Last Time Out
Wrestling without injured Ryan Lang (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Edward), the nation's top-ranked 141-pounder, the eighth-ranked Wildcats went 2-3 and finished eighth at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals, hosted by Northern Iowa. It was the first time the 'Cats earned a place at the event in program history. Top-ranked Jake Herbert (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) was named the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler and his performance earned him Big Ten Wrestler of the Week honors.
Quoting Coach Cysewski
"Illinois and Iowa are extremely solid teams," head coach Tim Cysewski said. "Illinois has some outstanding individuals as does Iowa."
"Our guys know that it will take a complete team effort to beat both teams," Cysewski said. "These are the matches that our guys really look forward to during the year, knowing that it is all preparation for Big Ten's and NCAA's."
Scouting the Illini
No. 16 Illinois features a strong top of the line up with ranked grappers at 125 lbs. through 165. Top-ranked Mike Poeta took home a Midlands title at 157 lbs. and eighth-ranked Gabe Flores and 18th-ranked true-freshman Jimmy Kennedy hve impressed at 133. The Wildcats won last year's meeting, 19-16, at Rolling Meadows High School.
Keep Your Eye On
125: Precin (NU) vs. #8 Flores (ILL)
133: Metzler (NU) vs. #18 Kennedy (ILL
141: #1 Lang (NU) vs. #8 Pero (ILL)
184: #1 Herbert (NU) vs. #15 Dergo (ILL)
Scouting the Hawkeyes
Fifth-ranked Iowa is a well-balanced squad. Third-ranked Mark Perry at 165 lbs. and second-ranked Eric Luedke at 174 lbs. anchor its line up. Eighth-ranked Alex Tsirtsis finished second to NU's Lang at the Midlands at 141 lbs. and 14th-ranked Mario Galanakis, after falling to the 'Cats' Metzler at Midlands, took a match from the 133-pounder at last week's national duals. Iowa took last year's meeting, 20-16, in Iowa City.
Keep Your Eye On
133: Metzler (NU) vs. #14 Galanakis (IA)
141: #1 Lang (NU) vs. #8 Tsirtsis (IA)
174: #15 Hayes (NU) vs. #2 Luedke (IA)
285: #3 Fox (NU) vs. #7 Fields (IA)
An Outstanding Return
At last weekend's NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals, top-ranked Jake Herbert returned to the mat with a vengeance. The 184-pounder, seeing his first action since the All-Star Classic on 11/20, posted a 5-0 record with three major decisions, a technical fall and a pin. He outscored his opponents 66-14 and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler and was named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week for his performance.
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