An upset over top-ranked Iowa wasn’t meant to be for senior Gabe Flores and the rest of the No. 11 Illini wrestlers.

After a 31-6 trouncing of unranked Purdue on Friday, the Illini (13-4, 5-3 Big Ten) won only four of 10 matches Sunday in falling to the Hawkeyes 21-12.

Three of the six Illinois losses against Iowa (21-1, 8-0) were by two points or fewer, including a pair of losses in sudden victory overtimes.

“We had a chance to win three tight matches; we win two out of three of those and we win today,” head coach Mark Johnson said. “Against a team like this you can’t let those slip away. You have to take care of your opportunities and we just didn’t get it done. We wrestled well enough to win but we didn’t get it done.”

Senior Gabe Flores (125 pounds) wrestled his last match at Huff Hall on Sunday in front of a crowd of 2,341 that included Flores’ mother, Patricia.

“Coming out, seeing Huff Hall packed the way it was, with all these people coming out supporting us – it’s something that I’ll never forget,” Flores said. “It’s probably the most emotional thing I’ve ever been through. I went to the locker room and a couple tears came out. It’s emotional, my mom being here, probably one of the greatest days of my life.”

Flores, ranked eighth in the country, lost his match 6-4 in sudden overtime victory to No. 2 Charlie Falck.

The crowd erupted when Flores got an escape in the third period, but Falck then got a takedown on Flores to send the match to overtime. The Hawkeye took Flores down again just 37 seconds into the extra time to secure the win.

After the match, Flores blew kisses into the air as a gesture of appreciation to the crowd.

“(Seeing Gabe wrestle) meant a lot to me because this was my first time seeing his first home match ever, and I know it was very important for him for me to be here also,” Patricia said. “I really wanted him to win today for everybody, not just for me, but for everybody; but I was really, really humbled by everything that he did today. He’s my son and I love him, and I think he’s done awesome for Illinois.”

The senior remained on the sideline to assist and encourage his teammates following his final performance at Huff Hall.

“Being a leader, it doesn’t matter if you win or lose, you have to come out and cheer your guys on,” Flores said.

“Anytime I can be a leader and get these guys going, I do what I can do.”

Sunday’s loss put Flores at 22-9 heading into the Big Ten Championships.

No. 7 Jimmy Kennedy (133) was able to bring Illinois back after Flores’ match, tying the dual at 3-3 with his 8-4 upset over No. 3 Joe Slaton, who defeated Kennedy at Midlands earlier this season.

With the win, Kennedy finishes the season 8-0 in conference play and owns an 11-match win streak after ending Slaton’s perfect Big Ten season.

“(Going undefeated in conference is) good to help seeding and stuff, but it really doesn’t mean anything in the long run,” Kennedy said.

“Big Tens and Nationals are where you have to win the close matches. Hopefully, I can just continue doing what I’m doing.”

The Illini trailed 11-3 after four matches, but the tenacity of No. 2 Mike Poeta (157) and Roger Smith-Bergsrud closed the Illinois deficit to 11-9 after two decision wins.

The run would end there, though, as the Orange and Blue were just able to secure one win in the final four matches.

No. 11 Patrick Bond (197) registered the lone victory with a 7-5 decision in tiebreak time over Chad Beatty.

“I thought (Bond) was the better wrestler, he just needed to prove it a little bit and he finally got going,” Johnson said.

“Bond wrestles, sometimes, to his competition. The better the guy, the better he wrestles. I’m glad he got the win because he’s definitely the better guy.”

After splitting the final duals of the Big Ten season, Illinois wrestling now prepares for the Big Ten Championships in Minneapolis, scheduled for March 8-9.