Road woes continue at Illinois

In the first of two matches in two nights, the IU wrestling team fell to Illinois on Thursday evening 23-12.

IU dropped four of the first five matches, including one by pin at 184 pounds, to find itself in a 15-3 hole it could not climb out of. Junior Matt Powless, graduate student Ricky Alcala and redshirt freshman Justin Brooks notched three straight wins for IU to pull the team score to 15-12, but a decision and a technical fall by Illinois in the final two bouts sealed the win for the Illini.

The Hoosiers return to the mats Friday against Purdue to close out the regular season on the road.

“Against Purdue, there are a number of matches that are big,” IU coach Duane Goldman said. “Seven of the matches are going to be pretty hotly contested. (In) most of them, they feel like they should win those. I feel like we can hang in there pretty well and hopefully get a victory.”

Like the Hoosiers, the Boilermakers sport a lineup heavy with upperclassmen.

“Purdue has a real mature team,” Goldman said. “This is one of the strongest teams they’ve had in a while.”

— Max McCombs