With two open tournaments in the Illini wrestlers’ rear-view mirror, the team will compete at Huff Hall for the first time this season in a three-team match with team scoring.

The 16th-ranked Illini will face two Division II opponents, the Findlay Oilers and the Central Missouri Mules, Saturday at noon.

“Each guy has to take care of business,” head coach Mark Johnson said. “There’s good kids at every division. You don’t let that off your mind.”

The Illini are coming off a trip to the University of Northern Iowa for the UNI Open, where three Illini – junior Gabe Flores (125), senior Cassio Pero (141) and freshman John Dergo (185) – each won titles.

Flores and sophomore Mike Poeta (157) enter Saturday’s meet undefeated this season after scoring victories at the Missouri Open.

Ranked first in the nation by RevWrestling.com in the 157-pound weight class, Poeta said the plan is to remain perfect all season. But he pointed out that the win at the Missouri Open does not mean he wrestled perfectly.

Flores said that despite competing against Division II opponents, his preparation and mental outlook will not change because, he said, he cannot afford to underestimate any opponent.

“I want to go out there and try and pin my guy. I want my matches over as quickly as possible,” Flores said.

Last season the Oilers finished tied for 9th and the Mules 15th in the Division II National Championships. The Oilers were ranked 17th in the Wrestling Coaches Association preseason top 20. They have two wrestlers, senior Andy Uhl (133) and junior Tony Guerra (157), ranked in the top eight of their respective weight classes. In Kenosha, Wis., last week, Uhl and freshman Sean Dong (141) both won titles in their respective weight classes at the Wisconsin Open.

The unranked Mules return two prominent wrestlers from last year’s squad: junior Jesse Sheets (174) and junior Adam Tiben Jr. (157). The Mules had five wrestlers, including Sheets and Tiben Jr., place last week at Simpson College Invitational. The Illini defeated the Mules 51-0 in their last meeting in 2004.

Johnson said he expects Flores, Pero (141), Troy Tirapelle (149), Poeta, Roger Smith-Bergsrud (165) and Ben Zulauf (197) to wrestle Saturday. But he said he does not expect undefeated freshman John Dergo (184) to compete. He said the final decision of whether or not to have Dergo red shirt has not been made.

Johnson said the rest of the lineup will have multiple Illini wrestlers compete in the 174-pound, 184-pound and heavyweight classes.

Admission Saturday is $5 for the public, $2 for those 18 and under and free for students with their student ID card.

“Huff is a great place to wrestle,” Flores said. “It’s going to be exciting. I hope good things happen.”