No. 14 Penn State wrestlers fall to No. 3 Illinois
Davis downs No. 9 Byrd to improve to 30-4 on the year with 10th straight win
Champaign, Ill., Feb. 11, 2005 – The No. 14 ranked Penn State wrestling team decidedly lost the war but claimed a couple key battles and showed great fight Friday night at No. 3 ranked Illinois as the Illini posted a 26-6 win. It was Penn State’s (9-9; 2-4 in the Big Ten) seventh straight loss to the Illini (13-1-1; 4-0-1 Big Ten) who brought eight ranked wrestlers to the mat, including five in the top five. However, the Nittany Lions didn’t leave Champaign without claiming some big victories.
Freshman Phil Davis provided the highlight of the night for the Nittany Lions as he won his 10th straight match and improved to 30-4 on the year with a 6-1 win over No. 9 Tyrone Byrd at 197. Davis, ranked No. 13 and flying up the polls, trailed 1-0 in the match entering the third period after Byrd escaped to start the second. Davis took down to start the third and reversed Byrd and then took him to his back for a three-point near-fall. Davis rode Byrd for the entire period to gain the riding time point and his second win of the year over Byrd. The victory moved Davis into a tie with Josh Moore (2001-04) for fifth all-time on the Penn State freshmen wins chart. It also kept Davis, 9-2 against Big Ten competition, in position to claim a top seed at the Big Ten Tournament as he will face No. 16 Matt Delguyd of Northwestern Saturday and No. 4 J.D. Bergman of Ohio State next weekend in the Bryce Jordan Center.
Junior Joel Edwards followed Davis’ big win with a one of his own at heavyweight as the former 197-pounder who weighed in at 223 got a 4-1 win over 265-pound Mike Behnke. Edwards also trailed 1-0 heading into the third, but took down, escaped an then finished a single leg takedown and rode out the period for the victory. Edwards improved to 21-10 and is 4-2 since moving up the heavyweight.
From the outset Penn State came out ready to give the Illini a fight. True freshman Jack Decker fought hard against No. 12 Anton Dietzen in the opening match at 149 before falling by major decision 12-3. At 157, No. 18 Nate Galloway was the aggressor through the first two periods against No. 3 Alex Tirapelle but trailed 1-0 heading into the third after a Tirapelle escaped from the down position in the second. Galloway took neutral to start the third and was hit with a stalling penalty despite still pushing the action. Tirapelle then completed a takedown and rode out the period for a 5-0 win.
At 165, senior Jarrad Turner gave No. 11 Donny Reynolds all he wanted but came up short of a win. Turner took the lead in the third period when he took Reynolds down and to his back before a referee’s whistle stopped the action due to an injury to Reynolds. Trailing 5-4, Reynolds escaped to tie the match and then held off a late takedown attempt by Turner to claim a 6-5 win with a riding time point.
At 174, sophomore James Yonushonis could not generate enough offense against No. 4 Pete Friedl as the Illini posted a 14-7 win stake Illinois to a 13-0 lead. That brought up the marquee match of the night as No. 3 Brian Glynn took on No. 5 Eric Bradley at 184. The pair had met three times previously with Glynn holding a 2-1 edge, but Bradley won the first meeting this year with a 3-2 in the third place match at the Midlands Championship. This one was just as close. Glynn took a 1-0 lead into the third period after escaping to start the second. Bradley took down to start the third but could not escape, despite easily getting to his feet, until Glynn posted a 1:31 riding time advantage. Glynn held off late Bradley takedown attempts for a 2-1 win. With victories in the first five matches Illinois took a 16-0 lead.
At 125, No. 2 Kyle Ott dominated the action in posting a 16-4 major decision win over Adam Smith, but, at 133, No. 4 Mark Jayne got all he wanted from No. 18 Bryan Heller. Heller, a red-shirt freshman, continued to show improvement as he battled Jayne close tying the match at 4-4 with a second period takedown and getting another in the third before falling 11-7.
DeWitt Driscoll, ranked No. 12, and Cassio Pero closed out the meet with a thrilling match at 141. Pero took a 1-0 lead with an escape in the second and Driscoll tied it up with an escape of his own in the third. Driscoll fought off a late Pero takedown attempt to send the match to overtime. In the one-minute overtime, Driscoll first got in deep on a takedown attempt in the middle of the mat before a stalemate was called. The Pero nearly converted a takedown of his own before time expired. In the first ride-out period, Pero took down and escaped quickly and then converted a takedown for a 4-1 lead. Driscoll escaped in the next 30-second period, but was unable to convert a takedown in the final 10 seconds as Pero took a 4-2 win.
Penn State will take on No. 17 Northwestern tomorrow in Evanston, Ill. That match is scheduled for an 8:00 p.m. (ET) start and can be heard live on WBLF (970 AM).
#3 Illinois 26, #14 Penn State 6
PS ILL
149 #12 Anton Dietzen (ILL) maj. Dec. Jack Decker (PS), 12-3 0 4
157 #3 Alex Tirapelle (ILL) dec. #18 Nate Galloway (PS), 5-0 0 7
165 #11 Donny Reynolds (ILL) dec. Jarrad Turner (PS), 6-5 0 10
174 #4 Pete Friedl (ILL) dec. James Yonushonis (PS), 14-7 0 13
184 #3 Brian Glynn (ILL) dec. #5 Eric Bradley (PS), 2-1 0 16
197 #13 Phil Davis (PS) dec. #9 Tyrone Byrd (ILL), 6-1 3 16
Hwt. Joel Edwards (PS) dec. Mike Behnke (ILL), 4-1 6 16
125 #2 Kyle Ott (ILL) Maj. Dec. Adam Smith (PS), 16-4 6 20
133 #4 Mark Jayne dec. #18 Bryan Heller (PS), 11-7 6 23
141 Cassio Pero (ILL) dec. #12 DeWitt Driscoll (PS), 4-2;tb1 6 26
Penn State: 9-9; 2-4 Big Ten Illinois: 13-1-1; 4-0-1 Big Ten
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