UPDATED WITH VIDEO: Reporting From the UTC Dual

 

Here is completely unfiltered and unedited commentary from our great friend, Jay, about the Chattanooga dual. He was/is there. You may recall Jay from ILLINOISMatmen.com as he was distinguishable as being the only voice of reason on that site (present company included). Here are Jay's words and his video:

Mike Poeta’s head coaching career is off to a perfect 1-0 start after the Illini overcame an early 12-3 deficit after 5 matches.  With 30% of the projected starting lineup out, the heavy end of the roster did the heavy lifting to go 5-0 at 165-285.  Nikita Nepomnyashchiy was the surprise MVW of the dual, delivering the only bonus point for either team.

125: Justin Cardani dominated the action in the first period but could not score on a tough opponent Gutierrez. The second was all UTC as JC was on the wrong end of a quick 2 count at the conclusion of a Gutierrez rideout.  Period three was more of the same as the Illini tried to get his offense going with no points to show for it.  6-0 final score.

133: Lucas Byrd ran into a live dog in a fun high scoring match, though it never really seemed in doubt for the freshman all-American (that doesn’t seem possible, but I guess thanks COVID?). Four of the Moc’s points came from a pair of reversals where Byrd was just trying to be aggressive for a turn, can’t be mad about that.

141, 149, 157: A string of three straight Ls for the good guys, all pretty close matches with UTC finishing the third period of each much stronger.  We Rachal and Christian Kanzler both looked like they were in control early but could not hold on. Kanzler 2.0 does look much better than the Kanzler we saw for a season in 2019-20.  Joe Roberts just could not get anything going in a match with neither having much control time until period 3 which was dominated by the Moc.  At the intermission-less halftime the Illini were down a depressing 12-3.

165: This is where the tide turned, have to think coach Ruth’s impact is already being felt in the bottom half of the lineup. Danny Braunagel controlled the entirety of a low scoring match, with the first takedown that began the epic comeback shown in this video (see attached).

174: with a nice contingent on hand to support the St. Louis area HS product, DJ Shannon took shot after shot in the first period but could not break the 0-0 tie.  After trading escape points it was DJ with the late-match takedown to seal it for the Illini and the best crowd reaction of the dual.

184: Zac Braunagel continued the Illini run with another fairly dominant performance, though it was tied after 2.  Up 3-2 the heavier twin got the cushion takedown to win 5-2.

197: at this point the dual was tied 12-12 and the momentum was with the Illini.  However, with Wroblewski in street clothes it was NN who was the Mezczyzna at 197.  After a long first period rideout following a quick takedown, the match was never really in doubt as Nikita was relentless pressuring the Moc.  A last second turn coupled with the riding point translated to a major decision, the only bonus point of the dual.

285: first off kudos to SIUE wrestling for finding possibly the first set of ankle bands that did not pop off the orange hulk’s supermankles during a match.  Only needing not to get majored, Luuuke delivered a comfortable 6-1 victory.

Other observations: 

The crowd could not control its displeasure with the possibly inexperienced and certainly flustered timekeeper/scoreboard operator.  Multiple match stoppages throughout the first dual. A reliever has been brought in from the bullpen for the second dual.

Big Ten Network’s Tim Johnson in attendance to support his son-in-law, the UTC head coach.

Mike Carr among the inactive Illini here to support the team.

Injury report:

JC: small knee brace

We: large knee brace

DJ: medium knee brace

NN: slightly more wrapped than a mummy on spring break

LL: elbow wrap

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I will be adding video taken by Jay as the day goes on. Big ups to Jay! What a great guy! Thank you!