Illini Wrestling Can’t Crack Buckeyes, Fall 22-17

[TomM]

 Illini Wrestling Can't Crack Buckeyes, Fall 22-17
Orange and Blue Host 'Great Escape' Friday vs. Iowa

CHAMPAIGN,Ill.— The Orange and Blue dropped their Big Ten opener at Huff Hall on Sunday, falling to sixth-ranked Ohio State 22-17. The Illini scored bonus points in three of their four victories and led the Buckeyes 13-11 heading into the 165-pound match, but dropped three of the final four bouts.

"I think most of our guys did pretty well, we got some bonus points in a couple of our matches, but we also had some matches that we wish we could have back," said senior Jeff Koepke.

The match was a back-and-forth battle between two of the Big Ten's best, as Ohio State raced out to a 8-0 advantage beginning with a hard-fought decision by Thomas Haines, edging Brooks Black 3-2. Ohio State added on to their early lead when No. 1 Nathan Tomasello earned a technical fall over Francis Edelen, 18-3. With Illinois trailing 8-0, No. 3 Zane Richards got Illinois on the board at 133 pounds, winning by decision over No. 8 Johnni DiJulius to push his record to 14-0. However, Micah Jordan responded with a decision of his own over Brock Ervin at 141 pounds.

Once again trailing by eight points, Kyle Langenderfer and No. 1 Isaiah Martnez stepped up for Coach Heffernan with back-to-back technical falls that catapulted Illinois to a 13-11 lead. Martinez's technical fall was his tenth of the season, placing him one shy of his mark from last season that led all of the NCAA.

"My performance was good. I felt really good about my performance, just readjusting to the way guys are going to compete against me now," said Martinez. "Last year, they were more open and willing to expose themselves. Now, they know they're going up against the returning national champion. Their goal now is not to win the match, just to try to keep it close. At the beginning of the year it was frustrating because guys were showing up and playing defense, but I'm learning how to get them out of their comfort zone and today was a great example of that."

At 165 pounds, No. 2 Bo Jordan proved to be too tough for No. 6 Steven Rodrigues as he pushed out to a 5-0 lead. Rodrigues showed resilience, earning an escape and takedown to close the gap to 5-3. However, Jordan held on for a riding point and a 6-3 victory. Isaac Reinemann filled in for No. 4 Zac Brunson at 174 pounds, but Ohio State's Myles Martin was on his game and quickly jumped out to a double-digit lead and earned a third-period tech fall.

Trailing by six, Jeff Koepke showed his veteran leadership by overpowering Jack Rozema at 184 pounds for a 15-6 major decision that shrank the deficit to just two.

"I thought I wrestled pretty well," said Koepke. "I thought I could have started getting movement a little earlier and got to my takedowns. But, I was glad to get the major decision and help the team out with those points."

The four-point victory set up a winner-take-all scenario at 197 pounds. The finale opened with a stalemate in the first period, but Andre Lee quickly grabbed a 1-0 lead in period two with an escape. However, Martin kept Lee in check for the remaining three-plus minutes. A penalty point and an escape for Martin in the third period proved to be the difference as Martin sealed the Ohio State victory with a 2-1 decision. 

The Fighting Illini continue their home slate on Friday, January 7 when they host No. 2 Iowa as part of this year's Great Escape. The dual is set for 7 p.m. and admission is free.

285: Thomas Haines (OHST) over #13 Brooks Black (ILLI) (Dec 3-2)
125: #1 Nathan Tomasello (OHST) over Francis Edelen (ILLI) (TF 18-3 5:00)
133: #3 Zane Richards (ILLI) over #15 Johnni DiJulius (OHST) (Dec 8-3)
141: #7 Micah Jordan (OHST) over Brock Ervin (ILLI) (Dec 6-3)
149: Kyle Langenderfer (ILLI) over Matt Davis (OHST) (TF 20-5 6:00)
157: #1 Isaiah Martinez (ILLI) over #18 Jake Ryan (OHST) (TF 24-8 5:45)
165: #2 Bo Jordan (OHST) over #6 Steven Rodrigues (ILLI) (Dec 6-3)
174: Myles Martin (OHST) over Isaac Reinemann (ILLI) (TF 23-7 6:00)
184: #16 Jeffrey Koepke (ILLI) over Jack Rozema (OHST) (MD 15-6)
197: Mark Martin (OHST) over Andre Lee (ILLI) (Dec 2-1)