IOWA CITY, Iowa - The Illinois wrestling team wrestled undefeated Missouri in the quarterfinals of the NWCA National Duals on Saturday. The Illini, who entered the weekend as the seventh seed, fell to the second-seeded Tigers, 23-13, snapping a five-match win streak.

The dual opened with a matchup between W.I.N. Magazine's top-ranked 125-pound wrestlers, as #1 Jesse Delgado took on #2 Alan Waters. In his toughest matchup to date, Delgado fell to Waters, 6-2, for his first loss in his last 23 matches.

#7 Zane Richards earned a 9-2 decision over Zach Synon at 133 pounds to knot things up in the team score, but Missouri won each of the next two bouts to regain the lead. #6 Lavion Mayes earned an 11-3 major decision over Steven Rodrgiues at 141 pounds, while top-ranked Drake Houdashelt edged Kyle Langenderfer, 6-3, at 149 pounds.

Wins by #2 Isaiah Martinez at 157 pounds and #8 Jackson Morse at 165 pounds tied the dual at 10-10. Martinez grabbed a 17-6 major decision over Joseph LaVallee, his 34th win in a row, while Morse snuck by Mike England, 4-3.

#5 John Eblen pinned #6 Zac Brunson at 174 pounds to create a six-point cushion for the Tigers, but #19 Nikko Reyes trimmed the deficit to three with a 3-1 win in sudden victory over #12 Willie Miklus at 184 pounds. Missouri won the final two weight classes en route to the 10-point victory.

With the loss, Illinois ends its dual-meet season with a 13-5 record. The Illini will now have until March 7 to prepare for the Big Ten Championships in Columbus, Ohio.

Missouri 23, Illinois 13

125 - #2 Alan Waters (Missouri) over #1 Jesse Delgado (Illinois) Dec 6-2

133 - #7 Zane Richards (Illinois) over Zach Synon (Missouri) Dec 9-2

141 - #6 Lavion Mayes (Missouri) over #12 Steven Rodrigues (Illinois) Maj 11-3

 149 - #1 Drake Houdashelt (Missouri) over Kyle Langenderfer (Illinois) Dec 6-3

157 - #2 Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) over Joseph LaVallee (Missouri) Maj 17-6

165 - #8 Jackson Morse (Illinois) over Mike England (Missouri) Dec 4-3

174 - #5 John Eblen (Missouri) over #6 Zac Brunson (Illinois) Fall 0:50

184 - #19 Nikko Reyes (Illinois) over #12 Willie Miklus (Missouri) SV-1 3-1

 197 - #1 J`Den Cox (Missouri) over Jeff Koepke (Illinois) Maj 15-3

285 - #10 Devin Mellon (Missouri) over Brooks Black (Illinois) TB-1 5-1