No. 12 Illinois (1-0) opened its season on a strong note, defeating Rider (0-1) 24-12 Saturday night.
To kickstart the dual, 285-pound graduate student Luke Luffman claimed a 4-0 shutout victory over 197-pound senior Steyn De Lange, pushing Illinois to an early lead. However, Rider soon tied things back up at 3-3, as 125-pound graduate student Tyler Klinsky defeated graduate student Spencer Moore, 6-3.
From the beginning, last year’s 133-pound NCAA and Big Ten champion, 133-pound Illinois graduate student Lucas Byrd, controlled the pace against his opponent, fellow 125-pound graduate student Will Betancourt.
After a successful attempt at the edge of the ring in the first period, Byrd rode out Betancourt the entire two minutes of the second and stalled for the third while securing riding time. This allowed him to claim a 3-0 victory and put Illinois ahead of Rider once and for all.
While Illinois’ 141-pound redshirt senior Danny Pucino took a 5-1 decision win, 141-pound Rider redshirt sophomore Dylan Layton pinned fellow 141-pound redshirt sophomore Will Baysingar 4-3.
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However, instead of the match being tied at nine, the referees took a team point from the Broncs for the coaching staff infringing on the mat.
The longest match of the night was for the 165-pound weight class, which ended 23-8 in favor of the Illini. 165-pound Redshirt sophomore Braeden Scoles won by technical fall against 165-pound junior Brendon Abdon.
While Abdon secured an initial takedown, Scoles tied the score through a reversal and escape. Abdon made multiple escapes towards the end of the matchup, but Scoles secured several takedowns, widening his lead.
In the first match of his college career, 174-pound redshirt freshman Colin Kelly claimed a 4-2 victory. In total, Illinois won seven of the 10 bouts in the dual.
This weekend, the Illini head to Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the National Duals Invitational.
