No. 6 Illinois to face No. 19 Wisconsin and No. 11 Michigan State at home this weekend.

by Erin Quinn
Daily Illini sports reporter

After dominating meets by margins of at least 15 points all season, the Illini will face a team that matches up with their strengths almost evenly this weekend.

The No. 6-ranked Illinois wrestling team will return to Huff Hall for two dual meets, Friday night against No. 19 Wisconsin (9-2, 2-1) and Sunday afternoon against No. 11 Michigan State (6-2-1, 2-1-1).

“I think Michigan State will be the strongest team that we’ve faced all year in that we match up very evenly with them,” said head coach Mark Johnson. “Wisconsin is a good team and they have some outstanding individuals that will be very tough for us to beat.”

The Illini have not found it tough to win any of their 10 dual meets thus far this season.

Junior 125-pound Ryan Escobar said the fact that the Illini have been able to dominate meets pushes their team to do better every weekend.

“I think it helps us because we know that we are going to go out there and wrestle tough every single time,” Escobar said. “If one guy loses, we have another guy right behind him that will maybe pick up the extra points he lost. It helps going out there with the mentality that we know we can win.”

The Illini said they feel they have an advantage because they will be wrestling in front of the home crowd.

“I think the home crowd helps a lot, said sophomore 133-pound Dave Stoltz. “Once we win a match, we seem to get on a roll. With the crowd behind us, that’s just extra motivation.”

The Illini will wrestle both meets at Huff Hall Friday and Sunday at 7 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.

“I think the guys are very confident right now and that’s half the battle this time of year,” Johnson said.