ANN ARBOR, Mich.— The Fighting Illini came out strong against W.I.N Magazine's ninth-ranked team, winning four of the first six matches. However, Michigan's strength at the four heaviest weight classes proved too much for the grapplers from Champaign. The Wolverines ended the match on a 17-0 run to win the dual 25-14, including bonus points at three of the final four weight classes. The loss drops the Illini to 1-3 in Big Ten duals, each of which have come at the hands of a top-10 team. Isaiah Martinez earned his 14th technical fall of the season, pushing his winning streak to 60 matches.
"I thought Ervin, Martinez and Rodrigues all looked very good {tonight}," said Head Coach Jim Heffernan. "Zane looked like he was happy winning and needs to get more out of himself."
The ninth-ranked Michigan Wolverines started fast on Friday night, opening a 5-0 lead after Conor Youtsey earned a technical fall against Francis Edelen. Youtsey used an 8-3 first period to grab the early lead, and continued to add on throughout the match, finishing with a final tally of 25-10.
As often the case this season, Zane Richards responded at 133 pounds to get the Orange and Blue on the board, as he earned a decision against #11 Rossi Bruno of Michigan. Richards used a quick escape and takedown in the opening period to earn a 3-0 advantage. After an escape by Bruno, Richards and Bruno battled for the remaining four minutes of play with neither ranked-wrestler giving an inch. Richards held on for an additional riding point to give him a 4-1 victory, cutting the team deficit to 5-3. The victory extends Richards record to a perfect 17-0, including three wins against ranked opponents.
Coming off of his 14-12 upset of #12 Steve Bleise of Northern Illinois, Brock Ervin kept the momentum going against Michigan's George Fisher on Friday night. After a stalemate in the opening period, Fisher began the second period in the down position, grabbing an escape to open up the scoring. Needing to respond, Ervin quickly bounced back to take down Fisher and take a 2-1 advantage into the final period. In the final frame, Ervin earned a quick escape to cushion his lead to 3-1. More importantly, the quick escape allowed him to hold onto his riding-time point, giving him a 4-1 victory, and giving the Illini a 6-5 lead.
At 149 pounds, #11 Alex Pantaleo used a takedown against Kyle Langenderfer to take an early 2-0 in the first period. After a Langenderfer escape, Pantaleo added a second takedown in the final ten seconds of the period to extend his lead to 4-1. Beginning the second period in the down position, Langenderfer quickly earned an escape point, but that was all the redshirt sophomore could muster on the evening, as Pantaleo finished off his victory with an escape in the third period, winning 5-2 and giving retaking the lead for Michigan, 8-6.
Facing his highest-ranked opponent of the season, #9 Brian Murphy, Isaiah Martinez didn't waste any time in exerting himself in the opening period. Martinez exploded out of the gate with a takedown, followed by two four-point near falls to gain a commanding 10-1 advantage in the opening period. After an escape by Murphy, Martinez added two more takedowns and his third four-point near fall of the evening to solidify an 18-3 technical fall before the end of the second period. The fall was Martinez's 14th of the season, while the victory stretched his winning streak to 60 straight matches.
Entering the second half of the dual with the Illini leading 11-8, #4 Steven Rodrigues used two takedowns in the first period to keep the momentum on the side of the Orange and Blue. An escape and a takedown in period two put Rodrigues in full control of the bout, leading to a 10-3 victory for the senior.
Making his first career dual-match start, Emery Parker fell behind 2-0 before grabbing an escape to end the opening period. Davonte Mahomes, the 16th-ranked wrestler at 174 pounds, began to put distance between him and Parker with two takedowns in period two, leading Parker 7-1. Mahomes completed the major decision with two more takedowns in period three, tallying an 11-3 victory.
"Parker is better than what he showed tonight, but he also wrestled a very good opponent," explained Heffernan. "He does a lot of very good things and will get better as he gets more experience in big duals."
With Michigan's top wrestlers looming at 197 pounds and heavyweight, Jeff Koepke looked to preserve the Illini lead at 184 pounds. However, a 2-1 deficit after the first period would be as close as Koepke would get. Abounader earned an escape and two more takedowns during the final two periods to win the bout 7-2.
Needing a win to give the Orange and Blue the lead back, Andre Lee couldn't get anything going against Michigan's Max Huntley. Huntley jumped out to an early 4-1 lead before ending the match with a pin 2:39 in. With the victory secured, Michigan's highest-ranked wrestler wrapped up the evening with an 11-2 major decision over Brooks Black, highlighted by a four-point near fall against in period two.
"Black, Koepke and Lee all need to wrestle with more confidence," said Heffernan. "They all are capable of wrestling better."
The four points by Coon concluded a 17-0 run by the Wolverines in the dual's final four periods, turning an 14-8 Illini lead into a 25-14 Michigan victory.
Next up for the Fighting Illini is a trip to East Lansing for a dual against the Spartans on Sunday at noon. Michigan State fell to No. 20 Purdue tonight by a score of 27-15. Sunday's dual will be broadcasted live on BTN Plus.
#9 Michigan 25, #11 Illinois 14 (Complete Play-By-Play: http://bit.ly/1P5bEWz):
125: Conor Youtsey (MICH) tech fall Francis Edelen (ILL) 25-10 | 0-5
133: #3 Zane Richards (ILL) dec. #11 Rossi Bruno (MICH), 4-1 | 3-5
141: Brock Ervin (ILL) dec. George Fisher (MICH), 4-1 | 6-5
149: #11 Alex Pantaleo (MICH) dec. Kyle Langenderfer (ILL), 5-2| 6-8
157: #1 Isaiah Martinez (ILL) tech fall #9 Brian Murphy (MICH),18-3 (3:34)| 11-8
165: #6 Steven Rodrigues (ILL) dec Garrett Sutton, 10-3 | 14-8
174: #16 Davonte Mahomes (MICH) major dec. Emery Parker (ILL), 11-3 | 14-12
184: #11 Domenic Abounader (MICH) dec. #16 Jeff Koepke (ILL), 7-2 | 14-15
197: #6 Max Huntley (MICH) fall dec. Andre Lee (ILL), 2:39 | 21-14
HWT: #3 Adam Coon (MICH) major dec. Brooks Black (ILL), 11-2 | 25-14
