I really thought Illinois had a puncher's chance in last night's Big Ten dual meet against the Iowa Hawkeyes.  It looked like there were a few matches that could go the Illini's way, in addition to the clear advantage they had with Mike Poeta at 157 lb.  Boy, was I wrong.  The Hawkeyes came out ready to compete last night, and won nine of 10 matches in a 32-4 rout.  Mike Poeta was the lone bright spot, picking up a 15-5 major decision over Iowa's unranked Matt Ballweg. 

The key match of the night came early, at 133 pounds, where a pair of top 5 wrestlers squared off.  The Illini's Jimmy Kennedy had only one loss coming in to last night's dual, that was to Iowa's Daniel Dennis at the Midlands Championships in December.  My gut told me that Kennedy would avenge that loss in last night's dual, but Dennis controlled the tempo thoughout in a 5-0 win.  When the Illini dropped that match, their chances of winning the dual almost disappeared, and Iowa seized the momentum. 

There were some other close matches as well, but those came when the outcome of the dual was no longer in doubt.  Roger Smith-Bergsrud was in a defensive struggle with Iowa's Ryan Morningstar at 165, but came up short in a 3-0 decision.  There was a very similar match at 197, where Iowa's Chad Beatty used a single takedown to top Patrick Bond of Illinois 2-1.  Meanwhile, the two heavyweights were rolling around the mat like a couple of 125 pounders, but the result was the same, as Iowa's Dan Erekson beat Illinois' John Wise 9-8. 

How good is Iowa?  Nine of their ten starters are ranked in the top 20 in the country in their respective weight classes.  Seven of those nine are ranked in the top FIVE.  Compare that to Illinois, a very solid team that has six wrestlers in the top 20 and two in the top five.  Brent Metcalf, who wrestles at 149 pounds for the Hawkeyes, is one of the best college wrestlers I've ever seen.  He simply goes out and dominates his opponents, whether it's an unranked opponent from Illinois (pin), or a top 10 opponent from Wisconsin (pin).  Metcalf is the defending national champion at 149, and it will be a shock to everyone in the sport if he doesn't repeat this year.

One thing I saw on last night's bus ride home from Iowa City that made me feel very good about the future for Illinois.  True freshman Jordan Blanton, who's ranked in the top 15 at 184 pounds, had just been beaten by Iowa's third-ranked Phil Keddy in an 11-4 decision.  He could have simply sat and pouted in the back of the bus through the four-hour ride back to Champaign.  Instead, Blanton had a digital video camera that had been used to tape his match with Keddy.  He took the camera to the front of the bus and sat with assistant coaches Carl Perry and Jeremy Hunter.  The three of them broke down the match, and Perry demonstrated a few counters in the aisle of the bus.  Blanton is eager to learn, and immensely talented.  He may not make All-American status this year (though I wouldn't count him out), but by next year I expect him to be one of the best in the country in his weight class.

The Illini don't have time to hang their heads.  They've got another dual meet this Friday at Purdue.  The Boilermakers look improved from a season ago, and are nationally ranked for the first time in several years.  That dual gets started at 6 pm Friday, and will be televised on the Big Ten Network. 

By the way, Champaign resident Tim Johnson does most of the wrestling play-by-play work for the Big Ten Network and does a very good job.  He and Jim Gibbons make a very good team.  Tim has also been very encouraging and offered advice to this still-learning wrestling broadcaster.  That means a lot coming from someone with his experience and talent. 

bmoline@wdws.com