Capturing six of the ten matches, the No. 9 Illinois wrestling team defeated visiting No. 16 Northwestern on Friday night.

After Northwestern jumped out to an early 9-4 lead, three straight Illini registered wins to give the Illini a 14-9 lead. Mike Poeta (157 pounds), Roger Smith-Bergsrud (165) and John Dergo (174) defeated their Wildcat counterparts to give the Illini a lead that it would hold on to for the duration of the meet.

The most anticipated matchup of the night failed to take place, with Northwestern’s Jake Herbert notching a major decision over Illinois’ Ben Friedl at 184 pounds. Herbert was slated to face off against Illinois freshman Jordan Blanton, but Blanton instead wrestled up at 197, where he defeated Northwestern’s John Schoen, 11-4. Blanton took the spot of junior Patrick Bond, who was a late scratch from the lineup due to an illness.

The Illini will be off until Sunday, when they travel to Madison, Wisc. to take on the No. 17 Wisconsin Badgers.