Ground Report

For Immediate Release: Dec. 29, 2014

SID Contact: Paul Hurd, C: 563.571.0118; O: 217.300.1449

Link: http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-wrestl/recaps/122914aag.html

FIGHTING ILLINI WRESTLING

#9 Illinois Second After Day One of Midlands Championships

Six Illini grapplers advance to Tuesday’s semifinals

EVANSTON, Ill. – Two sessions into the 52^nd annual Midlands Championships, the ninth-ranked Fighting Illini are in second place with 90 points, trailing only Iowa’s 110.5 points. Zane Richards (133), Steven Rodrigues (141), Isaiah Martinez (157), Jackson Morse (165), Zac Brunson (174) and Jeff Koepke (197) all advanced to the semifinals in their respective weight classes. Brock Ervin (141) and Nikko Reyes (184) are still alive in the consolation brackets.

At 133 pounds, Richards entered the day as the fourth seeded wrestler in the weight class. Richards received an opening round bye before pinning Old Dominion’s Michael Hayes in his first bout of the day. Richards then defeated Ian Nickell of CSU Bakersfield, 8-4, to advance to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinal match, Richards earned a 12-1 major decision over Maryland’s Geoffrey Alexander to advance to tomorrow’s semifinals. Richards will open Tuesday’s action by facing top-seeded A.J. Schopp of Edinboro.

In the 141-pound weight class, Rodrigues began Monday’s action by pinning Carter McElhany of Air Force. He then earned a 10-8 win over Eastern Michigan’s Kyle Springer in sudden victory to stay alive in the winners’ bracket. Rodrigues made sure his next match was not as close as the previous one, defeating Jeff Canfora of Penn with a 12-3 major decision to advance to the quarterfinals. In his quarterfinal bout, Rodrigues defeated Iowa’s Jeff Dziewa 3-1, punching his ticket for tomorrow’s semifinals. The sixth-seed entering the tournament, Rodrigues will face second-seeded Devin Carter of Virginia Tech in his first match on Tuesday.

The top-seed at 157 pounds, Martinez received a first-round bye before earning an 18-2 technical fall against Indiana’s Luke Blanton. Martinez advanced to the quarterfinal bout after Austin Eads of Old Dominion was forced to stop competing due to injury. In his quarterfinal match, Martinez faced Brandon Zeerip of Eastern Michigan, earning a 24-10 major decision to advance to the semifinals. Martinez will face Iowa’s Mike Kelly in tomorrow’s opening session.

Morse, the fourth-seed in the 165-pound weight class, advanced to tomorrow’s semifinal by earning four wins on Monday. He began his day with a 16-0 technical fall victory over Justin Samora of Adams State. In the second round, Morse defeated Eastern Michigan’s Devan Marry, 5-0. A 7-1 decision over Northern Illinois’ Shaun’Qae McMurty gave Morse a spot in the quarterfinals, where he defeated Jimmie Schuessler from Grand View to advance to the semifinals.

Brunson had a bye in the first round before earning a 19-4 technical fall over Lehigh’s Garett Stehley in round two. In his next bout, Brunson defeated Edinboro’s Patrick Jennings, 3-0, to advance to the quarterfinals. In his quarterfinal bout, Brunson beat Frank Cousin of Wisconsin, 11-3, to advance to tomorrow’s semifinals. Brunson, the second-seed at 174 pounds, will begin action tomorrow by facing Johnny Sebastian of Northwestern.

At 197 pounds, Koepke made it six Illini in the semifinals after finishing Monday with a flawless record. He opened the day with a bye before earning a 12-4 major decision over Parker Hines of Air Force. A 5-3 win over North Dakota State’s Thomas Petersen punched Koepke’s ticket to the quarterfinals. In his final bout of the day, Koepke earned a 3-1 win over Ruben Franklin of CSU Bakersfield in sudden victory. The 10^th-seed entering the tournament, Koepke will face Timmy McCall of Wisconsin in tomorrow’s semifinal match.

Session three (consolation rounds, semifinals and seventh-place matches) begins tomorrow at noon, while the final session (championships, third-place matches and fifth-place matches) will take place at 7 p.m. CT. The Big Ten Network will air the final session live.

Midlands Results for Illinois
133 – Jered Cortez (Unattached)
Champ. Round 1 – Cortez received a bye.
Champ. Round 2 – Cortez won by decision over Alonzo Shepherd (Indiana) (Dec 6-1)
Champ. Round 3 – Cory Clark (Iowa) won by decision over Cortez (Dec 6-2)
Cons. Round 4 – Cortez won by decision over Chase Zemenak (Bloomsburg – Unattached) (Dec 9-3)

Cons. Round 5 – Caleb Richardson (Penn) won by decision over Cortez (Dec 2-1)

Cortez eliminated

133 – Zane Richards
Champ. Round 1 – Richards received a bye
Champ. Round 2 – Richards won by fall over Michael Hayes (Old Dominion) (Fall 1:53)
Champ. Round 3 – Richards won by decision over Ian Nickell (CSU Bakersfield) (Dec 8-4)
Quarterfinal – Richards won by major decision over Geoffrey Alexander (Maryland) (Maj 12-1)

141 – Logan Arlis
Champ. Round 1 – Todd Preston (Harvard) won in tie breaker – 1 over Arlis (TB-1 3-2)
Cons. Round 1 – Arlis received a bye
Cons. Round 2 – Arlis won by decision over Ryan Ponte (Columbia) (Dec 6-0)
Cons. Round 3 – Arlis won by decision over Jameston Oster (Northwestern) (Dec 5-1)
Cons. Round 4 – Arlis won by decision over Nick Lawrence (Purdue) (Dec 3-2)

Cons. Round 5 – Tommy Thorn (Minnesota – Unattached) won by decision over Arlis (Dec 6-1)

Arlis eliminated

141 – Steven Rodrigues
Champ. Round 1 – Rodrigues won by fall over Carter McElhany (Air Force) (Fall 5:00)
Champ. Round 2 – Rodrigues won in sudden victory – 1 over Kyle Springer (Eastern Michigan) (SV-1 10-8)
Champ. Round 3 – Rodrigues won by major decision over Jeff Canfora (Penn) (Maj 12-3)
Quarterfinal – Rodrigues won by decision over Josh Dziewa (Iowa) (Dec 3-1)

141 – Brock Ervin (Unattached)
Champ. Round 1 – Ervin received a bye
Champ. Round 2 – Devin Carter (Virginia Tech) won by tech. fall over Ervin (TF4 25-10)
Cons. Round 2 – Ervin won by major decision over Andrew Lenzi (Penn) (Maj 12-4)
Cons. Round 3 – Ervin won by medical forfeit over Tyson Dippery (Rutgers) (MFF)
Cons. Round 4 – Ervin won by fall over Chuck Zeisloft (Rider) (Fall 4:41)

Cons. Round 5 – Ervin won by decision over Lucas Zilverberg (South Dakota State) (Dec 12-5)

149 – Kyle Langenderfer
Champ. Round 1 – Langenderfer won by decision over Zachary Stepan (Air Force) (Dec 8-4)
Champ. Round 2 – Andrew Crone (Wisconsin) won by decision over Langenderfer (Dec 3-1)
Cons. Round 2 – Langenderfer won by decision over Kevin Laubach (Bloomsburg) (Dec 8-1)
Cons. Round 3 – Langenderfer won by fall over Tyler Cowger (Southern Oregon) (Fall 3:12)
Cons. Round 4 – Tyler Ponte (Columbia) won by fall over Langenderfer (Fall 4:22)

Langenderfer eliminated

157 – Isaiah Martinez
Champ. Round 1 – Martinez received a bye
Champ. Round 2 – Martinez won by tech fall over Luke Blanton (Indiana) (TF 18-2)
Champ. Round 3 – Martinez won by injury default over Austin Eads (Old Dominion) (Inj. 5:44)
Quarterfinal – Martinez won by major decision over Brandon Zeerip (Eastern Michigan) (Maj 24-10)

165 – Jackson Morse
Champ. Round 1 – Morse won by tech fall over Justin Samora (Adams State) (TF 16-0)
Champ. Round 2 – Morse won by decision over Devan Marry (Eastern Michigan) (Dec 5-0)
Champ. Round 3 – Morse won by decision over Shaun`Qae McMurtry (Northern Illinois) (Dec 7-1)
Quarterfinal – Morse won by major decision over Jimmie Schuessler (Grand View) (Maj 13-1)

165 – Emery Parker
Champ. Round 1 – Parker received a bye
Champ. Round 2 – Tristan Warner (Old Dominion) won by decision over Parker (Dec 4-0)
Cons. Round 2 – Parker received a bye
Cons. Round 3 – Parker won by decision over Matt Lemanowicz (Missouri) (Dec 13-9)
Cons. Round 4 – Parker won by decision over Casey Fuller (Edinboro) (Dec 12-6)

Cons. Round 5 – Tyrel White (Columbia) won by decision over Parker (Dec 5-4)

Parker eliminated

165 – Matt Nora
Champ. Round 1 – Nora won by decision over Andrew Hoselton (Purdue) (Dec 5-0)
Champ. Round 2 – Adam Fierro (CSU Bakersfield) won by major decision over Nora (Maj 11-3)
Cons. Round 2 – Nora won by decision over John Nething II (South Dakota State) (Dec 5-4)
Cons. Round 3 – Nora won by decision over David Bergida (Virginia Tech) (Dec 3-1)
Cons. Round 4 – Shaun`Qae McMurtry (Northern Illinois) won by fall over Nora (Fall 5:00)

Nora eliminated

174 – Zac Brunson
Champ. Round 1 – Brunson received a bye
Champ. Round 2 – Brunson won by tech fall over Garett Stehley (Lehigh) (TF 19-4)
Champ. Round 3 – Brunson won by decision over Patrick Jennings (Edinboro) (Dec 3-0)
Quarterfinal – Brunson won by major decision over Frank Cousins (Wisconsin) (Maj 11-3)

184 – Nikko Reyes
Champ. Round 1 – Reyes won by fall over Michael Curby (Eastern Michigan) (Fall 2:20)
Champ. Round 2 – Vic Avery (Edinboro) won by decision over Reyes (Dec 3-2)
Cons. Round 2 – Reyes won by decision over Scott Patrick (Davidson) (Dec 4-1)
Cons. Round 3 – Reyes won by decision over Ryan McWatters (Southern Oregon) (Dec 7-6)

197 – Jeff Koepke
Champ. Round 1 – Koepke received a bye
Champ. Round 2 – Koepke won by major decision over Parker Hines (Air Force) (Maj 12-4)
Champ. Round 3 – Koepke won by decision over Thomas Petersen (North Dakota State) (Dec 5-3)
Quarterfinal – Koepke won in sudden victory – 1 over Ruben Franklin (CSU Bakersfield) (SV-1 3-1)

285 – Chris Lopez
Champ. Round 1 – Lopez won in tie breaker – 1 over Conan Jennings (Northwestern – Unattached) (TB-1 6-5)
Champ. Round 2 – Garret Goldman (Indiana) won by decision over Lopez (Dec 5-2)
Cons. Round 2 – Lopez received a bye

Cons. Round 3 – Lopez won by decision over Sean Twigg (Maryland) (Dec 6-1)
Cons. Round 4 – Dan Garwood (Virginia Tech) won by decision over Lopez (Dec 3-2)

Lopez eliminated

Midlands 285 – Brooks Black
Champ. Round 1 – Black received a bye
Champ. Round 2 – Garrett Ryan (Columbia) won by decision over Black (Dec 3-1)
Cons. Round 2 – Black received a bye
Cons. Round 3 – Black won by decision over Fletcher Miller (Indiana) (Dec 3-0)
Cons. Round 4 – Black won by fall over Gage Hutchison (Eastern Michigan) (Fall 5:24)

Cons. Round 5 – Garret Goldman (Indiana) won in tie breaker – 1 over Black (TB-1 2-1)

Black eliminated

– ILLINI –