No. 2 Illini Wrestling Defeats Minnesota, Advances to National Dual Finals
Johnson Records First Career Win over Golden Gophers
Jan. 22, 2005
The second-ranked University of Illinois wrestling team knocked the Minnesota wrestling monkey off its back, Saturday night, as the squad defeated the Golden Gophers, 20-15, in the semifinals of the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals in Cleveland, Ohio. The win marked the first-ever for head coach Mark Johnson over UM and the first for Illinois over the Gophers since 1964. It also puts Illinois in the National Dual Finals against the top-ranked, defending national champions, Oklahoma State, to be held Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. CT. Illinois improves to 10-0 on the season, with its three wins today in the tournament (No. 22 West Virginia, first round; No. 10 Oklahoma, quarterfinals).
The match began with the Illini taking a quick 3-0 lead, behind the 3-2 decision of second-ranked Kyle Ott (Jr., Huber Heights, Ohio) over No. 4 Bobbe Lowe at 125 pounds. Ott got the match’s only takedown and held on to win his fifth career victory over Lowe. The Gophers then scored a major upset as fifth-ranked Mack Reiter handed No. 3 Mark Jayne (Sr., Elyria, Ohio) his first loss of the season in a 7-4 decision. Reiter jump started a Minnesota three-match winning streak to take a 9-3 lead over the Illini. At 141, Tommy Owen scored two takedowns and added three back points in a 9-4 win over Cassio Pero (So., Chicago Heights, Ill.). Senior 19th-ranked Anton Dietzen (Elmhurst, Ill.) gave up only one takedown to No. 11 CP Schlatter, but it was enough for the Gopher 3-0 win.
With the team needing bonus points to get back in the match, junior second-ranked Alex Tirapelle (Clovis, Calif.) answered the call with a 13-5 major decision to get the team back within two. He defeated Nik Lentz with five takedowns and two back points. Illinois was able to pay Minnesota back for the upset at 133 with an unexpected win of their own at 165. No. 13 Donny Reynolds (So., Frankfort, Ill.) led seventh-ranked Matt Nagel 4-2 with 25 seconds left in the match when Nagel was able to tie up the match with a takedown. Reynolds then got a reversal and two back points as the buzzer sounded to win a nail biter, 8-4. Illinois then took their second lead of the match, 10-9.
At 174, junior Pete Friedl (Orland Park, Ill.) loaded up the takedowns on Josh McLay to win a major decision, 14-4. The bonus points for the major boosted Illinois’ team lead to 14-9. Senior fourth-ranked Brian Glynn (Orland Park, Ill.) added to the Illini winning streak with an impressive 8-3 victory over seventh-ranked Roger Kish. Junior 15th-ranked Tyrone Byrd (Clinton, Ill.) was the sixth match winner for the Illini this evening, shutting out Jon Duncombe, 4-0, in the process. Byrd scored a takedown, an escape and racked up riding time for the win. With an 11 point lead heading into the final match, No. 4-ranked Gopher heavyweight Cole Konrad’s pin of Mike Behnke (So., Villa Park, Ill.) had no effect on the outcome of the match.
#2 Illinois 20, #8 Minnesota 15
125: #2 Kyle Ott (ILL) dec. #4 Bobbe Lowe (UM), 3-2 3-0
133: #5 Mack Reiter (UM) dec. #3 Mark Jayne (ILL), 7-4 3-3
141: Tommy Owen (UM) dec. Cassio Pero (ILL), 9-4 3-6
149: #11 CP Schlatter (UM) dec. #19 Anton Dietzen (ILL), 3-0 3-9
157: #2 Alex Tirapelle (ILL) major dec. Nik Lentz (UM), 13-5 7-9
165: #13 Donny Reynolds (ILL) dec. #7 Matt Nagel (UM), 8-4 10-9
174: #5 Pete Friedl (ILL) major dec. Josh McLay (UM), 14-4 14-9
184: #4 Brian Glynn (ILL) dec. #7 Roger Kish (UM), 8-3 17-9
197: #15 Tyrone Byrd (ILL) dec. Jon Duncombe (UM), 4-0 20-9
Hwt: #4 Cole Konrad (UM) won by fall #14 Mike Behnke (ILL), 2:33 20-15
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