CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Orange and Blue grapplers will make their Huff Hall season debut this weekend, as they host No. 13 Michigan Friday at 7 p.m. and Northern Illinois on Sunday at 1 p.m. Friday's match will stand as the annual 'Great Escape' match, as a youth clinic will be held from 5-6pm and the first 500 fans into Huff Hall will receive a foam finger. On Sunday, Illinois wrestlers will toss out camo t-shirts prior to the match as part of 'Honor and Serve' Day.

	#15 Illinois vs. #13 Michigan
When	Friday, January 20 // 7 p.m. CST
Where	Huff Hall // Champaign, Ill.
Follow Live	Live Results
Watch	Live Stream (BTN Plus)
Printable Notes	Illinois | Michigan
Season Stats	Illinois | Michigan
Media Guides	Illinois
Social Media	@IlliniWrestling  | #Illini | @Illinwrestling  | Facebook | YouTube

	#15 Illinois vs. Northern Illinois
When	Sunday, January 22 // 1 p.m. CST
Where	Huff Hall // Champaign, Ill.
Follow Live	Live Results
Watch	Live Stream (Free)
Printable Notes	Illinois
Season Stats	Illinois | Northern Illinois
Media Guides	Illinois | Northern Illinois
Social Media	@IlliniWrestling  | #Illini | @Illinwrestling  | Facebook | YouTube

Probable Wrestlers

Quick Hits

*Five Illini are currently ranked in their respective weight classes according to Intermat: #1 Isaiah Martinez (15-0), #6 Zane Richards (14-2), #12 Zac Brunson (20-3), #13 Emery Parker (18-4) #17 Brooks Black (5-3). The team checks in at No. 15 in the latest Intermat dual rankings and No. 11 in the tournament index.

*Friday's 165-pound match will pit No. 1 vs. No. 2 as Illinois' top-ranked Isaiah Martinez (15-0) battles No. 2 Logan Massa (18-0).   

*Isaiah Martinez officially qualified for Illinois' all-time win percentage record, overtaking Matt Lackey (0.896) with his record of 82-1 (.988). Lackey tallied 120 wins in 134 matches for a 0.896 win-percentage from 2000-03. Zane Richards (96-22) sits in 11th place on the all-time win-percentage list with a .814 mark. 

*Zac Brunson enters the Michigan match one win shy of entering Illinois' all-time wins list. His 95 career victories place him behind current Illini Zane Richards and former Illini Nate Patrick who each have 96 wins.

*Redshirt senior Zane Richards moved into a tie for 24th place on Illinois' all-time career wins list with his tech fall of Alex Vargas at Maryland (1/8), tying Nate Patrick with 96 wins. Next up on the list is Carl Perry with 98 wins.

*Travis Piotrowski is coming off of his second ranked win over a ranked opponent, upsetting No. 12 Jose Rodriguez (Ohio State) with a 10-0 major decision last Sunday (1/15) in Columbus, Ohio.

*184-pounder Emery Parker picked up his team-leading 14th victory by major decision or greater at Maryland with a 19-9 major decision of Idris White, while Zac Brunson notched his team-high sixth pin against Sam Rowell.

Series History

Michigan: MICH leads 42-25-1

In a series that dates back to 1924, Illinois and Michigan will meet for the 69th time on Friday evening. The Wolverines have won the last two meetings against the Illini, including a 25-14 win in Ann Arbor last year on January 15. Illinois' last win against Michigan came in 2012 when Illinois defeated the eighth-ranked Wolverines by a score of 31-8.

NIU: ILL leads 18-9

First meeting in 1970, Illinois enters Sunday's match against the Huskies with an 18-9 overall record. Illinois has won 12 consecutive meets, including a 27-14 victory in DeKalb last year.

Weight Classes to Watch: Michigan

165

One of the most nationally anticipated matches of the weekend pits two undefeated wrestlers against each other on Friday night. Two-time 157-pound champion No. 1 Isaiah Martinez (15-0) will be challenged by redshirt-freshman No. 2 Logan Massa (18-0).

In Martinez's first season at 165 pounds, the redshirt junior has dispatched of his opponents with bonus points in 13 of his 15 matches. The Lemoore, California native also enters with ranked wins over No. 3 Daniel Lewis (Missouri), No. 12 Anthony Valencia (Arizona State) and No. 9 Chad Walsh (Rider).  

Like Martinez, Massa has dominated his opponents with 12 of his 18 victories coming with bonus points. Massa's biggest win of the season came at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational when he defeated then-ranked No. 2 Isaac Jordan (Wisconsin) 8-7 in the tournament final.

Massa is in his first year in the Wolverines' starting lineup after dropping only one match while redshirting last season. In high school, Massa finished with a 182-4 overall record, 96-0 over his final two seasons, and won the Michigan state title three times.

133

Coming off a major decision (12-4) loss at the hands of Ohio State's Nathan Tomasello, No. 6 Zane Richards will look to bounce back against Michigan's redshirt freshman No. 4 Stevan Micic.  The Illini All-American holds a 14-2 record on the season after placing fourth at NCAA Championships and runner-up at Big Ten Championships last season.

Micic originally attended Northwestern University, going 19-3 in 2014-15, after winning three Indiana state championships in high school. This season, Micic is 13-3 overall and 3-1 in Big Ten action and was named Co-Big Ten Wrestler of the Week (1/17). The lone Big Ten dual defeat for Micic came two weekends ago when he dropped a 2-0 decision to Iowa's No. 1 Cory Clark in Ann Arbor. Overall, Micic ranks second on the team in dual point scored (25) behind Massa (31).

174

The third ranked match of the dual pits No. 12 Zac Brunson of Illinois against Michigan's No. 8 Myles Anime.

After dropping two matches during early season tournaments, Brunson has won 9 of his last 10 matches with the lone defeat coming in the semifinal round at Midlands against No. 4 Zahid Valenica (Arizona State). Brunson leads the team in both wins (20) and pins (6).

Anime enters the dual with a 17-2 overall record, 3-1 in Big Ten duals. The redshirt freshman won back-to-back Michigan state titles in his final two prep seasons before redshirting last season.

The two wrestlers hold common wins over Iowa's Alex Meyer, as Anime defeated Meyer last weekend (6-5), while Brunson dispatched of the Hawkeye 174-pounder in the third-place match at Midlands by a 9-5 decision.
 

Weight Classes to Watch: NIU

125

Continuing to progress during his true freshman season, Travis Piotrowski enters the weekend with back-to-back dual victories, including a 10-0 upset of No. 12 Jose Rodriguez (Ohio State) last Sunday in Columbus. A 2016 IHSA state champion and three-time All-American in high school, Piotrowski will wrestle Brock Hudkins or Kirk Johansen on Sunday.

157

Moving up a weight class this season, redshirt junior Kyle Langenderfer is having a bounceback season after going 7-14 last season at 149 pounds. 14-4 on the season, Langenderfer leads the team in dual meet near falls, and is tied for second on the team with Zane Richards with 52 dual meet point scored. Langenderfer will be opposed by Northern Illinois' Caden McWhirter, who is 14-7 overall and 2-1 in MAC dual matches.
 

Zane Climbs All-time Wins List 

Zane Richards moved into a tie with Nate Patrick with two victories at Rutgers (1/6) and Maryland (1/8) last week. Current Illini Zac Brunson (95) and Isaiah Martinez (82) are both on pace to enter the list this season.

I-Mar All-Time Win-Percentage Leader

With Martinez's first match at Midlands was the 75th of his career, making him eligible for the Illinois all-time win percentage list. Upon entering the list, the Illini redshirt junior took over as the record holder with a current win percentage of .988. Richards also ranks in the top-15 of the list with a .814 percentage.
 

Pinning It Down

Zac Brunson continues to move closer to joining the school's all-time career pins list. After scoring his sixth pin of the season against Maryland's Sam Rowell, Brunson is two pins away from entering the top-10 on Illinois' all-time list. With six this season, Brunson has 18 for his career, two behind No. 10 Troy Tirapelle (2006-09) who finished his career with 20. Tony Dallago owns the school record with 40 pins from 2009-13.