Marinopoulos Powers Illini Past Purdue, 19-18

Rankings courtesy of InterMat

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Illinois wrestling team won their dual over Purdue, 19-18, on Friday (Feb. 16). Redshirt freshman (285 lbs.) Peter Marinopoulos stepped up big time for Illinois; he defeated Hayden Filipovich (PUR), 8-6, to give the Fighting Illini their first Big Ten win of the season.

"I thought our guys fought hard and showed a lot of grit out there on the mat tonight," said head coach Mike Poeta. "Everyone was focused and responded when called upon. No one did this better tonight than Peter Marinopoulos. The way he was able to go out there as the last match and handle business with the dual on the line. To go get the win for himself and the team. That makes me excited to see where he can go as a wrestler as he continues to get better in our program."

HOW IT HAPPENED

Graduate student No. 24 (133 lbs.) Tony Madrigal won his fifth straight match tonight and put the first dual points on the board for Illinois. He won via a decision over Dustin Norris (PUR), 7-2, and cut into the Purdue lead, 3-5.

Redshirt sophomore No. 25 (141 lbs.) Danny Pucino pinned Christian White (PUR) in 6:10 to put the Illini up 9-5. This is his first fall of the year and only the second one all season for the Illini in dual action.  

Redshirt junior No. 8 (174 lbs.) Edmond Ruth earned the much needed bonus point for the Illini with his major decision over No. 32 Brody Baumann (PUR), 11-2. This is his fifth straight win and his seventh major decision on the year which is a team high. The Illini trailed 13-15 after this match.

Redshirt sophomore (184 lbs.) Dylan Connell gave Illinois their lead back, 16-15, when he won via decision over James Rowley (PUR), 5-3. At 197 lbs. Ben Vanadia (PUR) decisioned Isiah Pettigrew (ILL), 9-7, and Illinois trailed 16-18 heading into the 285 bout.

Marinopoulos didn't flinch or panic at all under the pressure. He traded shots with Filipovich who himself is natural 197 pounder like Marinopoulos. In the waning seconds of the third period, Marinopoulos continued to scramble and circle to get behind Filipovich and finally was rewarded with the winning takedown.

This is the first Big Ten dual win for Illinois in a little over a year (377 days) and snaps their eight-match losing streak this season. Today's attendance was 477 spectators.

UP NEXT

The Fighting Illini wrestling team returns to action on March 9-10 for the Big Ten Championships win College Park, Md.

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