All rankings courtesy of InterMat
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois wrestling team fell to No. 11 Minnesota, 28-12, on Friday (Feb. 9) on senior night from the State Farm Center.
"When you look up at the scoreboard obviously it's not the result we wanted," said head coach Mike Poeta. "With that being said, the guys fought hard and showed a lot of heart out there on the mat tonight. I'm happy for Justin Cardani and Tony Madrigal to go out with wins here on senior night. We will look to build off our effort here and bring it to Wisconsin on Sunday."
The Illini started hot out of the gate winning the first three matches of the evening to take an early 9-0 lead. Redshirt senior and Champaign native Justin Cardani (125 lbs.) battled Brandon Morvari (MINN) for the full three periods and ended tied at six at the end of regulation. They went to the first round of ride outs and Cardani rode Morvari for the full 30 seconds to win, 9-6.
Cardani went to the center of mat after to give the shield a few punches to acknowledge his last win in his hometown. He turned to give thanks to the fans where they showered him with love for his gutty win and his entire tenure in the Orange and Blue.
Graduate student No. 30 Tony Madrigal (133 lbs.) was next up against No. 18 Tyler Wells (MINN). Madrigal put together well-timed shots and solid defense where he did not give up a single point. He went on to shutout Wells 4-0.
Redshirt sophomore No. 26 Danny Pucino kept the upset train rolling with an 8-5 win over No. 20 Vance VomBaur (MINN). Pucino used an escape and two takedowns in the third period to come back and get the win.
Redshirt junior No. 8 Edmond Ruth (174 lbs.) eclipsed 30 dual points scored and reached 15 wins in back-to-back seasons in his first two seasons as a starter. He defeated Andrew Sparks (MINN) in a 7-1 decision after using two takedowns in the last minute of the third period to boost his score. Today's attendance was 569 fans.
UP NEXT
The Fighting Illini matmen are back in action Sunday (Feb. 11) in Madison, Wis. to take on No. 23 Wisconsin at noon CT.
FULL RESULTS
| Weight |
Matchup |
Score |
| 125: |
Justin Cardani (ILL) dec. Brandon Morvari (MINN), TB-1 9-6 |
ILL 3 I MINN 0 |
| 133: |
#30 Tony Madrigal (ILL) dec. #18 Tyler Wells (MINN), 4-0 |
ILL 6 I MINN 0 |
| 141: |
#26 Danny Pucino (ILL) dec. #20 Vance VomBaur (MINN), 8-5 |
ILL 9 I MINN 0 |
| 149: |
#17 Drew Roberts (MINN) major dec. Jake Harrier (ILL), 15-3 |
ILL 9 I MINN 4 |
| 157: |
#4 Michael Blockhus (MINN) pinned Joe Roberts (ILL), (2:26) |
ILL 9 I MINN 10 |
| 165: |
#27 Blaine Brenner (MINN) dec. #33 Chris Moore (ILL), 8-2 |
ILL 9 IÂ MINN 13 |
| 174: |
#8 Edmond Ruth (ILL) dec. Andrew Sparks (MINN), 7-1 |
ILL 12 IÂ MINN 13 |
| 184: |
#5 Isaiah Salazar (MINN) dec. #31 Dylan Connell (ILL), 6-0 |
ILL 12 IÂ MINN 16 |
| 197: |
#20 Garrett Joles (MINN) pinned Isiah Pettigrew (ILL), (2:35) |
ILL 12 I MINN 22 |
| 285: |
#30 Bennett Tabor (MINN) pinned Peter Marinopoulos (ILL), (2:06) |
ILL 12 IÂ MINN 28 |
