CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – No. 13 Fighting Illini will wrestle two top-10 opponents this weekend, hosting No. 3 Iowa on Friday, January 25 and then traveling to Lincoln, Neb. for a Sunday afternoon showdown with No. 6 Nebraska. The "Tuff N' Huff" Iowa dual Friday night will begin at 8 p.m. CT at Huff Hall, and will be televised by Big Ten Network. The Illini matchup at Nebraska at Bob Devaney Sports Center starts at 2 p.m. CT on Sunday afternoon, and can be streamed on BTN2Go.
Probable Wrestlers
Rankings from FloWrestling
Quick Hits
* No. 13 Fighting Illini Wrestling will take on two top-10 opponents this weekend. First, the Illini host the No. 3 Iowa Hawkeyes Friday night at Huff Hall at 8 p.m. CT, in a dual to be televised on BTN. Then, the Orange and Blue travel to Lincoln, Nebraska for a Sunday afternoon matchup with the No. 6. Nebraska Cornhuskers beginning at 2 p.m. CT
*Friday's dual at Huff will be Tuff 'N Huff Night at Huff Hall, with fans receiving Tuff N' Huff T-Shirts. Students can also register for an arm wrestling tournament, with the winner getting to take home a 65-inch, 4K television.
*Last year, the Illini dropped an 18-17 heartbreaker at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on December 1, 2017. Iowa leads the all-time series, 51-26-1 over Illinois.
*Illinois won its last meeting against Nebraska, an 18-17 decision over the Cornhuskers last season Jan. 5, 2018 at Huff Hall. The Illini lead the all-time series, 7-3 over Nebraska.
*The Illini dropped to 2-3 and 1-2 in the Big Ten after falling to Minnesota, 26-15, on Friday, Jan. 18 at Huff Hall.
*Redshirt sophomore No. 4 Mike Carr defeated a top-10 opponent for the second straight dual, winning a 5-2 decision over No. 7 Mitch McKee to move to 7-2 on the season. Redshirt senior Emery Parker stayed undefeated (10-0) with a 10-4 decision over Owen Webster. Redshirt senior Andre Lee tied the team lead in wins (15) with a decision over Rylee Streifel, 7-3.
*FloWrestling National Rankings: 125: No. 12 Travis Piotrowski, 133: No. 18 Dylan Duncan, 141: No. 4 Mike Carr, 157: No. 12 Eric Barone, 184: No. 2 Emery Parker.
*After Nebraska, the Illini will next host No. 2 Ohio State on Friday, February 1 at 8 p.m. CT at Huff Hall in another dual to be televised by BTN. The dual will be Great Escape Night at Huff Hall, featuring a pre-dual youth wrestling clinic, 2-point takedown foam finger giveaways and post-dual autographs.
Illini Notes
Last Time Out
The Illini were defeated at Huff Hall by No. 8 Minnesota, 26-15 on Friday, January 18. Redshirt sophomore No. 4 Mike Carr picked up his second consecutive win against a top-10 opponent, defeating No. 7 Mitch McKee in a 5-2 decision, using two third-period takedowns to seal the victory. Redshirt senior Emery Parker remained undefeated by winning his 184-pound matchup against Owen Webster in a 10-4 decision. Redshirt senior Andre Lee tied himself with redshirt junior Joey Gunther for the team lead in wins with 15 by defeating Rylee Streifel in a 7-3 decision in the 197-pound bout.
Sizing Up The Hawkeyes
No. 3 Iowa enters Friday's matchup at Illinois perfect on the season with an 8-0 record, including a 3-0 record in Big Ten duals this season. They won their last matchup at home over No. 17 Rutgers, 30-6. Their lineup lineup features six wrestlers ranked in the FloWrestling's top-5 headlined by a pair of No. 2's, sophomore Spencer Lee (11-1) at 125-pounds and sophomore Alex Marinelli (13-0) at 165-pounds.
A Look At The Cornhuskers
Each wrestler in No. 6 Nebraska's probable lineup from 157-285 is ranked in FloWrestling's top-15. That group is lead by No. 2 Tyler Berger at 157-pounds, who is 16-2 on the season. Nebraska is 8-3 on the season, and 2-2 in Big Ten action. They were defeated their last time out on Jan. 20 at No. 1 Penn State, 25-6.
Six Illini Ranked Nationally
The Fighting Illini stay at No. 13 in both the FloWrestling and InterMat, as well as moving up to 13 in the Trackwrestling and WIN Magazine rankings. Here are the Illini's best ranks across the national rankings: No. 2 Emery Parker (FloWrestling, OpenMat, InterMat, Trackwrestling), No. 4 Mike Carr, (FloWrestling, InterMat, TrackWrestling, W.I.N. Magazine), No. 12 Eric Barone (FloWrestling, InterMat, W.I.N. Magazine) No. 12 Travis Piotrowski (FloWrestling, Trackwrestling), No. 17 Dylan Duncan, (InterMat, WIN Magazine OpenMat) and No. 17 Joey Gunther (W.I.N. Magazine).
Illini to Watch
184: Emery Parker
Redshirt senior No. 2 Emery Parker won his dual against Owen Webster by way of a 10-4 decision at last week's Minnesota dual to remain perfect and push his record to 10-0. Parker faces tough tests this weekend against two ranked opponents. On Friday he will take on No. 17 Cash Wilcke of Iowa. Then, he will square off against No. 4 Taylor Venz in a top-5 showdown at Nebraska on Sunday.
141: Mike Carr
No. 4 Mike Carr is coming off back-to-back wins against top-10 opponents. Last time out he was victorious agianst No. 7 Mitch McKee, winning a 5-2 decision in the last week's dual vs. No. 8 Minnesota. The weekend prior, he won his bout against No. 4 Kanen Storr at No. 5 Michican in a 3-2 decision. Carr, whose record stands at 7-2 on the season, gets another matchup with a ranked opponent this weekend, facing off against No. 19 Max Murin of Iowa Friday night.
133: Dylan Duncan
No. 18 (FloWrestling) Dylan Duncan heads into the weekend coming off a hard-fought loss at the hands of No. 9 Ethan Lizak last time out against Minnesota. Duncan was down early, but sparked a comback in the second and third periods. Unfortunately it was not enough as Lizak took a 12-9 decision over Duncan. Duncan will have another matchup with a ranked opponent this weekend, looking to avenge his loss to Iowa's No. 4 Austin DeSanto from Midlands a few weeks back.
Up Next
After Nebraska, the Illini will next host No. 2 Ohio State on Friday, February 1 at 8 p.m. CT at Huff Hall in another dual to be televised by BTN. The dual will be Great Escape Night at Huff Hall, featuring a pre-dual youth wrestling clinic, 2-point takedown foam finger giveaways and post-dual autographs.
For complete coverage of Fighting Illini Wrestling, visit FightingIllini.com, follow the Illini on Twitter (@illiniwrestling) and Instagram (illiniwrestling) and like Fighting Illini Wrestling on Facebook.
