The dual began with the highly anticipated rematch at 125 pounds as senior All-Americans No. 3 Kyle Ott (Huber Heights, Ohio) and No. 1 Joe Dubuque renewed acquaintances once again. The last time the two met was at the 2005 NCAA finals where Dubuque won a 2-0 decision. For Ott, this match wasn't only about keeping his perfect record intact, it was for redemption. In the closing seconds of the first period, Ott took a shot but failed to score. The only scoring in the second period was on a Dubuque escape to lead the match 1-0. In the third period, Dubuque scored a takedown and rode Ott for the rest of the period en route to a 4-0 victory and giving Indiana a 3-0 lead.
The Hoosiers added another three points as Gabe Flores (Madera, Calif.) dropped a 4-0 decision to Andrae Hernandez in their 133-pound match. In the second period, Hernandez scored on an escape and then followed with a takedown to lead 3-0. Flores never got a chance to score in the third period as Hernandez rode the sophomore for the rest of the match.
After dropping the first two matches, the Illini turned the dual around by winning the next eight matches. At 144, Cassio Pero (Chicago Heights, Ill.) finally got the Illini on the scoreboard with a 19-5 major decision over Nick Spatola. The junior All-American logged five takedowns in the third period to dominate the Indiana senior. Troy Tirapelle, (Clovis, Calif.) outlasted Matt Cooper in their 149-pount match and gave the Illini a 7-6 lead.
At 157, top-ranked Alex Tirapelle found himself in an unfamiliar spot against No. 7 Brandon Becker. The Illini's senior All-American found himself in a 7-4 hole going into the third period. Tirapelle started the period scoring an escape and a takedown to tie the match. Then with 1:13 of riding time under his belt, Tirapelle came away with an 8-7 victory. No. 8 Mike Poeta (Highwood, Ill.) kept the Illini's winning streak alive by scoring a takedown in every period to win a decision over Max Dean, 8-3, in their 165-pound bout. In their 174-pound match, No. 16 Donny Reynolds (Frankfort, Ill.) was in command the entire time scoring takedown after takedown to come away with a 10-5 decision against Marc Bennett.
At 184, Pete Friedl (Orland Park, Ill.) looked to bounce back from last week's loss to Purdue's Ben Wissel. The Illinois senior All-American scored a takedown against Justin Curran 15 seconds into the match. The Illini's fourth ranked wrestler added four more takedowns to dominate the sixth-ranked Curran and win by major decision, 12-4. Justin joins Brendan and Andrew of Northwestern as the third Curran brother to fall to Friedl.
Tyrone Byrd edged past Brady Richardson in their 197-pound bout, 4-3. With the match tied at two at the beginning of the third period, Byrd (Clinton, Ill.) scored a point on an escape to put him up by a point. With under ten seconds to go in the match, Richardson took a shot that sent the Illini's ninth-ranked senior to the mat and the crowd to their feet. When buzzer sounded and no points awarded to the Richardson, the angry Indiana fans let . At heavyweight, Matt Weight kept the Illini's eight-match winning streak intact against Dave Herman. With the match tied 1-1 at the end of regulation, Weight scored a takedown with :14 seconds left in sudden-death overtime to win the decision, 3-1
The Illini continue their Big Ten road trip as they head to Ohio State on Sunday. Mat time is scheduled for 12 p.m. (CST).
#3 Illinois 26, #15 Indiana 6
University Gym--Bloomington, Ind., January 27, 2006
125- No. 1 Joe Dubuque (IU) dec. No. 3 Kyle Ott (ILL.), 4-0--0-3
133- Andrae Hernandez (IU) dec. Gabe Flores (ILL.), 4-0--0-6
141- Cassio Pero (ILL.) maj. dec. Nick Spatola (IU), 19-5--4-6
149- Troy Tirapelle dec. Matt Cooper (IU), 4-3--7-6
157- No. 1 Alex Tirapelle (ILL.) dec. No. 7 Brandon Becker (IU) , 8-7--10-6
165- No. 8 Mike Poeta (ILL.) dec. Max Dean (IU), 8-3--13-6
174- No. 6 Donny Reynolds (ILL.) dec. Marc Bennett (IU), 10-5--16-6
184- No. 4 Pete Friedl (ILL.) maj. dec. Justin Curran (IU), 12-4--20-6
197- No. 9 Tyrone Byrd (ILL.) dec. No. 5 Brady Richardson (IU), 4-3--23-6
HWT- Matt Weight (ILL.) dec. Dave Herman (IU), 3-1 (sv)--26-6
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