Northwestern University Athletics
No. 18 Northwestern Travels to No. 3 Illinois
2/15/2005 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Feb. 15, 2005
EVANSTON, Ill. - Wrestling bragging rights in the state of Illinois will be up for grabs this Thursday when 18th-ranked Northwestern travels to third-ranked Illinois for a 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 17 match.
The Wildcats (9-4, 2-4 Big Ten) are coming off a tough 24-13 loss to 14th-ranked Penn State last Saturday, while the Fighting Illini (14-1-1, 5-0-1) most recently swept 18th-ranked Indiana, 37-0.
Northwestern is 29-37-2 all-time against Illinois.
The 68th installment of the intra-state rivalry will feature a number of battles between nationally-ranked wrestlers.
Most notably, the 174-lb. weight class poses a dynamite rematch between freshman Jake Herbert (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) and the Illini's Pete Friedl.
Herbert -- ranked third in the nation -- and Friedl -- ranked fourth -- already met once this year at the Midlands Championships back in late-December. There, Herbert upset Friedl in the quarterfinals, 5-2. Herbert was seeded seventh, while Friedl was second.
Herbert went on to become Northwestern's first Midlands Champion since 1972, while Friedl has rebounded nicely by posting an Illinois-best 28-3 record. Herbert is 22-0 this year.
Coming into Thursday's match, the Illini have nine top-20 wrestlers -- one in every weight class but heavyweight. Northwestern boasts a roster with six ranked wrestlers.
At 197 lbs., junior Matt Delguyd (Mayfield Heights, Ohio) will face off against Tyrone Byrd. Delguyd holds a Northwestern best 24-3 mark and most recently upset 13th-ranked Phil Davis of Penn State. Delguyd has since moved up to 13th, while Byrd ranks 16th.
Junior John Velez (Kings Mills, Ohio/Kings) is 11th at 125 lbs. and will battle Kyle Ott -- ranked second.
Freshman Ryan Lang (North Royalton, Ohio/St. Edwards) is 10th at 141 lbs. Along with Herbert, Lang leads the `Cats in pins with six this year. Lang will compete against Cassio Pero -- ranked 18th.
Freshman Mike Tamillow (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick) -- ranked 18th -- will have his hands full against fourth-ranked Brian Glynn at 184 lbs. But after upsetting fifth-ranked Paul Bradley of Iowa earlier this year, Tamillow has proven he's capable of anything.
Northwestern's third freshman to earn a top-20 ranking is Dustin Fox (Galion, Ohio/Galion). Fox is the 13th-ranked heavyweight and has won three of his last four matches.
The Illini have six wins against top-25 teams this year, with their only loss of the season coming on Jan. 23 when they barely fell to top-ranked Oklahoma State, 22-15.
The `Cats will close their Big Ten dual schedule at home Sunday, Feb. 20 against Wisconsin. Northwestern will then move on to the Big Ten Championships March 5-6, hosted by Iowa.
