seconds. Arlis shot off a restart but Sanders blocked it and circled behind for the takedown and a 4-1 lead. Arlis escaped but Sanders shot in and scored the takedown on the edge. Arlis escaped but as he shot, Sanders re-shot and nearly put him on his back, but Arlist bellied out to give up the takedown and trail 8-3 after one period. The Illini freshman started down in the second and escaped in 20 seconds but Sanders scored a takedown. Arlis escaped and got a single-leg but Sanders sprawled out and fought back in for a headlock, scoring a takedown to go up 12-5. He cut Arlis loose and took him down with a double-leg before cutting him loose again. Sanders hit a snap throw for a takedown and three near-fall but Arlis fended off the pin, trailing 19-7 after five minutes. Sanders chose neutral to start the third and hit a swing single-leg for a takedown. He used a two-on-one to turn Arlis and put him on his back for the fall in 6:00, pushing Minnesota's lead to 9-0.

No. 7 B.J. Futrell got a single-leg early against David Thorn at 133 and scored the takedown before riding the Gopher hard. Futrell cut Thorn loose off a restart then hit a single-leg and Thorn sprawled out. Futrell got to his feet while keeping the leg, grabbed Thorn's head in a cradle and cleared his leg, putting Thorn on his back for the fall in 2:53 to bring the Illini within 9-6.

At 141, Daryl Thomas pushed the pace early against No. 2 Mike Thorn but Thorn went from a tie-up to his ankle for the takedown after a short scramble. The pair rolled through with Thorn nearly scoring near-fall points, but Thomas avoided trouble. Thorn rode him out for the 2-0 lead and chose bottom to start the second. He quickly escaped and Thorn hit a single-leg for a takedown and a 5-0 advantage. Thomas escaped but Thorn stayed on him, scoring the takedown as Thomas' ankle rolled and he required injury time. Thomas escaped after the restart and took down Thorn, getting within 7-4. But Thorn escaped and Thomas fended off a pair of late attempts as the Gopher took an 8-4 lead to the third. Thomas started down in the third and Thorn rode him out, adding the riding-time point for a 9-4 decision, pushing the Gophers' lead to 12-6.

No. 14 Eric Terrazas hit a double-leg on the edge for a takedown against Danny Zilverberg at 149 but Zilverberg escaped after 42 seconds. Terrazas hit a single-leg on the edge and fended off Zilverberg's whizzer to score the takedown and go up 4-1. He rode him out and chose a neutral start to the second period after Zilverberg deferred. Terrazas picked the ankle off a tie-up and put Zilverberg over his head, but the Gopher kept a high crotch and the pair tumbled out of bounds. The pair ended the period on their feet and Zilverberg started down in the second. Terrazas rode him for 44 seconds before getting a stalling warning as a stalemate was called. Terrazas continued to ride him hard but was hit with a stalling point. Zilverberg escaped as the horn sounded but Terrazas added the riding-time point to take the 5-3 win and bring the Illini within 12-9.

At 157, Jackson Morse got a leg and scored the takedown against Joe Grygelko but the Gopher escaped quickly. After some wrestling on their feet, Morse used a throw-by to score a takedown and go up 4-1. He rode out Grygelko and the Gopher started down in the second. Grygelko escaped quickly and got a single-leg but as he raised up, the position was called potentially dangerous and action was stopped. Morse went from a tie-up to the ankle and scored a takedown to go ahead 6-2 with 35 seconds left in the period. He rode out Grygelko and Morse started down in the third. He escaped after 20 seconds and fended off some shots by Grygelko before being awarded a penalty point for rough conduct when Grygelko took a swing at him when the two tumbled off the mat. Grygelko hit a single-leg but the hold was called potentially dangerous and was broken. Morse hit a single-leg on the edge and worked to the head for a takedown with six seconds left before riding him out for the 11-2 major decision, giving Illinois its first lead of the day, 13-12.

Conrad Polz got a leg against No. 11 Cody Yohn, but Yohn forced a stalemate and a restart. Polz got a leg and looked to finish it but Yohn kept a high crotch and forced a restart. The pair continued to trade shots but neither could score before the period ran out. Yohn started down in the second and escaped in 10 seconds to go up 1-0. Polz hit another single-leg but Yohn once again fended him off to a stalemate. The pair ended the period on their feet and Polz chose a neutral start to the third period. Yohn got a let on the edge but action went off the edge to force a restart. The pair traded shots but neither could score and Yohn took the 1-0 win to put the Gohpers back on top, 15-13.

At 174, No. 8 Scott Glasser went from a tie-up to a double-leg on the edge against Ben Friedl for a 2-0 lead. Friedl escaped after 52 seconds and the pair ended the period neutral with Glasser holding a 2-1 lead. Friedl started down in the second and managed to score a reversal with 18 seconds left in the period to go up 3-2. Glasser managed to spring free before the buzzer, tying the score 3-3, and he started down in the third. Glasser broke free quickly to go ahead 4-3, and Friedl went from a tie-up to an ankle, but Glasser circled behind for the takedown to go up 6-3. He cut Friedl loose and the pair ended the match on their feet as Glasser took a 7-4 decision after adding the riding-time point, pushing the Gophers' lead to 18-13.

No. 7 Tony Steinhaus got a leg on Tony Dallago and worked to the head for a takedown halfway through the first period. Steinhaus rode out Dallago and the Gopher started down in the second. Steinhaus escaped after a hard 70-second ride by Dallago that erased the Gopher's riding-time advantage, and the pair finished the period on their feet. Dallago started down in the third and Steinhaus reestablished his riding-time point and rode out Dallago for the 4-0 win, locking up the dual victory for Minnesota at 21-13.

At 197, Joe Barczak shot in on Joe Nord, but Nord fended it off and circled around for the takedown with a minute left in the period. Barczak nearly broke free but Nord tried to hold on, allowing the Illini senior to circle behind for the reversal, tying the bout 2-2. Nord started down in the second and escaped after 20 seconds. The pair finished the period on their feet and Barczak chose a neutral start to the third. Barczak shot off the whistle and got the takedown for a 4-3 lead, but the hold was broken as he worked for a tilt, with a stalemate being called. Nord got out off the restart go tie the score 4-4, Barczak got a leg and lifted it but Nord was able to wriggle free to avoid any scoring. Barczak got in deep on a double and scored the takedown with 10 seconds left, riding out Nord for the 6-4 win to make the final score 21-16.

The Illini return to action in a week, when they face Michigan State at 1 p.m. on Jan. 30.

#5 Minnesota 21, #15 Illinois 16
HWT: #9 Tony Nelson (MINN) dec. Pat Walker (ILL), 7-0 (0-3)
125: #5 Zach Sanders (MINN) pinned Logan Arlis (ILL), 6:00 (0-9)
133: #7 B.J. Futrell (ILL) pinned David Thorn (MINN), 2:53 (6-9)
141: #2 Mike Thorn (MINN) dec. Daryl Thomas (ILL), 9-4 (6-12)
149: #14 Eric Terrazas (ILL) dec. Danny Zilverberg (MINN), 5-2 (9-12)
157: Jackson Morse (ILL) maj. dec. Joe Grygelko (MINN), 11-2 (13-12)
165: #11 Cody Yohn dec. Conrad Polz (ILL), 1-0 (13-15)
174: #6 Scott Glasser (MINN) dec. Ben Friedl (ILL), 7-4 (13-18)
184: #7 Kevin Steinhaus (MINN) dec. Tony Dallago (ILL), 4-0 (13-21)
197: Joe Barczak (ILL) dec. Joe Nord (MINN), 6-4 (16-21)