CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Illinois wrestling team is set to welcome in Big Ten opponent Purdue on Saturday, Jan. 14 in the State Farm Center. The Illini are coming off of a 1-1 weekend, losing at the No. 2 Iowa Hawkeyes 19-25 and a big home win against the No. 13 Wisconsin Badgers 18-17. Illinois broke into the top-25 rankings with this weekends performance, ranked at 22 according to Intermat.
Sophomore Danny Pucino went 2-0 on the weekend. He highlighted the Wisconsin dual as he recorded the matches only pin over Wisconsin's Felix Lettini (5:40). That pin pushed the Illini past the Badgers 18-14 and they held on in the last match to win 18-17.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Purdue heads into Champaign with a 4-4 (0-1 B1G) record. They recently hosted No. 2 Iowa on Jan. 8 and they lost 6-37. The Boilermakers have also wrestled common opponent Chattanooga earlier in the season. They defeated the Mocs 23-16. Illinois holds a 16-3 record over rival Purdue. Last year Purdue defeated the Illini 25-13.
NOTES
- Edmond Ruth has been on a tear lately; he's won 17 straight and 19 total on the year.
- Zac Braunagel has been named NCAA wrestler of the week for his 2-0 weekend with wins over Iowa's Jacob Werner and Wisconsin's Braxton Amos
- Danny Braunagel, Danny Pucino and Lucas Byrd lead the team in pins this season with 3 each on the year.
- Illinois has already matched their win total from last year, they sit at 3-3 on the year.
