Recap of the ILLINI/Purdue Dual :very unhappy face:




EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.  Warriors like Coach Mike Poeta, Ed Ruth and Jeremy Hunter will not be pleased with that performance. I was not pleased with that performance. Not nearly enough "Fighting Spirit" shown by the Orange and Blue. This 13-25 defeat has certainly been the worst loss against Purdue--there were only two others--in the last twenty years. 

Here's an example that popped up again and again: The ILLINI took a lot of shots and let their Boilermaker opponent funk roll them. These were not Delgado-speed funk rolls. Rather, they were ponderous slow-motion moves. Frequently, there was time to be aware of your leg and how close it was to your opponent, and how it represented a very nice target of opportunity. 

Except for Zac Braunagel, the ILLINI had no answer for the most part. 

How could that be? Jesse Delgado is a wrestling alum. Jeremy Hunter is their wrestling coach. The team should sit down and look at the video of Gerrit Nijenhuis's (aka Def Leppard's) funk roll defense in this dual, as well as Zac Braunagel's. 

They were defeated by whizzers on other occasions because they're not moving quickly enough to secure their takedown. Or, they let the whizzer defeat them. Again, watch the tape of Kendall Coleman working his butt off to limp arm out of a whizzer. That two points is worth the effort. 

It was almost the entire margin of victory in Coleman's win. 

There were bright spots in the lineup, for sure. Very bright spots. That would include the four winners: Lucas Byrd, Christian Kanzler, Zac Braunagel and Luke Luffman. It would include a new individual record for the IWB&F Leg Sweep award. 

But that's about it. 

JUSTIN CARDANI vs. DEVIN SCHRODER. 0-0 after first period. Again, Justin shoots in multiple times and gives up his ankles for a stalemate. Schroder should pay rent as he's lived in that position--draped over Cardani's shoulders--for at least a month. In the second, the ILLINI elects neutral. No score for that period, as again the ILLINI shoots and stops in his tracks and gives up his ankles. 

In the third, Devin Schroder takes down and gets the quick escape. From at least the final 1:15 remaining in the match, the ILLINI tries nothing. Very disappointing. Try a throw. Try a trip. Try a blast double. Try a fake and then a double. Try a snap. Try a fake and another fake and a single. Try an arm drag. Try an ankle pick. Try anything! That's a 0-1 loss to a very good wrestler, but it didn't have to happen. 

LUCAS BYRD vs. MATT RAMOS. The first period ends at 0-0, although the ILLINI tried multiple attempts to score. Lucas starts on the bottom and gets a quick escape in the second, almost a reversal with his chain wrestling mentality. Byrd with a very slick ankle pick in the second, followed by a tough ride. 

He has become a very adept rider. His tree top mat returns and wily trips are deadly! 

The Boilermakers had scouted the ILLINI, but he has a large arsenal of holds and takedowns. To secure the dominant win, Lucas Byrd goes to his head in the hole for the 5-0 triumph. Good things happen with All Americans in the lineup. 

WE RACHAL vs. PARKER FILIUS.  The ILLINI is shooting in early and a long scramble ensues. Filius comes out on top for the two, and he rides We for over a minute. In the second, We tries a cradle with his legs in, but Filius is already standing up. This leads to a four-point near-fall for the bad guy. That makes it 8-0 in the second. 

There is another four-point near-fall in the second, and a third, which adds up to a 16-0 techfall. Rachal went from a 0-3 loss to the Boilermaker at the Matmen Open to a 16-0 tech fall in this dual. Not optimal. 

CHRISTIAN KANZLER vs. ALEC WHITE.  The broadcasters indicate that White has been the expected starter at this weight for Purdue from the beginning, but he's been injured until recently. No scoring in the first. Kanzler with a quick escape in the second. 

White returns the favor in the third, so we're knotted up at 1-1. With time winding down, the ILLINI scores the takedown for the win. Kanzler is still operating with a limited knee, so kudos to him for braving out the win. The Boilers lead the dual 8-6. 

JOE ROBERTS vs. KENDALL COLEMAN.  This is a takedown fest for Purdue, but Coleman wears down and only secures a 10-7 win. That was because Roberts had the gumption to score a takedown of his own. That actually knotted up the score at 4-4 at the time, and it was very nice to see. The dual score is 11-6 for Purdue at intermission. The exciting intermission activity suggested for the audience appears to be to stare at the walls. I think there may be more ILLINOIS fans in attendance than Purdue fans. 

DANNY BRAUNAGEL vs. HAYDEN LOHREY.  This may have been the most disappointing match of the dual. Lohrey hits a wind-up freight train double that Danny wasn't ready for. He gets a quick escape. The period ends with Purdue leading 2-1. 

After a Brawlnagel escape in the second, we're locked at 2-2. The ILLINI hits a single and doesn't give the Boiler a chance to grab his feet, and after a Lohrey escape, it is 4-3 for the good guy. 

Right now, it is a one-takedown match in the third, and you want to protect your legs. Instead, Danny gives up a second freight train double and loses. WTF? This was Lohery's first Big Ten win. 

DJ SHANNON versus DEF LEPPARD.  The only things I'll say about this match are (1) the ILLINI team should sit down and watch video of Mötley Crüe here's funk roll defense, and (2) DJ Shannon didn't try to hip over on bottom, the new strategy was to turn onto his back for the Quiet Riot pinfall.

ZAC BRAUNAGEL vs. MAX LYON.  And into the darkness a little ray of sunshine is cast. Big Brawny gets a takedown with about :20 left in the first. This was off a Purdue shot that he stuffed, suggested a cradle, and Lyon decided the wise course was to belly out.

With the conclusion still much in doubt in the third, Brawny does his own funk roll and turns it into a takedown for the 5-2 win. This makes the career mark 1-3 against Lyon, which is a very nice turn of events. It should be noted that the Purdue kid still looks a lot bigger than the young man from ILLINOIS. 

NIKITA NEPOMNASHCHIY vs. THOMAS PENOLA.  I won't say much here as Nepo was seriously out-weighed and out-muscled. Wroblewski was missed here. There will always be that hero turn for the ILLINI at 197 in the Chattanooga dual. 

LUUUKE LUFFMAN vs. MICHAEL WOULFE.  This match didn't have one. And it didn't have two. It had three leg sweeps for the ILLINI! Luffman may just retire the special IWB&F Leg Sweep Trophy. 

There were two takedowns for the good guy in the first period with a ride-out after the last one. Going into the second, the score is 4-1 for Luuuuke. In that period, there is a bodylock, and it almost spelled disaster for Luke. He was a bit tentative, which is the absolute worst approach to take to bodylocks. He ends up squirming out of what could've been a pinfall. 

There are additional leg sweeps and another bodylock. In this instance, Luke was very aggressive and assertive. That put Woulfe on his back hard. The ILLINI gets a riding point for the 10-2 major. This is quite an improvement over the 5-2 win at the Matmen Open. 

EXTRA MATCHES.  They end the broadcast with an extra match going on between Josh Contreras and somebody from Purdue. Jake Reicin was also there in warmups for what I imagine was also an extra match. Somebody musta had a date tonight. We should all demand refunds!

THE BOX SCORE: 

FULL RESULTS

125: Devin Schroder (PUR) over Justin Cardani (ILL) (Dec 1-0)

133: Lucas Byrd (ILL) over Matt Ramos (PUR) (Dec 5-0)

141: Parker Filius (PUR) over We Rachal (ILL) (TF 16-0 4:52)

149: Christian Kanzler (ILL) over Alec White (PUR) (Dec 3-1)

157: Kendall Coleman (PUR) over Joe Roberts (ILL) (Dec 10-7)

165: Hayden Lohrey (PUR) over Dan Braunagel (ILL) (Dec 7-5)

174: Gerrit Nijenhuis (PUR) over DJ Shannon (ILL) (Fall 2:00)

184: Zac Braunagel (ILL) over Max Lyon (PUR) (Dec 5-2)

197: Thomas Penola (PUR) over Nikita Nepomnyashchiy (ILL) (TF 23-8 6:35)

285: Luke Luffman (ILL) over Michael Woulfe (PUR) (MD 10-2)

Extra matches

141: Michael Leveille (PUR) def. Josh Contreras (ILL), D 4-2

157: Cooper Noehre (PUR) def. Jake Reicin (ILL), MD 14-4


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