THE ILLINI WRESTLING BLOG AND FORUM

WHAT:   ILLINI/Minnesota Dual WHEN:   Friday, February 4, 2022 at 7PM (Central) WHERE:   Assembly Hall (State Farm Center) WHY:   We can kill all the gophers. We don't even need a reason. TV/STREAMING:   BTN+ LAST TIME OUT The ILLINI lost 13-26 to Stupid Northwestern on Saturday. They only had one dual over the weekend. Minnesota is 2-3 in Big Ten conference duals with losses to Iowa (10-22), Wisconsin (15-21) and Michigan (14-20). They have beaten Nebraska (19-13) and Northwestern (31-9). Since their last match was the loss to Michigan, we'll look at the box score for that dual:  #4 Michigan (20), #11 Minnesota (14) FINAL RESULTS 125: #1 Nick Suriano (MICH) maj. dec. #9  Patrick McKee  (MINN), 14-6 133: #8 Dylan Ragusin (MICH) dec. #24  Jake Gliva  (MINN), 6-5 141: #15  Jake Bergeland  (MINN) dec. #4 Stevan Micic (MICH), 5-2 149: #25  Michael Blockhus  (MINN) maj. dec. Pat Nolan (MICH), 15-4 157: #4  Brayton Lee  (MINN) dec. #14 Will Lewan (MICH), 4-3 165: #12 Cameron Amine (M

(cont.) I'm still trying to get over that Shannon/Fisher match. If DJ would commit wholeheartedly to his exquisitely beautiful takedowns, he would win a lot more matches. He can't commit with only half his body; he needs to commit with his whole body and mind. ZAC BRAUNAGEL vs. JON HALVORSEN.   A little over a minute has gone by and Big Brawny works a 2-on-1 for some magic: Haha! Gibbons was complaining that there should've been more action from Braunagel--who majored Halvorsen at the BTT last year--right as Brawny scores the two. Halvorsen escapes.  Halvorsen escapes to start the second, but then gives up his second stall warning, backing off the mat. Then, the crowd oohs and aahs at this: It quickly becomes a takedown fest for Brawny and a stallfest for Halvorsen. We even have our first foot sweep! It ends 14-8.  NIKITA NEPOMNYASHCHIY vs. ANDREW DAVISON.   The Mildcat isn't a very big 197er, but he's much bigger than Nepo. The bad guys get a first-period pinfall.

PRELIMINARIES The meet started out at 133, which is good and bad for the ILLINI. I think that Chris Cannon is quite a bit bigger than Lucas Byrd, so that might be advantage ILLINI. However, I think that Michael DeAugustino is way bigger than Justin Cardani, so that might be advantage Mildcats. He will have plenty of time to rehydrate. The ILLINI are without their usual starting 197, so the team goes with super-sub Nikita Nepomnyashchiy.  The dual took place at the Assembly Hall (State Farm Center) covered by BTN. Because I don't get BTN in South Carolina--that service is not offered underneath the overpass where I live--I had to wait until BTN+ carried the rebroadcast. Of course, the best news for the ILLINI was the return of All American Dylan Duncan to the lineup.  Northwestern's lineup included a backup, but that was at a weight where the ILLINI, Zac Braunagel, was predicted to win by major anyway. Starting out at 133 also could be good to get the momentum for the ILLINI: Be

Here we have a short--less than five minutes--video with updated information about ILLINI Wrestling Redshirts and Recruits. If you have any information you wish to share about a milestone or big win, please send it to me by direct message on Twitter or at ILLINOISMatmen.com. Congratulations, young men!  Additionally, here are some FREE videos from the BECOMING LEGEND and ILLINI LEGEND series. You realize, don't you, that you have to pay to buy a bag of turkey necks at the store. Freaking turkey necks! Yet, you get this great wrestling content for FREE, my friends. Cheers!

The ILLINI start things off in Champaign on Saturday with a dual against Stupid Northwestern. The promo for the event is free t-shirts for the first four hundred through the gates. These are white shirts because it is going to be a "White Out."  You probably noticed it right away, but it took me a minute to figure it out. The shirts look awfully like the new white singlets the ILLINI unveiled earlier this year. I'm going to guess that the ILLINI wrestle in these: (photo credit: DJ Shannon Twitter bio page).   The next day, Sunday, you can head up I-74 to Chicago for the IRTC/Beat the Streets party and fundraiser:

What are ILLINOIS recruits and redshirts up to? Where can I find out about them? Here, my friend. Here's a short list of some of their recent accomplishments. If you know of any more, please drop me a line. Additionally, we'll drop a short video tomorrow reprising this information. Mostly the same stuff, but with dolby sound!  DYLAN CONNELL Freshman redshirt Dylan Connell has been very busy over the school year winning open tournaments. He won a tournament at Wisconsin-Parkside (the Jim Koch Open) not too long ago, and last weekend, he won the Harper Open. Here's his bracket: As you can see, it went techfall, then pinfalls all the way through. Of note, Dylan's first opponent, Devonjae Hudson of Northern ILLINOIS University is a really good wrestler, somebody that will win a lot of matches for NIU, but he keeps getting paired early in tournaments with Connell, and that never works out for the Huskie.  Here are some pictures of Dylan at the Harper Open: The top left pictu

INTERMISSION For part one of the dual preview, click here . Also, during our intermission, please consider this: Purple can be used for good. Purple does not have to be evil.  ONCE UPON A TIME It is the first year of the 21st Century and the first year of the Third Millennium. The largest ever corporate merger takes place as America Online buys Time Warner for 162 billion dollars.  PlayStation 2 is released.  It is the year 2000. Some call it Y2K.  The ILOVEYOU computer virus sweeps across the world. The Human Genome Project announces that it has mapped us. Wow, we're pretty complex! There's more here than beer and pizza. The population of the world is just over six billion. You've been very busy since then, my sexy friends!  "Breathe" by Faith Hill, and "Smooth" by Santana, featuring Rob Thomas, top the music charts, proving once and for all that Americans have no taste. Gladiator is number three at the box office, proving that you're not all bad. 

This Sunday you'll want to be in Chicago at Beat the Streets to play in the Cornhole tournament, knock down a few and watch some NFL football, all for a wonderful cause: Wrestling.  Go to this page at the IRTC site to register.  If I can donate to the IRTC even though I live under an overpass in Myrtle Beach and fight for day-olds behind the Starbucks every night at 8pm, then you can too.  C'mon, man! Beat the Streets is freaking awesome. The IRTC is freaking awesome. You're awesome for donating. Check out the funny: Have fun! Cheers! 

WHAT:   Dual with Stupid Northwestern WHEN:   Saturday, January 29 at 1:00 pm (Central) WHERE:   Assembly Hall (State Farm Center) WHY:   Annual Whupping of Little Brother, Evanston's Big Ten Team TV/STREAMING:   BTN FUN FACTS In this century, the ILLINI have won seventeen of the eighteen duals against Northwestern. There was a fifteen-match win streak during that time frame. The largest margin of victory occurred in 2001 as the team from ILLINOIS won 40-3.  Including his redshirt season, ILLINI Legend Isaiah Martinez had a total of nineteen pinfalls wrestling for the Orange and Blue. Yet, four of those falls came in his four duals against Northwestern. If you count only his varsity years, IMAR had 17 pins. That means that 23.52% of his pins came against Northwestern during duals. Almost a quarter of all his pins! Was that a coincidence? Is IMAR the ultimate team-first wrestler? Or, does he just hate Northwestern like the rest of America hates Northwestern?  LAST TIME OUT The ILLIN