We are good. Wait, Jimmy Kennedy graduated? Crap.
Illinois continues to be a team that has enough good wrestlers to stay in a dual, but not enough of a caliber that can make them a threat in tournaments. If their 2010 recruiting (#7, #25) is any sign of things to come, they will continue to be that type of team. Without one or two monster recruiting classes, Illinois will be a squad that has had enough wrestlers come through to make them a national champ, just not all quite at the same time.
2011 Summary
The Fighting Illini qualified five grapplers for the NCAA tournament and produced two All Americans.
Name: B.J. Futrell (133)
Record: 27 - 10
Status: Junior
Big Ten place: 4th
NCAA place: All American 8th
Notable win(s): Tony Ramos (9-6)
Season ended when: Dropped into wrestleback with loss to Andrew Hochstrasser (Boise St, 2-10), won a match into All American, lost to Scotti Sentes (CM, 0-4) then lost the 7th/8th place match to Lou Ruggirello (Hofstra, 6-9)
Vs. PSU: Lost twice to Long 6-9 and 2-7
Name: Jimmy Kennedy (141)
Record: 23 - 4
Status: Graduated
Big Ten place: 3rd
NCAA place: 5th
Notable win(s): none
Season ended when: Lost to Montell Marion (Iowa, 7-8) early, won wrestlebacks until pinned by Michael Thorn (Minn), then beat Todd Schavrien (Missouri, 11-1) for 5th
Vs. PSU: Beat Alton twice 5-3 and 6-2
Name: Eric Terrazas (149)
Record: 26 - 11
Status: Senior
Big Ten place: 5th
NCAA place: Round of 16
Notable win(s): none
Season ended when: Put into wrestleback by Jamal Parks (OSU, 1-3), won one match then was eliminated by Torsten Gillespie (Edinboro, 3-6)
Vs. PSU: Lost to Molinaro twice 0-5 and 0-4
Name: Jackson Morse (157)
Record: 22 - 13
Status: Sophomore
Big Ten place: 7th
NCAA place: Round of 32
Notable win(s): none
Season ended when: Lost his first two bouts to Bryce Saddoris (Navy, 4-13) and Corey Mock (NC, 10-12)
Vs. PSU: Lost to Taylor 10-26
Name: Tony Dallago (184)
Record: 16 - 17
Status: Sophomore
Big Ten place: 6th
NCAA place: Round of 32
Notable win(s): Quentin Wright (PSU, 8-7)
Season ended when: Two straight losses to start the tournament to Chris Perry (OSU, 5-11) and Matt Ryan (West Virginia, 1-10)
Vs. PSU: Split matches with Wright 8-7 and 5-8
Jimmy Kennedy suffered an injury part way through the season but was still able to come back and finish an impressive season in the deepest weight class in the Big Ten and quite possibly the nation. Still he was undoubtedly the leader of the squad and having graduated they will need to look to someone else to step up and rally the Fighting Illini. I don't see any of these guys being that person. Futrell still has two years but his performance was inconsistent. This will be interesting to watch going forward.
Record: 22 - 13
Status: Sophomore
Big Ten place: 7th
NCAA place: Round of 32
Notable win(s): none
Season ended when: Lost his first two bouts to Bryce Saddoris (Navy, 4-13) and Corey Mock (NC, 10-12)
Vs. PSU: Lost to Taylor 10-26
Record: 16 - 17
Status: Sophomore
Big Ten place: 6th
NCAA place: Round of 32
Notable win(s): Quentin Wright (PSU, 8-7)
Season ended when: Two straight losses to start the tournament to Chris Perry (OSU, 5-11) and Matt Ryan (West Virginia, 1-10)
Vs. PSU: Split matches with Wright 8-7 and 5-8
Jimmy Kennedy suffered an injury part way through the season but was still able to come back and finish an impressive season in the deepest weight class in the Big Ten and quite possibly the nation. Still he was undoubtedly the leader of the squad and having graduated they will need to look to someone else to step up and rally the Fighting Illini. I don't see any of these guys being that person. Futrell still has two years but his performance was inconsistent. This will be interesting to watch going forward.
2011 Team Stats
Dual Record: 6 - 5 - 1 (3 - 4 - 1 in Big Ten)
Big Ten Championship: 6th
NCAA Championship: 22nd
Midlands: 10th
Individual Record: 227 - 179
Pins: 32
Tech. Falls: 13
Major Decisions: 46
Vs. PSU: Loss 13 - 23
Recruiting
The 2011 Fighting Illini class had #78 Caleb Ervin and #94 Chris Lopez so hopefully they didn't need much, because for a Big Ten school that is a bad recruiting class. Of note though is that the #11 Intermat recruit, Nikko Reyes, has verbally committed to the 2012 class. Reyes, from CA, has a current record of 155-14 with a 3rd place finish and a state championship. He also has NHSCA Junior Nationals Folkstyle champion.
2012 Outlook
Expect big things from this 2012 Fighting Illini squad...if big things for you aren't very big. Futrell will likely be the only grappler with a real shot of achieving All American unless some very talented freshman come out of the wings. They likely won't move far in either direction from their 6th place Big Ten finish in 2011.
The only potentially challenging non-conference duals on the 2011 schedule were Missouri and West Virginia. Overall it was a short and weak schedule. The 2012 schedule has not been released yet but hopefully it includes more events of a high caliber, otherwise Illinois isn't doing themselves any favors.
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