CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The No. 16 ranked Illinois wrestling team begins their 2017-18 campaign on Saturday, November 4 with an outdoor dual at No. 5 Missouri. Held on Missouri's softball field, the Orange and Blue will wrestle their border rival at 4 p.m. Between the Illini and the Tigers, the dual will feature 14 ranked wrestlers, including six in the top-10.
Quick Hits
*Illinois and Missouri will wrestle outside at Missouri's softball field. Should the weather be a conflict, the dual will be moved inside to the Hearnes Center.
*Illinois returns eight of its ten starters from last season's 11th place finish at NCAA Championships, including All-American Isaiah Martinez and NCAA qualifiers Travis Piotrowski, Eric Barone, Kyle Langenderfer and Emery Parker.
*Eight of Illinois' ten projected starters for Saturday's dual at Missouri are ranked by one or more of Intermat, Win Magazine or FloWrestling's preseason rankings. Isaiah Martinez leads the Illini with his No. 2 ranking, while Emery Parker is also in the top-10 with a No. 6 ranking.
*Isaiah Martinez is two wins away from notching his 100th of his career. Currently tied for 25th on Illinois all-time list with former Illini Carl Perry, Martinez needs 30 wins to tie, 31 to pass Illinois record-holder Alex Tirapelle (128).
*The Fighting Illini have won their opening dual of the season each of the last seven seasons, including an 18-13 victory against No. 11 Missouri in 2010.
*Illinois is 20-10 all-time against Missouri with the series dating back to 1928. Missouri won the last meeting, a 23-13 victory in the NWCA Duals in 2015.
*Missouri is the first of three preseason top-10 teams on Illinois' schedule. Illinois will travel to No. 7 Iowa on December 1 and No. 6 Minnesota on January 14.
*Illinois is 47-11 in non-conference duals under head coach Jim Heffernan and holds an 11-match winning streak against non-Big Ten opponents.
Sizing Up the Tigers
The Orange and Blue start the new season with a heavyweight matchup against the number five team in most preason polls. Coming off a fifth place finish at 2017 NCAA Championships, All-Americans Joey Lavalee (2nd/157) Eierman (5th/141) and Daniel Lewis (6th/165) return along with preseason No. 3 Willie Miklus (197), No. 9 John Erneste (133) and No. 19 Barlow McGhee (125). Missouri will feature newcomers at 149, 165 and 184 pounds this season.
Border Battle History
Since their inaugural meeting back in 1928, the Illini and Tigers have met 30 times with the grapplers from Champaign holding a 20-10 all-time advantage. Missouri won the most recent dual meeting, a 23-13 victory in the second round of NWCA National Duals. The last regular season dual came in 2010-11 when No. 10 Illinois defeated No. 11 Missouri in Edwardsville, Illinois, 18-13. The Illini last traveled to Columbia to wrestle the Tigers on November 19, 1987, a dual the Illini dropped 19-15.
Illini to Watch
Illini First Time Starters
While the beginning of any new season brings intrigue with first time starters, Saturday's dual against Missouri has added interest due to who they're matched up against. Dylan Duncan (133), Mike Carr (141) and Xavier Montalvo (174) debuts on Saturday will come against opponents preseason ranked in the top-10.
157: Kyle Langenderfer
The Mokena, Illinois senior bounced back in a big way last year with a career-high 25 wins in his redshirt junior season upon bumping up to 157 pounds. With two wins over top-10 wrestlers last season, the Illini senior will have a chance to begin 2017-18 in similar fashion. No. 2 Joey Lavallee placed runner up to Jason Nolf (Penn State) last season with a 30-2 overall record.
165: Isaiah Martinez
Beginning his final collegiate season, Martinez begins his quest for redemption and a third NCAA title on Saturday. Martinez will look for his 99th career victory against redshirt sophomore Connor Flynn who is a transfer from West Virginia, making 10 starts as a Mountaineer as a true freshman.
For complete coverage of Fighting Illini wrestling, go to FIGHTINILLINI.com and follow @IlliniWrestling on Twitter and Instagram.
