Jan. 20, 2006
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Purdue wrestling team opened the Big Ten season and hit a major bump in the road, falling to the Illinois Fighting Illini, 27-7, in Huff Hall.
The Boilermakers are 8-4 in dual action this season, and 0-1 in the Big Ten. Illinois is now 5-0 and 1-0 on the year.
The dual opened with close matches at 197 and 285, each going the way of the Illini grapplers by identical 3-2 scores. Tyrone Byrd defeated Purdue's Nathan Moore to open the dual, and Matt Weight bested Aaron Keough at heavyweight, giving Illinois a 6-0 lead.
At 125, Kyle Ott scored a 13-4 major decision over Brandon Tucker to up the Illini lead to 10-0, but Purdue would get on the scoreboard in the next match.
Chris Fleeger, ranked sixth in the nation, improved to 3-0 with a dominating 13-3 major decision over Gabe Flores, handing Flores his first loss of the year. The Purdue senior scored four takedowns and had one turn for two back points in the win.
Illinois returned to its winning form, sweeping the next five weight classes to build up a 27-4 advantage, setting up the final match of the evening, the one most fans in Huff Hall came to see.
At 184 pounds, Ben Wissel and Pete Friedl traded escapes, with Friedl scoring in the second period and Wissel in the third. In ironic fashion, the match was decided with one second on the clock as Wissel scored the lone takedown, handing Friedl his second loss of the season. In their previous meeting, the championship match of the Midlands, Friedl took down Wissel with one second remaining in overtime to snap Wissel's 18-match winning streak. Wissel is now 25-2 this season, while Friedl is 14-2, with both losses coming against the Boilermaker senior.
Purdue returns to the mat on Sunday, Jan. 22, playing host to in-state rival Indiana. The Boilermakers and Hoosiers take to the mat at 2 p.m. in the Intercollegiate Athletic Facility.