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Feb. 8, 2001
The seventh-ranked University of Illinois wrestling team (9-2, 3-2 Big Ten) will travel to West Lafayette, Ind., on Friday, Feb. 9 to take on No. 21 Purdue (8-5, 2-4 Big Ten) at 6 p.m. Illinois will then travel to Madison, Wis., and take on the University of Wisconsin (9-7-1, 1-3 Big Ten) on Sunday, Feb. 11 at 1 p.m.
Projected Starting Lineups
Illinois (9-2, 3-2 Big Ten)| Wt. | Wrestler | Overall Record | Dual Record |
| 125 | Ryan Escobar | 20-9 | 9-2 |
| 133 | Dave Stoltz | 1-2 | 0-1 |
| or | Kelly Madden | 15-8 | 3-1 |
| 141 | Mike Castillo | 17-7 | 10-1 |
| 149 | Adam Tirapelle | 20-1 | 10-1 |
| 157 | Griff Powell | 18-9 | 7-3 |
| 165 | Matt Lackey | 21-6 | 10-1 |
| 174 | Ben King | 13-5 | 6-3 |
| 184 | Nate Patrick | 25-2 | 11-0 |
| 197 | Pat Quirk | 21-6 | 8-3 |
| Hwt | John Lockhart | 22-5 | 10-1 |
Purdue (8-5, 2-4 Big Ten) Big Ten
| Wt. | Wrestler | Overall Record | Dual Record |
| 125 | Jason Silverstein | 16-6 | 3-3 |
| 133 | Evan Robinson | 17-5 | 3-3 |
| 141 | Paul Sacquitne | 2-12 | 0-4 |
| 149 | Brad Harper | 13-8 | 2-2 |
| or | Dan Jankowski | 8-7 | 0-2 |
| 157 | Clovis Crane | 14-7 | 3-0 |
| or | Oscar Santiago | 13-5 | 1-2 |
| 165 | Kirk Moore | 12-8 | 2-4 |
| 174 | Ryan Lange | 24-6 | 5-1 |
| 184 | Jared Williams | 3-6 | 1-5 |
| 197 | Jon Bush | 15-6 | 2-4 |
| Hwt | Jacob Vercelli | 16-6 | 4-1 |
Wisconsin (9-7-1, 1-3 Big Ten)
| Wt. | Wrestler | Overall Record | Dual Record |
| 125 | Tony Black | 20-7 | 13-4 |
| 133 | Kevin Black | 18-9 | 11-6 |
| 141 | Grant Hoerr | 22-7 | 12-5 |
| 149 | Cory McNellis | 5-12 | 2-6 |
| or | P.J. Dowling | 8-9 | 2-6 |
| 157 | Adam Turner | 10-12 | 4-6 |
| or | Nate Erdman | 1-6 | 1-6 |
| 165 | Donny Pritzlaff | 30-1 | 17-0 |
| 174 | Ryan Lewis | 6-17 | 3-12 |
| 184 | Ralph DeNisco | 20-11 | 11-6 |
| 197 | Jareck Horton | 8-11 | 1-7 |
| or | Joe Terrill | 7-12 | 2-7 |
| Hwt | Justin Staebler | 15-9 | 6-7 |
| or | Dave Neumyer | 11-5 | 2-1 |
A BATTLE OF RANKS:
This weekend's duals will feature several matches between ranked opponents.
At Purdue
125-No. 19 Ryan Escobar of Illinois vs. No. 17 Jason Silverstein of Purdue Silverstein has won two of three matches between the two. Escobar won 4-2 at last year's dual while Silverstein won 12-3 at the Big Ten championships and 5-4 at the NCAA championships.
174-
No. 13 Ben King of Illinois vs. No. 20 Ryan Lange of Purdue
This will be there first meeting
Hwt-
No. 6 John Lockhart of Illinois vs. No. 18 Jacob Vercelli of Purdue
Lockhart has won the two meetings with Vercelli. Lockhart won 4-2 in last
year's season-ending dual, then faced Vercelli in the first round of the Big
Ten championship and won 8-3.
At Wisconsin
125-No. 19 Ryan Escobar of Illinois vs. No. 15 Tony Black of Wisconsin Escobar has won the two matches between the two. He earned a 9-7 decision at last year's dual and a 11-10 decision at this year's Missouri Open.
141-
No. 20 Mike Castillo of Illinois vs. No. 13 Grant Hoerr of Wisconsin
Castillo faced Hoerr at the Missouri Open earlier this season and Hoerr
earned a 5-4 win.
165-
No. 6 Matt Lackey of Illinois vs. No. 1 Don Pritzlaff of Wisconsin
Lackey has not faced Pritzlaff.
Hwt-
No. 6 John Lockhart of Illinois vs. No. 20 Justin Staebler of Wisconsin
Lockhart faced Staebler at the Missouri Open earlier this season and came
away with a 2-1 win.
THE SERIES:
Illinois leads the all-time series with Purdue by a count of 40-26-2 dating
back to the first meeting in 1916. The Illini have won the last two meeting
in the series including a 30-3 win last season in Champaign. The last time
Illinois traveled to Purdue was in 1999 when the Illini posted a 24-15 win.
The last Purdue win in the series was during the 1997-98 season in Champaign
by a score of 18-12. The last time the Boilermakers defeated the Illini in
West Lafayette was Mark Johnson's first year as head coach of the Illini.
Purdue won 26-10. Johnson has a 4-3 record against the Boilers.
The Illini also lead the all-time series with Wisconsin by a count of 29-25-2 dating back to the first meeting in 1915. Illinois won the last meeting between the two schools, a 32-7 decision last season in Champaign. That dual marked the only time Mark Johnson has faced the Badgers in his eight-year Illini career. The last Badger win came the year prior to Johnson's arrival when Wisconsin shut out the Illini 44-0 in 1992.
UP NEXT:
The next action for the Fighting Illini after this weekend's road duals will
be the final dual of the season against Ohio State on Sunday, Feb. 18 at 1
p.m. Illinois will honor its eight seniors at that dual, they are: Mike
Castillo, Ryan Escobar, LaDaryl Hale, Ben King, Jon Lanning, Nate Patrick,
Pat Quirk and Adam Tirapelle.
LAST TIME OUT:
The Illini dropped a 22-12 decision to top-ranked Minnesota Sunday, Feb. 4,
at Huff Hall in Champaign. No. 9 Matt Lackey got the Illini on the board
first with an upset win over No. 3 Brad Pike at 165 pounds. The IlliniÕs No.
9 Ben King then dropped a 7-2 decision to unranked Jacob Volkmann in an
early pivotal match. After a Nate Patrick win at 184 for Illinois, No. 10
Pat Quirk was pinned by No. 8 Owen Elzen in the third period with the match
tied 2-2. The Illini then dropped the next four decisions, one in overtime,
two by one-point decisions and one major decision. The Illini won the final
two matches of the dual with No. 2 Adam Tirapelle beating No. 3 Jared
Lawrence 3-2 in a 2000 149-pound Big Ten championship rematch also won by
Tirapelle and Griff Powell upset fifth-ranked Luke Becker 3-1 in overtime.
THE RATING GAME:
The Fighting Illini are ranked seventh in the latest InterMat NCAA Division
I wrestling rankings. Nine Illini individuals are also ranked, they are:
Ryan Escobar, 19th (125), Mike Castillo, 20th (141), Adam Tirapelle, 2nd
(149), Griff Powell, 18th (157), Matt Lackey, 6th (165), Ben King, 13th
(174), Nate Patrick, 2nd (184), Pat Quirk, 12th (197) and John Lockhart, 6th
(Heavyweight).
CLIMBING THE CHARTS:
Several Illini are climbing the career wins and pins charts. Adam Tirapelle
is 20-1 on the season and has amassed 116 career wins. He currently needs
only five more wins to tie Ernest Benion as the Illini career wins leader
and six to take possession. At his current pace he will gain the record at
the Big Ten tournament in Evanston on March 3-4. Pat Quirk has also cracked
the top 10 in career wins. He has 21 wins this season giving him 98 for his
career which ranks eighth all-time, tied with 2000 NCAA 141-pound champion
Carl Perry.
FALL GUYS:
Tirapelle has also tied Keith Healy as the Illini's all-time career pins
leader. He has eight falls this season and his next pin will place alone
atop the list. Nate Patrick is also making a push on the chart. The senior
is currently 25-2 with eight falls and has moved into sixth on the list with
20 career pins.
ANOTHER MARK IN THE BOOK:
The Illini's success on the mat this season has moved head coach Mark
Johnson atop the Illini recordbook for career coaching wins. Johnson moved
past B.R. Patterson with a 32-3 win over Penn State, moving Johnson's record
to 101-25-1 in under nine complete seasons. Patterson ammased a record of
100-113-12 from 1951-68, a span of 18 years.
