Isaiah Martinez defeated ASU's Anthony Valencia on his way to a Midlands title (Photo/Mark Lundy, Lutte-Lens.com)No. 10 Illinois hosts Indiana on Sunday at 4 p.m. ET. It marks the final Big Ten dual meet of the season for both teams. The dual meet can be seen live on the Big Ten Network.
Both teams will be looking to bounce back from losses on Friday night. The Illini (8-3) fell to Penn State 34-7, while the Hoosiers (9-8) lost 32-7 to Iowa.
Below are five matchups to watch in the dual meet.
125: Travis Piotrowski (Illinois) vs. Elijah Oliver (Indiana)
Oliver was a seeded (No. 16) wrestler at last season's NCAAs. He wound up going 1-2 in New York. Oliver started this season ranked, but fell out of the rankings early in the season and after taking an unexpected loss at the Navy Classic. He was pinned by top-ranked Thomas Gilman of Iowa on Friday night, and has gone 3-4 over his last seven matches. Piotrowski has done a nice job competing in the Big Ten as a true freshman. He has picked up some quality wins this season. At the Midlands Piotrowski took out sixth-seeded L.J. Bentley of Pitt. He also notched a win in a dual meet over Ohio State's Jose Rodriguez, who reached the finals of the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational. Piotrowski will look to get back on track after dropping his last three matches.
157: No. 12 Kyle Langenderfer (Illinois) vs. Jake Danishek (Indiana)
Langenderfer started his season by winning 12 of his first 13 matches. He failed to place at the Midlands, going 2-2, and then dropped his first match after the Midlands to Rutgers' John Van Brill. However, he has been red-hot since then. He reeled off eight consecutive victories, including two over wrestlers ranked in the top 10. His winning streak came to a halt on Friday night against top-ranked Jason Nolf of Penn State. Danishek, an Ohio native, has put together a solid sophomore campaign. He enters the match with a record of 18-10.
165: No. 1 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) vs. Bryce Martin (Indiana)
The two-time returning NCAA champion Martinez improved to 22-0 on Friday night with a 5-2 victory over No. 4 Vincenzo Joseph of Penn State. He has earned bonus points in 18 of his 22 victories this season. All four non-bonus point victories have come against wrestlers ranked in the top six. Martin, a sophomore from California, has been wrestling well of late. On Friday night he lost narrowly in tiebreaker to No. 17 Joey Gunther of Iowa. Prior to that match he had won eight of 10 matches. Martin comes into the match with a record of 15-6.
174: No. 12 Zac Brunson (Illinois) vs. Devin Skatzka (Indiana)
Brunson, a three-time NCAA qualifier, will be looking for the 100th victory of his college wrestling career. His bid for win No. 100 was halted on Friday night by Penn State's Mark Hall. Brunson placed third at the Midlands in December, and comes into the match with record of 24-6 and No. 12 ranking. Skatzka, a four-time Michigan state champion, placed fifth at the Midlands. He had won four of his last five matches entering Friday night before losing to Iowa's Alex Meyer 11-4. He's currently 22-8 on the season.
184: No. 12 Emery Parker (Illinois) vs. No. 7 Nate Jackson (Indiana)
This is the lone matchup in the dual meet pitting ranked wrestlers against each other. Like Brunson, Jackson will be looking to win the 100th match of his career on Sunday. The Indiana senior has climbed to No. 7 in the rankings and has a 26-2 record, with both losses this season coming at the Midlands. He extended his winning streak to seven with a major decision over Iowa's Mitch Bowman on Friday night. Parker has 23 wins this season, which is tied with Brunson for the most wins on the team. He has wins this season over No. 13 Nicholas Gravina of Rutgers and No. 16 Jordan Ellingwood of Central Michigan. Parker had a six-match winning streak going into Friday's dual meet against Penn State before being pinned by No. 2 Bo Nickal.
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