The match started at 197 and No. 8 Tyrone Byrd (Clinton, Ill.) outlasted Dan Erekson, 4-3. A late takedown by Byrd was the only scoring in the first period. In the third, with Byrd leading 3-0, a stalling point awarded to Erekson cut into the lead. Later in the period, another stall call was awarded to Erekson who then followed it up with an escape to tie the match at 3-3. With 1:42 of riding time, Byrd came out with the victory and gave the Illini an early 3-0 lead in the dual. The dual continued at heavyweight and saw Matt Weight (Batavia, Ill.) fall to No. 19 Ryan Fuller, 4-3. Fuller took the early lead with a takedown but Weight countered with an escape to close the first period. An escape by fuller extended his lead to 3-1 in the second period. In the third, Weight narrowed the lead by scoring an escape. A late stalling point awarded to Weight was not enough to overcome the riding time posted by the Fuller. Weight has now lost four matches in a row. The dual was now tied, 3-3.
Kyle Ott, (Huber Heights, Ohio) pinned Trent Goodale at 3:30. Ott was looking to bounce back from last week's surprising pin he suffered at Northwestern. With a 2-0 lead in the second period, Ott scored another two points on a reversal, then quickly moved in for the pin. At 133, Gabe Flores (Madera, Calif.) defeated Daniel Dennis, 10-8. Flores came out firing in the first period on a takedown and a three-point nearfall. Dennis countered, however, by scoring a reversal to end the period. In the second, Flores added another three-point nearfall to extend his lead to 8-2. Flores started the third with an escape point and never let the Iowa freshman into the match. After the two big wins, the Illini had a 13-3 lead.
After winning two out of their first three matches, the Illini dropped three in a row. At 141, Cassio Pero (Chicago Heights, Ill.) fell to No. 14 Alex Tsirtsis, 6-2. Pero took an early lead on a takedown, but the Hawkeye sophomore countered with an escape. In the second, Tsirtsis found himself in the lead as Pero was twice called for stalling. In the third, Tsirtsis extended his lead by scoring on a reversal and riding the Illini junior until the time expired. The dual picked up at 149 and saw Troy Tirapelle (Clovis, Calif.) fall to Alex Grunder, 9-4. Grunder, who was a late replacement for No. 2 Ty Eustice, scored a takedown and a three-point nearfall to open the first period. Tirapelle answered with a reversal and a takedown to close the period. In the third, Grunder added to his lead by scoring an escape then a takedown. Iowa closed the Illini gap in the dual, 13-9. At 157, Dan Zeman (LaGrange, Ill.) fell to No. 7 Joe Johnston, 14-6. Zeman was a late replacement for top-ranked Alex Tirapelle who couldn't compete due to injury. Zeman jumped out to a 4-0 lead on a takedown and a two-point nearfall, but Johnston countered with an escape, a takedown, and a three-point nearfall to end the first period. In the second, Zeman cut into the lead with an escape but Johnston countered right back with a takedown. Johnston added two more takedowns in the third to overwhelm the normally 149-pound Illini sophomore. The dual was now tied, 13-13.
The Illini then turned the match around by winning the next three matches. At 165, No. 7 Mike Poeta (Highwood, Ill.) won a major decision over Eric Luedke, 10-2. Poeta jumped to a big 8-2 lead in the first period by scoring three takedowns and a two-point nearfall. In the third, with Poeta up 9-2, he added an escape point to come away with the 10-2 major decision and give the Illini a 17-13 lead in the dual. At 174, No. 16 Donny Reynolds (Frankfort, Ill.) won a major decsion over Ben Stedman, 8-0. The only scoring in the first period was a takedown by Reynolds. In the second, Reynolds took control of the match by scoring an escape and a takedown. Reynolds added another takedown to start the third and was awarded another point on a stalling call en-route to the major decision. The win gave the Illini a 21-13 lead and also guaranteed the Illini the victory over the Hawkeyes. At 184, No. 6 Pete Friedl defeated #7 Paul Bradley, 4-2. The two met earlier this season at the All-Star Dual with the Illini All-American taking the decision. Friedl took an early lead in the first period with a takedown. A point was added to Friedl when Bradley was called for an illegal hold. In the third, with Friedl up 4-1, Bradley narrowed the lead with an escape, but that's all he could do before time expired.
The Illini head home to host No. 18 Michigan State on Sunday at Huff Gym. Mat time is scheduled for 1 p.m.
#6 Illinois 24, #9 Iowa 13
Attendance: 3,532
197: #8 Tyrone Byrd (ILL) vs. Dan Erekson (IOWA), 4-3 3-0 Hwt: #19 Ryan Fuller (IOWA) dec. Matt Weight (ILL), 4-3 3-3 125: #6 Kyle Ott (ILL) pinned Trent Goodale (IOWA), 3:30 9-0 133: Gabe Flores (ILL) maj. dec. Daniel Dennis (IOWA), 10-2 13-3 141: #14 Alex Tsirtsis (IOWA) dec. Cassio Pero (ILL), 6-2 13-6 149: Alex Grunder (IOWA) dec. Troy Tirapelle (ILL), 9-4 13-9 157: #7 Joe Johnston (IOWA) maj. dec. Dan Zeman (ILL), 14-6 13-13 165: #7 Mike Poeta (ILL) maj. dec. Eric Luedke (IOWA), 10-2 17-13 174: #16 Donny Reynolds (ILL) maj. dec. Ben Stedman (IOWA), 9-0 21-13 184: #6 Pete Friedl (ILL) dec. #7 Paul Bradley (IOWA), 4-2 24-13
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