NU Unable to Handle No. 3 Illinois

Sunday, February 1

Evanston, Ill.

2 p.m.

Northwestern

Illinois*

2/1/2004 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling

Feb. 1, 2004

Northwestern-Illinois Results
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EVANSTON, Ill.--Northwestern's wrestling team was simply overpowered by No. 3 Illinois Sunday at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

With a 14-match winning streak coming into today, the Fighting Illini continued their momentum in beating the Wildcats 32-7. The former improves to 10-0 (4-0 Big Ten), while the latter falls to 9-5 (0-4).

"We wrestled well in two matches," said head coach Tim Cysewski. "But we did not perform well otherwise. We just could not respond to what Illinois brought."

Illinois began the afternoon by winning the first five bouts and storming to a 19-0 lead. Nick Hayes (Council Bluffs, Iowa/Lewis Central) stopped the drought and put NU on the board with his 2-0 decision over No. 20 Donny Reynolds at 165 lbs. The freshman continues to lead the team with his 4-0 conference record (10-3 overall).

"(The win) was all mental for me," said Hayes. "(Reynolds' ranking) does not mean much, because on any given day, I can be the best. I have worked hard all year mentally and physically, and things are falling into place for me."

Matt Delguyd (Mayfield Heights, Ohio, Mayfield) earned the only other victory for the 'Cats, reeling off a 10-1 major decision over Matt Weight at 197 lbs. Michael Little (El Reno, Okla./El Reno) ended the match with his 7-3 loss to No. 9 Mike Behnke at heavyweight.

The Wildcats hit the road this weekend, taking on Penn State at 5 p.m. Friday in University Park, Pa., and Ohio State at 1 p.m. Sunday in Columbus, Ohio.