CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - No. 18 Illinois wrestling begins its Big Ten schedule this weekend, traveling to No. 4 Penn State for a 6 p.m. CT matchup on Friday, January 10, and then returning home to host Indiana at Huff Hall on Sunday, January 12 at 1 p.m. CT. Prior to the home dual versus Indiana, the Illini will host their Great Escape Youth Wrestling Clinic, beginning at 11 a.m. CT. A post-dual autograph session will also be held following the match against the Hoosiers. Both duals can be streamed with a subscription to BTN +.
Probable Wrestlers
* Individual Rankings from FloWrestling; Team Rankings from InterMat Dual
Quick Hits
* Illinois begins its B1G slate with this weekend's duals at Penn State, vs. Indiana. Starting with the Indiana match, the Illini will host five Big Ten home duals at Huff Hall.
*Illinois beings its weekend at Penn State on Friday. The Illini lead the all-time series, 9-8. Penn State won the last matchup, 39-9, on February 17, 2019.
*Illinois returns home Sunday to host Indiana, leading the all-time series, 48-41, with one draw. Illinois took the last matchup over the Hoosiers, 33-9, on February 2, 2018 at Huff Hall.
*Last time out, the Illini placed third at the Midlands Championships. No. 18 Illinois beat out four programs that had a higher national-ranking, and six ranked opponents total.
*Five Illinois wrestlers placed to lead the Illini to the third-place finish at Midlands, with two wrestlers placing third and three finishing fourth.
*Illinois is 3-1 in dual action entering the B1G dual season. The Illini have won their last three duals, with their last victory coming against Northern Illinois, 22-15, on December 6.
*Redshirt seniors Travis Piotrowski (133) and Joey Gunther (174) are a combined 23-4 this season.
Illini Notes
Last Time Out: Third Place At Midlands
Fighting Illini Wrestling placed third at the 2019 Midlands Championships, held December 29 and 30 in Hoffman Estates, Ill. with 94.5 team points. Third place is the best finish for Illinois at Midlands since finishing second during the 2014-15 season. No. 18 Illinois beat out six teams nationally-ranked by InterMat, including No. 8 Wisconsin, No. 12 Princeton, No. 15 Northwestern and No. 16 Army West Point.
Joey Gunther took on No. 21 Ben Harvey in the third-place bout at 174-pounds. Gunther got out in front late in the first period with a takedown, going up 2-0. With the score at 2-1, Gunther tacked on another takedown late in the third, and would go on to win the match, 4-2, over Harvey. Third place is the the best Midlands finish for Gunther in his career. He went 5-1 at the tournament, and improved to 10-2 on the season.
Junior Travis Piotrowski finished third at 133-pounds after winning his matchup with No. 3 Sebastian Rivera on injury default by Rivera midway through the second period. Piotrowski went 5-1 at the tournament en route to the best Midlands finish of his career, and is now 13-2 overall for the 2019-20 campaign.
Redshirt freshman Danny Braunagel placed fourth at 165-pounds with a 5-2 record over the course of the two day tournament. Three of Braunagel's five victories came against wrestlers ranked in the national top-25 by FloWrestling, with wins over No. 15 Shayne Oster (Northwestern), No. 18. Zach Hartman (Bucknell) and No. 20 Kennedy Monday. He is now 13-4 this season.
Redshirt junior Dylan Duncan finished fourth at 141-pounds at Midlands, the best finish of his career at the tournament. He tallied the most wins on the team at the tournament, finishing with a 6-2 record over the two days, bringing his overall record to 11-4 this season.
Redshirt freshman Zac Braunagel, who entered the tournament ranked No. 21 nationally at 184 by FloWrestling, knocked off No. 9 Nelson Brands (Iowa) and No. 13 Noah Stewart (Army) for two of his four wins. Braunagel improved his overall record for the 2019-20 season to 12-4, and finished fourth at 184-pounds.
Illini Wrestlers On The Move In The National Rankings
Several Illini wrestlers moved up across the national rankings after big performances at the Midlands Championships. All Illini who placed at Midlands now rank inside the national-top 15 in their respective weight-classes, with Piotrowski and Gunther sitting inside the top-10. Here are the highest national-rankings for each Illini entering the weekend: No. 7 Travis Piotrowski (133, InterMat), No. 8 Joey Gunther (174, InterMat), No. 11 Zac Braunagel (184, FloWrestling), No. 13 Danny Braunagel (165, WIN Magazine), No. 14 Dylan Duncan (141, FloWrestling), No. 22 Eric Barone (157, FloWrestling), No. 23 Justin Cardani (125, Trackwrestling), No. 25 Luke Luffman (285, WrestleStat) and No. 30 Matt Wroblewski (197, Trackwrestling).
A Look At the Nittany Lions
No. 4 Penn State enters Friday night's dual with a record of 3-1. Their last win came on December 8 at home, defeating Penn, 33-7. The Nittany Lions' probable lineup for Friday night features six-nationally ranked wrestlers, all of whom are ranked in the top-10. They are led by No. 1 Vincenzo Hall (165) and No. 1 Mark Hall (174).
Scouting the Hoosiers
Indiana has only contested one dual this season, dropping a matchup with North Dakota State, 26-12, at home on November 22. The Hoosiers will take on No. 1 Iowa at home on Friday before heading to Illinois for Sunday's dual with the Illini. Indiana's lineup features one ranked wrestler, No. 24 Jacob Covaciu, who holds a record of 12-5 this season competing at 174-pounds.
Illini to Watch
133: Travis Piotrowski
Senior Travis Piotrowski continued his strong start to his first season competing at 133-pounds with a third-place finish at Midlands. After going 5-1 at the tournament, Piotrowski now has 72 career wins and is 13-2 on the season. He has won all four of his dual matchups heading into Friday night's dual against Penn State. Ranked No. 7 in the nation, Piotrowski will have a top-10 showdown at 133-pounds on Friday night, going against No. 3 Roman Bravo-Young, who is 9-0 on the season. On Sunday against the Hoosiers, Piotrowski will see either Jonathan Moran (5-12) or Cayden Rooks (15-6).
184: Zac Braunagel
Redshirt freshman Zac Braunagel is now 12-4 on the season and has shot up to No. 11 in the latest FloWrestling National Rankings for 184-pounds. This comes after his fourth place finish at the Midlands, at which he upset No. 9 Nelson Brands (Iowa) and No. 13 Noah Stewart while being ranked No. 21 in the nation at the time. Braunagel leads the team with seven wins by major decision. Braunagel will have an opportunity to continue to climb the 184-pound ranks Friday night, as he looks to knock off No. 8 Aaron Brooks of Penn State, who is 5-0 on the season. On Sunday Braunagel is set to take on Indiana senior Jake Hinz, whose record currently sits at 5-7.
Up Next
The Illini will return to action next weekend, taking on No. 6 Ohio State in Columbus on Sunday, January 19, at Noon CT. The Illini will then host three straight Big Ten duals at Huff Hall, taking on No. 25 Michigan (Sun., Jan. 26), Michigan State (Fri., Jan. 31) and No. 14 Northwestern (Sun., Feb. 2).
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.
