Illinois rips Iowa
By Andy Hamilton
Iowa City Press-Citizen
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — They were in a ditch almost from the time they took the mat.
And as Friday’s dual meet unfolded, the Iowa wrestlers continually scooped deeper until they were in well over their heads against second-ranked Illinois.
The Illini won eight of 10 matches, including six by a collective 10 points, burying the eighth-ranked Hawkeyes 25-7 in front of an Illinois-record 3,573 at Huff Hall.
Jim Zalesky offered a simple explanation for his team’s most lopsided loss of the season and Iowa’s second defeat against the Illini in 43 years.
“We’ve just got to get tougher, “Zalesky said. “Tougher in the head. Tougher on the mat. Right now we’re not a tough team. We might be a decent team, but we’re not a tough team right now.”
As Iowa boarded the bus to Evanston for tonight’s dual against Northwestern, the last Hawkeye to leave the locker room had a premonition for what was in store on the ride.
“I’m sure we’re about to get yelled at, “said freshman 165-pounder Mark Perry Jr., who had four of Iowa’s nine takedowns in his major decision win against Cal Ferry.
“There’s nothing really that can be looked at on a good note, so we’ve got a lot of improving to do, “said Iowa freshman heavyweight Matt Fields, who joined Perry as the only victorious Hawkeyes. “We’ve got to get rested up, come back and stomp on Northwestern.”
Iowa wasn’t supposed to be absorbing a footprint like this in its first dual of the weekend.
The Hawkeyes (6-3) could’ve passed their first two losses off on inexperience.
They could’ve pointed to the seven newcomers in the lineup as a crutch for defeats against more seasoned Iowa State and Oklahoma State squads.
They can’t play the youth card on this one.
Iowa needed major production from its top three juniors to beat the Illini (11-1). Ty Eustice, Joe Johnston and Paul Bradley didn’t deliver.
“Those guys are supposed to be the leaders, “Zalesky said. “There’s no leadership there on the mat.”
“Eustice just stands there with guys who aren’t in his league, Bradley stands there with guys who aren’t in his league, “Perry said. “Johnston’s just got to start believing he’s the best and he will be the best.”
Eustice, ranked fourth at 149, surrendered a first-period takedown and never came close to scoring an offensive point in a 3-2 loss to No. 15 Anton Dietzen in the opening match.
“I think that carried through the rest of (the meet), “Illinois coach Mark Johnson said. “I looked over at our bench and saw how fired up everybody was after that match. We were nervous about this (meet).”
Johnston, ranked eighth at 157, fell behind 5-1 against second-ranked Alex Tirapelle. The Iowa junior cut the deficit to 6-5 with a third-period takedown, but couldn’t score in the final 1 minute, 43 seconds and lost 7-5.
“That third period, I just didn’t do enough, didn’t put it to him enough, “Johnston said.
Iowa momentarily stemmed the tide when freshman Perry won a major decision against Cal Ferry. But the Illini captured a victory from Pete Friedl at 174, and fourth-ranked Brian Glynn handed Bradley his third defeat in four matches.
Bradley created little action offensively until the final period of his 2-1 loss at 184. By then, Iowa’s fifth-ranked junior had already been hit with a stalling point that proved to be the difference.
“Why even wrestle if you’re going to stand there and look stupid? “Perry said. “(Bradley) just stands there and doesn’t do anything. He is the best wrestler at that weight class in the country and I don’t think anybody’s close to him.”
Illinois picked up a 3-0 victory from Tyrone Byrd against Adam Fellers at 197. The Illini tacked on a major decision from second-ranked Kyle Ott against Charlie Falck at 125, and Iowa came up on the losing end of two more close bouts in the final two matches.
Two takedowns in the third period pushed Illinois’ fourth-ranked Mark Jayne past Mario Galanakis in a 7-5 decision at 133.
Iowa freshman Alex Tsirtsis spent nearly the entire third period fighting to stay off his back and couldn’t escape against Cassio Pero, losing 4-3 on a riding time point at 141.
“This team is a lot tougher (than we showed) and we need to show it, “Galanakis said. “To come in here and only win two matches, we’re supposed to be representing the University of Iowa, which is known for winning all the time.”
ILLINOIS 25, IOWA 7
149 — Anton Dietzen (Ill) dec. Ty Eustice 3-2.
157 — Alex Tirapelle (Ill) dec. Joe Johnston 7-5.
165 — Mark Perry Jr. (Iowa) major dec. Cal Ferry 12-2
174 — Pete Friedl (Ill) dec. Luke Lofthouse 12-5.
184 — Brian Glynn (Ill) dec. Paul Bradley 2-1.
197 — Tyrone Byrd (Ill) dec. Adam Fellers 3-0.
Hwt. — Matt Fields (Iowa) dec. Mike Behnke 6-3.
125 — Kyle Ott (Ill) major dec. Charlie Falck 14-6.
133 — Mark Jayne (Ill) dec. Mario Galanakis 7-5.
141 — Cassio Pero (Ill) dec. Alex Tsirtsis 4-3.
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