No. 13 Illinois Drops Dual To No. 8 Minnesota

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No. 13 Illinois Drops Dual To No. 8 Minnesota




No. 4 Mike Carr beats top-10 opponent for second consecutive dual.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - No. 13 Fighting Illini wrestling dropped its first match of the season at Huff Hall on Friday night, falling 26-15 to No. 8 Minnesota. For the second consecutive dual, redshirt sophomore No. 4 Mike Carr defeated a top-10 nationally ranked opponent, this time getting the best of No. 7 Mitch McKee in a 5-2 decision. Redshirt senior No. 2 Emery Parkerremains unbeaten after defeating Owen Webster in a 10-4 decision, and redshirt senior Andre Lee wrestled to his 15th win of the season with a 7-3 decision over Rylee Streifel in the 197-pound bout.

"Good effort from Andre lee, Michael Carr and Dylan Duncan, although Duncan got started too late," said head coach Jim Heffernan. "At the end of the day you have to score points in order to win matches."

After No. 19 Dylan Duncan's comeback attempt for an upset over No. 9 Ethan Lizak fell just short (dec., 12-9), it was on to Mike Carr at 141 looking to get the Illini its first points of the night. Pitted against Mitch McKee, the two wrestled to a scoreless first period. Carr got on the board first, tallying a point for an escape to take the initial 1-0 lead. McKee would escape to start the third period to tie the match at one. The third period, however, belonged to Carr as recorded two takedowns to seal the match and win in a 5-2 decision over McKee. The win for No. 4 Carr over No. 7 McKee is the second in a row against a nationally ranked opponent, as Carr defeated Michigan's No. 6 Kanen Storr in a 3-2 decision in the Illini's last dual at No. 5 Michigan. Carr's win drew the dual between the Illini and Golden Gophers even at 3-3.

The Illini did not win another matchup until redshirt senior Emery Parker got the Illini back on track. Parker jumped out to the early lead against Owen Webster with a takedown in the first. He would add an escape and another takedown to jump out to a 5-0 lead to end the first period. Parker would add two more takedowns to give him four total for the match on his way to a 10-4 decision over Webster. No. 2 Parker remains unbeaten, with his record standing at 10-0 for the season.

Redshirt senior Andre Lee picked up his first B1G win of the season against Rylee Streifel in the 197-pound match. Lee got out to the early lead with a takedown in the first period. Lee was strong in the opening frame, adding another takedown late in the period to take a 4-2 lead into the second period. In the second, Lee would add an escape and another takedown to take a 7-2 advantage in the third. Lee was sound defensively in the final period, and was able to earn a 7-3 decision over Streifel. Lee is now 15-7 on the season.

Junior Travis Piotrowski won the last match of the evening after a medical forfeit by opponent Sean Russell. Piotrowski's 2018-19 record is now 12-6.

Next up, Illinois hosts No. 4 Iowa at Huff Hall in an 8 p.m. CT showdown to be televised on BTN. The dual will be Tuff 'N Huff night at Huff Hall. Students can register for an arm wrestling tournament, and the winner will take home a 65-inch, 4K TV. Commemorative Tuff 'N Huff t-shirts will also be distributed.

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.

Results:

133: #9 Ethan Lizak (MINN) dec. #19 Dylan Duncan (ILL) 12-9 MINN 3, ILL 0
141: #4 Mike Carr (ILL) dec. #7 Mitch McKee (MINN) 5-2, MINN 3, ILL 3
149: #20 Tommy Thorn (MINN) major dec. Christian Kanzler (ILL) 11-0, MINN 7, ILL 3
157: #9 Steven Belise (MINN) Fall #13 Eric Barone (ILL), MINN 13, ILL 3
165: Carson Brolsma (MINN) dec. #19 Joey Gunther (ILL) 3-2, MINN 16. ILL 3
174: #12 Devin Skatzka (MINN) major dec. Carver James (ILL) 12-4, MINN 20, ILL 3
184: #2 Emery Parker (ILL) dec. Owen Webster (MINN) 10-4, MINN 20, ILL 6
197: Andre Lee (ILL) dec. Rylee Streifel (MINN) 7-3, MINN 20, ILL 9
285:  #1 Gable Stevenson (MINN) Fall Deuce Rachal (ILL) MINN 26, ILL 9
125: #12 Travis Piotrowski (ILL) MFF #7 Sean Russell (MINN), MINN 26, ILL 15


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Michael Girot
Athletics Communication
University of Illinois Athletics
Office: 217-300-1449 | Cell: 815-953-7122
Email: girot2@illinois.edu
Website: FIGHTINGILLINI.com
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