CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Illinois wrestling is set for its first dual action of the season, competing at the Chattanooga Duals against UT-Chattanooga and Army West Point. The matchup against Army is set for 9 a.m. CT, and the dual with UT Chattanooga will begin at 1 p.m. CT.
Probable Wrestlers
Rankings from FloWrestling
Quick Hits
*Illinois starts its 2019-20 dual slate with a tri-meet, competing at the Chattanooga Duals against Army (9 a.m. CT) and Ut-Chattanooga (1 p.m. CT)
*The Illini are 1-2 all-time against Army. The first meeting between the programs was in 1960.
*Illinois is a perfect 10-0 in the all-time series with UT Chattanooga. Their last meeting was on Jan. 6, 2013, and the Illini defeated the Mocs, 29-10.
*The Orange and Blue lineup features four wrestlers making their first career starts: Justin Cardani (125), Danny Braunagel (165), Zac Braunagel (184) and Luke Luffman (285).
*Senior Travis Piotrowski is set to start at 133-pounds for the first time in his career.
* Last time out, eight Illinois wrestlers placed at the MSU Open on Nov. 2, the first action for the Illini this season.
*Eight Illinois wrestlers are ranked across Week 1 national rankings. Their highest rankings are the following: No. 10 Travis Piotrowski(133, InterMat), No. 10 Mike Carr (149, Trackwrestling), No. 10 Eric Barone (157, FloWrestling), No. 15 Joey Gunther (174, FloWrestling, InterMat, OpenMat), No. 15 Zac Braunagel (184, Trackwrestling), No. 20 Dylan Duncan (141, Open Mat), No. 25 Danny Braunagel (165, FloWrestling), No. 32 Luke Luffman (285, Trackwrestling).
Illini Notes
Last Time Out
The Illini saw eight wrestlers place at the MSU Open on Nov. 2. Wrestling unattached, freshman DJ Shannon placed second in the Open division at 174-pounds, going 3-1 on the day. Junior Travis Piotrowski placed third at 133-pounds, going 4-1 wrestling unattached. Redshirt junior Dylan Duncan (141), and redshirt freshmen Danny Braunagel (165) and Zac Braunagel (184) earned fourth place finishes. In the fresh/soph division, Illinois freshmen Trey Sizemore (174) and Luke Luffman (285) both placed first in their weight classes. Freshman Lucas Byrd finished second at 133-pounds in the Fresh/Soph division.
Scouting Army
Army enters Sunday's Chattanooga duals with a 1-1 record. At the Battle of the Midway duals to open the season, Army was defeated by No. 5 Wisconsin, 16-15, and then won the second matchup against Fresno State, 29-9. Army is led by 174-pound senior Ben Harvey, who ranks No. 9 in the latest FloWrestling national rankings. Harvey won both his matchups at the Battle of the Midway Duals, defeating Wisconsin's Tyler Dow by decision, 4-2, and then Fresno State's Jackson Hemaure in a 3-1 decision.
A Look at the Mocs
UT-Chattanooga won their lone dual of the season, 29-14, over SIU Edwardsville on Nov. 1. The Mocs are led by 125-pound junior Fabian Gutierrez, who is 3-1 across the SIU dual and the Southeast Open on Nov. 3 at Virginia Tech. Gutierrez won by major dec., 13-2 over SIU's Gage Datlovsky for his first dual win of the season. The Illini are 10-0 all-time against the Mocs, with their most recent win on Jan. 6, 2013 by a score of 29-10 at UT Chattanooga.
Illini To Watch
133: Travis Piotrowski
Senior Travis Piotrowski is set to start at 133-pounds for the first time in his career on Sunday. The three-time NCAA qualifier at 125, competed for the first time at 133 at the MSU Open on Nov. 2. Wrestling unattached, Piotrowski went 3-1 and placed third. He earned a 6-3 decision over No. 11 Derek Spann of Buffalo at the meet. Piotrowski ranks No. 11 at 133-pounds in the latest FloWrestling national rankings.
184: Zac Braunagel
Redshirt freshman Zac Braunagel is set to make his first appearance in the Illini lineup. Braunagel got off to a strong start to this season at the MSU Open, going 5-1 and placing fourth at 184-pounds. Braunagel defeated then-No. 13 Cam Caffey of Michigan State by major decision, 15-7. He is nationally ranked for the first time in his career, checking in at No. 16 in the latest FloWrestling rankings.
Up Next
Next up, Illinois will take on No. 10 Missouri on Thursday, Nov. 14. The dual will be held at Francis Howell High School in Saint Louis, Mo. and is set to begin at 7 p.m. CT.
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