Scoresheet

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - After suffering three consecutive Big Ten losses in the middle of January, the Illinois wrestling team has now won three straight conference bouts after beating Purdue, 21-9, on Sunday afternoon. The Illini, the fourth-ranked team in W.I.N. Magazine's Tournament Power Index, improve to 11-4 (5-3 Big Ten), while the Boilermakers fall to 8-7 (1-5 Big Ten).

The dual began with Illinois and Purdue exchanging wins in each of the first four weight classes. Top-ranked Jesse Delgado gave the Illini an early 3-0 lead with a 3-1 decision over Luke Welch at 125 pounds, but the Boilermakers' #11 Danny Sabatello tied the match with a 4-2 upset over #2 Zane Richards in the 133-bound bout. #13 Steven Rodrigues regained the lead for Illinois with a 6-2 decision over Nick Lawrence at 141 pounds before Purdue's Brandon Nelson tied the match at 6-6 with a 6-5 decision over Kyle Langenderfer in the 149-pound match.

The Illini gained control of the match in the middle of their lineup, beginning with #2 Isaiah Martinez at 157 pounds. Martinez controlled his match with #13 Doug Welch from start to finish, grabbing an 11-4 win. At 165 pounds, #8 Jackson Morse ended the trend of alternating wins by grabbing a 9-6 decision over Pat Robinson. #8 Zac Brunson made it three consecutive wins for Illinois with an 8-1 win over Chad Welch at 174 pounds, and #18 Nikko Reyes gave the Illini their fourth straight win, and biggest lead of the day, with a 4-2 win over Patrick Kissel at 184 pounds. At 197 pounds, #13 Braden Atwood cut back into the margin with a 7-3 win over Jeff Koepke, but Brooks Black gave Illinois the final 12-point margin of victory with a 2-0 decision over Gelen Robinson in the heavyweight matchup.

"It didn't seem like there was a lot of emotion or fire from a lot of the guys today," stated head coach Jim Heffernan. "We had a couple of guys do a good job. Steven and Isaiah wrestled well, but I thought everyone else was just pretty average."

The Illini will now have a week to recover and prepare for a contest with Wisconsin. The Badgers, currently 8-2 (6-1 Big Ten), come to Huff Hall on Sunday, Feb. 8 for a bout that is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. That contest will also serve as Illinois' senior day recognition.

"This has been a pretty tough month-long stretch of having to wrestle every Friday and Sunday," Heffernan explained. "I think these guys have earned a little bit of time away, and a couple extra training days will be beneficial."

#4 Illinois 21, Purdue 9
125: #1 Jesse Delgado (ILL) over Luke Welch (PUR) (Dec 3-1)
133: #11 Danny Sabatello (PUR) over #2 Zane Richards (ILL) (Dec 4-2)
141: #13 Steven Rodrigues (ILL) over Nick Lawrence (PUR) (Dec 6-2)
149: Brandon Nelson (PUR) over Kyle Langenderfer (ILL) (Dec 6-5)
157: #2 Isaiah Martinez (ILL) over #13 Doug Welch (PUR) (Dec 11-4)
165: #8 Jackson Morse (ILL) over Pat Robinson (PUR) (Dec 9-6)
174: #8 Zac Brunson (ILL) over Chad Welch (PUR) (Dec 8-1)
184: #18 Nikko Reyes (ILL) over Patrick Kissel (PUR) (Dec 4-2)
197: #13 Braden Atwood (PUR) over Jeff Koepke (ILL) (Dec 7-3)
285: Brooks Black (ILL) over Gelen Robinson (PUR) (Dec 2-0)