Indiana wrestling lost to Illinois 36-3 Sunday at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois.
In an unconventional start to the meet, Indiana junior Kasper McIntosh competed in the 165-pound class. Normally, the 125-pound class matchup starts the meet, and the remaining matches take place in increasing weight-class order. McIntosh was later disqualified in the opening match against No. 31-ranked sophomore Zach Braunagel for notching five stalling calls, giving Illinois an early 6-0 lead. Junior Nick South lost his match to Illinois sophomore DJ Shannon in a 6-4 decision in the 174-pound class.
Indiana junior Sean Grim wrestled in his first match in the 174-pound class since he fell to then No.1-ranked sophomore Carter Starocci of then-No. 2 Penn State on Jan. 9. It was also Grim’s first match in the 184-pound class after moving up from the 174-pound class. Grim filled in for No. 14-ranked Indiana junior DJ Washington who missed his first start of the season for an undisclosed reason. Grim fell to No. 18-ranked Illinois sophomore Zac Braunagel, which gave Illinois a commanding 15-0 lead.
Related: [Indiana women’s tennis wins matches against Yale and Marquette despite weather delays]
In what would be Indiana’s only win of the day, junior Nick Willham defeated Illinois junior Matt Wroblewski by a 3-1 sudden victory in the 197-pound class match. Willham’s victory cut Illinois’ lead to 15-3, but Indiana junior Jacob Bullock followed it up with a 5-4 sudden regular decision loss to No. 16-ranked Illinois sophomore Luke Luffman.
In the 125-pound class matchup, Indiana sophomore Jacob Moran fell to No. 25-ranked Illinois sophomore Justin Cardani in the 125-pound class in a 2-0 sudden victory.
The 133-pound class boasted a top-10 matchup between No. 10-ranked Indiana graduate student Brock Hudkins and No. 6-ranked Illinois freshman Lucas Byrd. Byrd defeated Hudkins by fall in what was Hudkins’ first loss of the season. With Byrd’s victory, Illinois extended its lead to 27-3.
No. 32-ranked Indiana junior Cayden Rooks lost to No. 4-ranked Illinois senior Dylan Duncan in an 8-2 regular decision for the 141-pound class. Rooks’ brother, junior Graham Rooks, also lost to senior Christian Kanzler by a 4-3 decision in the 149-pound match.
In the final match of the night, Indiana sophomore lost to Illinois freshman Joe Roberts in a 3-2 regular decision in the 157-pound match.
Indiana will look to bounce back when it takes on No. 3 Michigan at 7 p.m. Friday. in Wilkinson Hall in Bloomington.
