CHAMPAIGN, Ill.— The Fighting Illini travel to Lincoln, Nebraska for their final road match of the regular season on Friday against #10 Nebraska. The Illini enter the match after a comeback win last Sunday at Wisconsin. Trailing 13-8 entering the final four bouts, the Orange and Blue rallied by scoring 13 unanswered points to defeat the Badgers 21-13. Zane Richards highlighted the day for Coach Heffernan's team with a 5-4 decision over #5 Ryan Taylor. It was the 133-pounder's 20th win of the season and his fifth over a ranked opponent. After falling from the ranks of the unbeaten on January 23, Isaiah Martinez got back to his winning ways with a 16-1 technical fall, his 12th of the season.
The Illini and Cornhuskers enter Friday's match with five opponents in common. Like the Illini, Nebraska has dropped recent matches to Penn State, Ohio State, and Iowa, while defeating Wisconsin, Maryland, and Princeton earlier in the season. While the Orange and Blue enter the weekend with six ranked wrestlers, the Huskers will counter with eight of their own including two in the top-five.
After back-to-back road meets, the Orange and Blue return home to wrap up the regular season with the first of two home matches. Northwestern begins the weekend winless in the Big Ten after falling to Michigan State on Sunday 19-15, a team the Illini defeated 32-10 on January 17. The Wildcats will host Minnesota this Friday night before traveling to Champaign for Sunday's dual.
#12 Illinois Probable Starters
125 -/-/- Francis Edelen (1-14, 0-6 ) Fr.
133 2/2/2 Zane Richards (20-0, 6-0), r-Jr.
141 -/-/- Mousa Jodeh (3-6, 0-2), Fr.
149 -/-/- Kyle Langenderfer (6-9, 2-4), r-So.
157 2/2/2 Isaiah Martinez (20-1, 5-1), r-So.
165 6/4/7 Steven Rodrigues (18-2, 4-2), r-Sr.
174 4/2/2 Zac Brunson (15-1, 2-1), r-Jr.
184 -/15/14 Jeff Koepke (16-4, 4-2), r-Sr.
197 -/-/- Andre Lee (11-8, 1-5), r-Fr.
HWT -/20/- Brooks Black (15-5, 3-3), r-So.
Records are in overall, Big Ten format
Rankings are listed in Intermat, W.I.N., OpenMat
Illini Quick Hits
*Zane Richards recorded his 20th win of the season on Sunday against #5 Ryan Taylor (Wisconsin), defeating him 5-4. The win was Richards fifth over a ranked Big Ten opponent.
*Isaiah Martinez notched his NCAA-leading 12th technical fall against T.J. Ruschell of Wisconsin, surpassing his 11 from last season. The victory was his 20th of the season, and improved his team-leading dual points total to 70.
*Junior Zac Brunson has already set a career-high in pins (8) this season after registering three in his first two seasons combined.
*No. 2 Isaiah Martinez (20-1), No. 2 Zane Richards (20-0), No. 2 Zac Brunson (15-1), and No. 4 Steven Rodrigues (18-2) have combined for a 73-4 record this season.
*Steven Rodrigues surpassed his win total from the 2014-15 campaign with his 18th win against #17 Shakur Rasheed of Penn State (1/23). His #4 ranking is the best of his career.
*The Illini currently rank 6th in the latest WIN Magazine's Tournament Power Index, with four Illini ranked in the top-8
* Mousa Jodeh is currently filling in for the injured Brock Ervin at 141 pounds. Jodeh has dropped both bouts (0-2), but each have come by decisions.
Series History
Nebraska: Nebraska leads series 5-3
Although their first meeting dates back to 1939, the Illini and Cornhuskers have just eight meets against each other. In those eight matches, Nebraska holds a two-match advantage over the Illini. The Huskers are 3-0 against the Illini since joining the Big Ten, including a win in Lincoln in 2013.
The most recent edition came at Huff Hall last year on January 23. The #12 Huskers upset fourth-ranked Illinois by a score of 22-9, but the Illini had a couple current wrestlers have success on the evening. Zane Richards defeated Eric Montoya in a tight 3-2 victory, while #3 Isaiah Martinez took down three-time All-American James Green 2-0.
Northwestern: Illinois leads series 45-32-2
The Fighting Illini own a four-match win streak against the in-state rival, including a dominating 31-9 win last season in Evanston. As part of the 22-point victory, Illinois received tallies from current Illini Zane Richards, Steven Rodrigues, a pin by Isaiah Martinez, and forfeit wins from Zac Brunson and Brooks Black.
Matchups to Watch: @ Nebraska
133: #2 Zane Richards vs. #10 Eric Montoya
For the third straight match, and sixth-time in seven Big Ten matches, undefeated Zane Richards will do battle against a ranked opponent. This week's competitor will be Eric Montoya, a rematch of a hard-fought bout in Champaign last season, a Richards 3-2 victory.
While Richards enters with 66 duals points and a perfect 20-0 overall record, Montoya has dropped eight matches this season including two losses this past weekend to Cory Clark (Iowa) and Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State). The junior is a two-time NCAA Championships qualifier, one of which in 2013 when he wrestled for Campbell.
165: #4 Steven Rodrigues vs. #10 Austin Wilson
Rodrigues is coming off a tough loss to third-ranked Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin), a 5-2 decision. Prior to the loss, Rodrigues won 17 of his first 18 matches, including a 4-2 record in Big Ten play. The senior has already surpassed his Illinois season-high win total with 18 wins this year. He had 30 wins at Rutgers his freshman season prior to transferring.
Austin Wilson enters the matchup after defeating Patrick Rhoads (Iowa) and receiving a forfeit victory against Ohio State. The Hastings, Nebraska native is 20-4 in his senior season, including a 13-2 mark in dual play.
184: #5 T.J. Dudley vs. #15 Jeff Koepke
T.J. Dudley defeated #12 Kenny Courts (Ohio State) and #7 Sammy Brooks (Iowa) over the weekend to improve his overall record to 16-4. The junior from Irmo, South Carolina has five pins on the campaign. His lone loss since the New Year came against Matt McCutcheon of Penn State.
Jeff Koepke enters Friday's dual with Dudley on a three-match winning streak, highlighted by upset of #12 Matt McCutcheon of Penn State on January 23. The senior is 16-4 on the season and is 2-3 against wrestlers ranked higher than him.
HWT: #18 Collin Jensen vs. #20 Brooks Black
The final ranked matchups of the weekend, and one that could potentially decide the team score, comes at heavyweight.
Collin Jensen has dropped three of his five matches since the New Year, though each were to wrestlers ranked in the top-10. The junior has a 16-10 overall record, including five pins and winning the Bob Smith Open back in early December.
Brooks Black re-entered the WIN Magazine's rankings this week for the first time since December 21. After finishing runner-up at the Reno Tournament on December 20, the red-shirt sophomore dropped his opening two matches of Big Ten play. Black has since rebounded by winning four of his last five bouts, with his lone loss coming against #3 Adam Coon (Michigan).
Matchups to Watch: vs Northwestern
133: #2 Zane Richards vs. #20 Dom Malone
Dom Malone begins play this weekend with a 16-6 record this season, including an upset victory over #17 Rossi Bruno (Michigan) on January 29.
Sunday will mark the fifth meeting between the two grapplers. In the first four meetings, Richards has been the victor, three of which came by major decision.
149: #4 Jason Tsirtsis vs. Kyle Langenderfer
The matchup at 149-pounds features Northwestern's top wrestler and will likely determine whether the Wildcats can keep up with the Fighting Illini.
Tsirtsis is coming off a win over #6 Alec Pantaleo (Michigan) that snapped a three-match losing streak, including two losses to Brandon Sorensen (Iowa) and one loss to #1 Zain Retherford (Penn State).
After a strong red-shirt freshman campaign as the fill in for injured Caleb Ervin, Langenderfer has struggled to gain traction this season. However, Langenderfer was once ranked as high as 14th in the country after beginning the season with wins in four of his first five matches.
The two grapplers met twice last season with Tsirtsis squeaking out a 4-2 victory in Evanston and again at Big Ten Championships.
