March 17, 2008

Illinois NCAA Notes
NCAA Championships Brackets

#9 ILLINOIS at NCAA Championships

Illinois Pre-Seeds
125: 6th #8 Gabe Flores (25-10), Sr., Madera, Calif.
133: 2nd #3 Jimmy Kennedy (28-5), So., Ingleside, Ill.
157: 2nd #2 Mike Poeta (32-2), Jr., Highwood, Ill.
197: 9th #11 Patrick Bond (26-7), So., Chesapeake, Va.

Illinois Qualifiers
165: #20 Roger Smith-Bergsrud (19-10), Jr., Lake Bluff, Ill.
174: #15 John Dergo (26-13), So., Morris, Ill.
Hwt: #13 John Wise (28-14), Jr., Pittsfield, Ill.

Television
March 21: Quarterfinals // 10 am // ESPNU
March 21: Semifinals // 6 pm // ESPNU
March 22: Consolation Championships // 10 am // ESPNU
March 22: Championships // 7:30 pm // ESPN

• After winning the Big Ten title at 157, #2 Mike Poeta grabbed the No. 2 pre-seed for the NCAA Championships. Poeta is ranked No. 2 in the nation in the NWCA rankings after tying his longest streak at No. 1 with a nine-week stint at the top and defeated Gregor Gillespie (Edinboro), the top-seeded and top-ranked 157-pounder, 3-2 in the title bout at the Las Vegas Invitational.

• #2 Jimmy Kennedy (133) grabbed the No. 2 NCAA pre-seed after finishing second at the Big Ten Championships. He won 14 straight matches before falling to Michigan State's third-seeded and fifth-ranked Franklin Gomez in the Big Ten title match.

• #6 Gabe Flores (125) took the No. 6 pre-seed for NCAAs after pulling two upsets en route to finishing third at the Big Ten Championships, toppling No. 5 Brandon Precin (Northwestern) in the quarterfinals and No. 2 Charlie Falck (Iowa) in the third-place match. Flores also had No. 1-seed Jayson Ness (Minnesota) on his back for over 30 seconds, nearly registering the pin. The third-place finish is a career-best at Big Tens.

• #9 Patrick Bond (197) is the No. 9 pre-seed for NCAAs after finishing fourth at the Big Ten Championships. He is 19-4 over his last 23 bouts, with his losses coming to No. 2 Phil Davis (Penn State) (twice), No. 2 Mike Tamillow (Northwestern) and No. 6 Dallas Herbst (Wisconsin).

• #2 Mike Poeta (157) became the 40th wrestler to reach 30 wins in a season during Mark Johnson's head coaching tenure at Illinois when he won his quarterfinal bout at the Big Ten Championships. Teammates Jimmy Kennedy (133) and John Wise (HWT) each could join him at the 30-win mark this weekend with two wins at NCAAs. It would mark the first time since 2004-05 that three Illini have reached 30 wins.

• Seven Illinois wrestlers (Gabe Flores - 125, Jimmy Kennedy - 133, Ryan Prater - 141, Mike Poeta - 157, John Dergo - 174, Patrick Bond - 197, John Wise - HWT) have reached 20 wins this season, tying the second-most grapplers to top the 20-win mark in Mark Johnson's tenure at Illinois. Eight Illini reached 20 wins in the 2000-01 season. With one win at NCAAs, Roger Smith-Bergsrud could join this year's list.

• #20 Roger Smith-Bergsrud (165) won seven straight matches before dropping his last three bouts at the Big Ten Championships to finish sixth. However, he lost those three matches by a total of four points and two of them were in overtime. Smith-Bergsrud has proven he will be a tough out in the national tournament, as nine of his last 11 matches have been decided by one point and four of his last eight bouts have gone to overtime.

• #13 John Wise (HWT) is 10-5 over his last 15 matches, losing only to Northwestern's No. 1 Dustin Fox, Wisconsin's No. 2 Kyle Massey (twice) and Iowa's No. 6 Matt Fields (twice) since Jan. 20. And five of Wise's wins during that span have been by major decision.

• Last Year at NCAA Championships: Illinois finished 19th with 31 team points.

Illini History By the Numbers
1 NCAA and Big Ten champion under Mark Johnson
7 NCAA champions under Johnson
9 Two-time NCAA All-Americans under Johnson
10 Big Ten and NCAA champions in the same year
19 All-Americans under Johnson
20 Two-time All-Americans
20 NCAA champions
99 NCAA All-Americans

Illini Head to NCAA Championships
Illinois travels to St. Louis, Mo., for the 2008 NCAA Championships with seven of the eight wrestlers who made the trip last season, meaning the only new experience for the group will be the shorter trip to St. Louis compared to Detroit. Only Cassio Pero, who gradauted following the 2007 championships, is gone.

No. 2 Mike Poeta looks for his first national championship after finishing third a year ago, while No. 6 senior Gabe Flores (125) and No. 2 sophomore Jimmy Kennedy (133) look for their first All-America accolades. No. 9 Patrick Bond (197) also looks to improve on his 1-2 NCAA showing from a year ago.

Four Illini Grab NCAA Pre-Seeds
Four of Illinois' seven NCAA qualifiers earned pre-seeds for the national tournament, with Jimmy Kennedy (133) and Mike Poeta (157) leading the way by grabbing No. 2 seeds. Gabe Flores (125) earned a No. 6 seed, while Patrick Bond (197) was seeded No. 9.Illinois has had at least four seeded wrestlers at each of the last 13 NCAA Championships, dating back to 1996. The Illini have had six pre-seeds four different times, five pre-seeds five times and four pre-seeds four times.Head coach Mark Johnson has taken at least one seeded wrestler to the NCAA Championships in each of his 16 seasons at Illinois.

Weights to Watch
After competing at the Big Ten Championships two weeks ago, the Illini largely got a preview of this week's NCAA Championships as many familiar wrestlers will be joining them in St. Louis. Here's a look at a few of the most interesting weight classes featuring Illini grapplers.

Weight to Watch I: 125
In a top-5 littered with Big Ten wrestlers, No. 6 Gabe Flores has had some success this season. Flores has defeated No. 4 Charlie Falck (Iowa) twice and nearly pinned Minnesota's second-ranked Jayson Ness during their Big Ten semifinal bout. Flores also has defeated No. 8 Brandon Precin (Northwestern) and No. 10 James Nicholson (Old Dominion). Flores will begin his All-America quest against Kent State's Nicholas Bedelyon, who pinned the Illini at the Virginia Duals.

Weight to Watch II: 133
No. 2 Jimmy Kennedy has been a juggernaught this season, rolling through the Big Ten dual season undefeated and making the Big Ten final before falling to top-ranked Franklin Gomez (Michigan State). Kennedy dropped a 3-2 decision to No. 3 Coleman Scott (Oklahoma State) at Virginia Duals and lost to No. 7 Nick Fanthorpe (Iowa State), 4-1, in the Midlands third-place bout. He is 1-1 against Iowa's No. 5 Joey Slaton this year, and has defeated No. 8 Mack Reiter (Minnesota), No. 9 Zach Tanelli (Wisconsin) and No. 11 Andrae Hernandez (Indiana). Kennedy will open his NCAA title quest with Bucknell's David Marble.

Weight to Watch III: 157
No. 2 Mike Poeta was ranked No. 1 in the nation for nine straight weeks - the second-straight year he has topped the rankings for that long. He has beaten four of the five other wrestlers in the NWCA top-6, including No. 1 Gregor Gillespie (Edinboro) and No. 3 Dan Vallimont (Penn State). Poeta started the year 22-0, lost two of four matches in two Big Ten dual weekends, then has rattled off eight consecutive wins for a 32-2 record, a career-high in wins. Poeta's first NCAA match will be in the second round on Thursday night, as he earned a bye in the first round and the 157-pound bracket doesn't have a pigtail round.

Illini History at NCAAs
This is the second-straight trip to the NCAA Championships for all seven Illini qualifiers and the third-consecutive appearance for Gabe Flores and Mike Poeta. Poeta is the only current Illini to place at NCAA's, earning a third-place finish in 2007.

Seven Illini Reach 20-Win Mark
No. 2 Mike Poeta (157), No. 9 Gabe Flores (125), No. 9 Jimmy Kennedy (133), No. 15 John Dergo (174), No. 11 Patrick Bond (197) and No. 15 John Wise (HWT) surpassed the 20-win after four Big Ten dual matches, marking the first time it happened in Mark Johnson's 16-year tenure at Illinois. No. 15 Ryan Prater (141) joined the 20-win crew on Feb. 22 against Purdue, giving the Illini seven total.

Poeta currently stands at 32-2, Flores is 25-10, Kennedy sits at 28-5, Dergo is 26-13, Bond holds a 26-7 mark and Wise is 28-14. Illinois' seven 20-win wrestlers ties the second-most in school history, behind the eight Illini grapplers in 2000-01 who topped 20 victories. No. 20 Roger Smith-Bergsrud could join the group with one win at NCAAs, as he holds a 19-10 season mark.

Kennedy Avoids Sophomore Slump
No. 7 Jimmy Kennedy (133) found a groove in his sophomore season, rattling off 14 consecutive wins, including an 8-0 Big Ten dual-meet record, before falling to No. 5 Franklin Gomez in the Big Ten title match. It is the longest winning streak of his career and second-longest of the season by an Illini behind Mike Poeta's (157) 22-match streak to start the year. Kennedy has scored bonus points in four of his last seven matches.

Bond Tops Herbst, Wins 8 of Last 11
No. 9 Patrick Bond won 11 consecutive matches at 197 before dropping a tight 1-0 decision to No. 2 Phil Davis (Penn St.) on Feb. 3. He has since recovered by winning eight of his last 11 bouts, including a 3-2 victory over No. 4 Dallas Herbst (Wisconsin) on Feb. 8. Bond is now 26-7 on the season, with his only losses coming to Davis (twice), Herbst, Mike Tamillow (Northwestern), Missouri's Max Askren (twice) and UNC Greensboro's Daren Burns, all of whom were ranked higher than Bond at the time of their matches.

Poeta Moves Up Illini Record List
Junior All-American Mike Poeta now stands in third place on Illinois' career winning percentage record list. Poeta's career .876 percentage (85-12 in two-plus seasons) ranks behind Matt Lackey's .896 (120-14) mark and Alex Tirapelle's .877 (128-18) percentage.

Smith-Bergsrud Squeaks By
No. 20 Roger Smith-Bergsrud has turned over a sort of new leaf this year, wrestling almost exclusively close matches. The Illini junior is 19-10, with 26 narrow decisions and three falls. Nine of his last 11 matches have been decided by one point and four of his last eight bouts have gone to overtime.He has won 18 matches by a total of 34 points and his eight losses by decision have come by a total of 15 points. He lost to top-ranked Mark Perry (Iowa) in the Big Ten semifinals 3-1 in sudden-victory, and dropped a 3-2 decision to Penn State's Dave Rella after the first tiebreak round.

*Complete Illinois notes and NCAA Championships bracket in attached PDF documents.