2016 Illini of the Year: Isaiah Martinez
May 8, 2016
Entering his sophomore campaign, Illinois wrestler Isaiah Martinez was one-fourth of the way done with the goal he set coming into college: go undefeated and win four national championships. But on Jan. 23, one part of Martinez’s could no longer be accomplished. The date marked the soon-to-be tw...
Martinez and Richards seek glory at National Championships
By Alex Wallner
March 15, 2016
Tweet: [email protected] and [email protected] look to add final touches to impressive seasons.Six Illini will represent the wrestling team at the NCAA Championships Thursday in New York City, with four of the six wrestlers earning seeds.Of all the storylines going into this weekend, two that emerge ...
Illini of the Week March 10: Isaiah Martinez
By Alex Wallner
March 9, 2016
Editor’s note: The Daily Illini sports desk sits down each week and decides which Illinois athlete or coach is our Illini of the Week. Athletes and coaches are evaluated by individual performance and contribution to team success.On Jan. 23, Illinois wrestler Isaiah Martinez entered his match again...
Martinez defeats Nolf to win second straight Big Ten title
By Alex Wallner
March 6, 2016
On January 23, then-No. 1 Isaiah Martinez went into a 157-pound bout against then-No. 3 Jason Nolf of Penn State with a 54-match winning streak on the line.Four minutes, 55 seconds later, that streak was snapped by a Nolf pin of Martinez.Fast forward to Sunday and the two grapplers were facing ea...
Isaiah Martinez looks for second straight Big Ten title on Sunday
By Alex Wallner
March 6, 2016
Tweet: #TheRematch between No. 2 Martinez and No. 1 Jason Nolf is hereThere were 23,684 fans in attendance the first day of the Big Ten Wrestling Championships in Iowa City, Iowa, on Saturday.The host Iowa Hawkeyes sit in second place in the standings with 106 team points, six ahead of defending c...
Illini grapplers open up Big Ten Championships on Saturday
By Alex Wallner
March 5, 2016
Brackets were released on Friday for the Big Ten Wrestling Championships and six Illini are seeded in the top seven in their respective weight classes.The six Illini seeded in the top seven are Zane Richards, Isaiah Martinez, Steven Rodrigues, Zac Brunson, Jeff Koepke and Brooks Black.Illinois c...
Big Ten Championships loom for Illini wrestling
By Alex Wallner
March 2, 2016
The Big Ten Wrestling Championships begin Saturday, and Illinois is going into Iowa City, looking to capture its first title in 11 years.The Illini finished the regular season with a 4-5 conference record, good for eighth place in the Big Ten.The last time the Big Ten Championship took place in Iowa City was i...
Illini wrestling look to postseason after Minnesota win
By Alex Wallner
February 16, 2016
Tweet: [email protected] look forward to postseason after Minnesota win.Senior Jeff Koepke improved to 18-5 on the season after Friday night’s victory in Illinois' match against No. 18 Minnesota at Huff Hall, a team Illinois had not beat since the 2007-08 season. agKoepke defeated Chris Pfarr o...
Senior Jeff Koepke wins Minnesota dual for Illini wrestling
By Alex Wallner
February 13, 2016
The Illinois wrestling team was tied at 16 with Minnesota going into the final match of the evening — senior Jeff Koepke's last bout at Huff Hall.Koepke started off the scoring with two takedowns in the first period to make it 4-2 after the first frame.Heading into the final ...
Illini wrestling hosts Minnesota on senior night
By Alex Wallner
February 10, 2016
Friday marks the Illinois wrestling team’s final dual meet of the season. Illinois will take on No. 18 Minnesota at Huff Hall.Minnesota (9-7, 5-3) is coming off back-to-back road wins, winning four out of the last five, with its lone defeat in the last five competitions coming on the road against Iowa....
Illini wrestling use strong finish to beat Northwestern
By Alex Wallner
February 9, 2016
Tweet: [email protected] dominates down the stretch to pick up 12th win.The Illini escaped Sunday with a 25-24 victory over the Northwestern Wildcats at Huff Hall. Illinois won five out of the last six matches after losing the first four to start the afternoon.Garrison White, Dominick Malone, Jameson...
