IlliniWrestling: No. 14 Illinois Drops Dual At Michigan To Go 1-1 on road trip

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IlliniWrestling: No. 14 Illinois Drops Dual At Michigan To Go 1-1 on road trip

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Saturday, January 12, 2019
SID Contact: Michael Girot (O: 217.300.1449; C: 815.953.7122 or girot2@illinois.edu)


FIGHTING ILLINI WRESTLING
No. 14 Illinois Drops Dual At Michigan To Go 1-1 On Road Trip
Piotrowski, Carr win bouts against ranked opponents.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - No. 14 Fighting Illini Wrestling won two of the first three matches of the night before falling to No. 5 Michigan, 28-10, Saturday night in Ann Arbor. Junior Travis Piotrowski and redshirt sophomore Mike Carr each defeated ranked opponents in their matchups. No. 14 Piotrowski defeated No. 11 Drew Mattin in the 125-bout in a 3-2 decision to give the Illini an initial 3-0 lead in the dual. In a battle of top-five wreslters, No. 5 Carr edged out No. 6 Kanen Storr in a xxx decision. No. 2 Emery Parker also won his bout in a xxx major decision to move to 8-0 on the season.
"Really impressed with Michael Carr," said head coach Jim Heffernan. "He did a great job against a very good opponent in only his second match back. Travis (Piotrowski) got a match back he lost earlier in the year. Emery (Parker) looked a little rusty but he's getting sharper by the day. Overall not a great performance and we need to get better."
Piotrowski got the Illini the initial dual lead by defeating Drew Mattin in the opening match. Mattin had previously defeated Piotrowski earlier in the season at the Cliff Keen Invite in a 3-2 decision, but Piotrowski got the better of his opponent in the rematch. Piotrowski entered the final period with a 1-0 lead, but Mattin tied the score early in the third with an escape. Piotrowski added two points in the final minute in what would prove to be the difference in the 3-2 decision. Piotrowski moved to 11-6 on the year with the victory and gave the Illini an early 3-0 lead over the Wolverines
After relinquishing the lead to Michigan, Illinois looked to bounce back in the 141-pound matchup. No. 5 Mike Carr faced a tough test in his second match back in over a month, going against No. 6 Kanen Storr. Like at Michigan State the night before, Carr jumped out to the early lead with a first period takedown to put him up 2-0. Carr added an escape point in the second frame to give him a 3-1 advantage heading into the final period. With sound defense in the third period, Carr took the match in a 3-2 decision to give the Illini back the lead, now in front of Michigan, 7-6. 
The Illini would drop the next four matches and go down 19-6. Redshirt senior Emery Parkergot the Illini back in the dual's win column with a stellar performance against Michigan's J.T. Correll. Parker compiled multiple takedowns on his way to a 15-4 major decision to put the score at 19-10 in favor of Michigan.
In the 197-pound match, redshirt freshman Matt Wroblewski made his first appearance in the starting lineup and hung tough with opponent Jackson Striggow. The highlight of the match came in the second period, when after Striggow took the lead on a takedown late in the period, Wroblewski scored two points for a reversal in the closing seconds to take a 3-2 lead in the final period. Wroblewski would drop a hard-fought, 8-5 decision, and Michigan would go on to win the dual, 28-10.
Up next, Illinois hosts its first dual of the season at Huff Hall, with No. 8 Minnesota heading to Champaign next Friday, January 18 for a 6 p.m. showdown. The dual will feature the first ever Ladies Night. The first 250 ladies in attendance will receive a commemorative Illinois Wrestling etched wine glass. Prior to the dual, there will be a free self-defense clinic held in Huff Hall taught by the FOCUS Champaign School of Self-Defense. The class will begin at 4:30 pm and will provide participants with an introductory lesson on situational awareness and contextual defense.
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:
125- No. 14 Travis Piotrowski (ILL) dec. No. 11 Drew Mattin (UM) ILL 3, UM 0
133- No. 3 Stevan Micic (UM) major dec. No. 20 Dylan Duncan (ILL), 18-8 UM 4, ILL 3
141- No. 5 Mike Carr (ILL) dec. No. 6 Kanen Storr 3-2, ILL 6, UM 4
149- Malik Amine (U-M) dec. Christian Kanzler, 4-0, UM 7, ILL 6
157 -- No. 14 Alec Pantaleo (U-M) dec. No. 12 Eric Barone, 10-3, UM 10, ILL 6
165 -- No. 3 Logan Massa (U-M) tech. fall Nick Gasbarro, 24-9 (5:42), UM 15, ILL 6
174 -- No. 3 Myles Amine (U-M) dec. Carver James, 12-3,  UM 19, ILL 6
184 -- No. 2 Emery Parker (UI) major dec. J.T. Correll, 15-4, UM 19, ILL 10
197- Jackson Striggow(U-M) dec. Matt Wroblewski, 8-5, UM 22, ILL 10
HWT- No. 3 Mason Parris (U-M) Fall Deuce Rachal, 5:57, UM 28, ILL 10