Illinois head wrestling coach Mark Johnson has high expectations for the 2003-2004 year. His Illini were recently ranked No. 2 by Intermat.

In addition to returning six NCAA qualifiers from last year, the Illini return with All-American and NCAA finalist Alex Tirapelle.

"I was pretty happy with it," junior co-captain Brian Glynn said. "It will be good for our confidence."

The Illini have also been ranked No. 5 by the Wrestling Mall Poll.

"Being ranked that high is a good thing and a bad thing," Johnson said. "It puts pressure on us but at the same time it is great that we are respected and it will help with recruiting."

Youth reigns supreme on this year's squad. Many of the main contributors will be freshmen and sophomores. The team is incredibly deep and contains a possible NCAA qualifier in all 10 major weight classes.

"We're solid across the board this year," Johnson said.

The most notable is Tirapelle, a sophomore who is looking to repeat his success of last year in the 157-pound weight class. As a heavy underdog, he steam rolled through the NCAA championships, beating three ranked opponents en route to becoming the first freshman in school history to make the finals.

"We knew he was capable of beating anybody last year, and when he's on he can give people fits," Johnson said.

Intermat has ranked the All-American No. 2 in his weight class in their preseason rankings, behind Michigan's Ryan Bertin.

Glynn is rated No. 3 in the 184-lb. weight class. He has added ten extra pounds after competing at 174-lb. last year. The junior feels that the shift in weight classes will make him a better wrestler.

"I'm going to be quicker this year and I'm also going to be able to use my strength better," Glynn said.

He knows that being highly-ranked as an individual has a certain way of firing up opponents.

"Any time you are ranked in the top 5, people will try to knock you down," Glynn said.

Another person to watch is red shirt freshman Michael Martin, who is the Illini's first recruit to win four state titles in high school. He will be competing at 141-lb. this year.

Since Johnson took over the team 12 years ago, they have continued to improve and recruiting has benefited immensely.

"We're getting better recruits here every year," sophomore Pete Friedl said.

Johnson feels that the Illini are on the verge of becoming one of the top tier teams in the country.

"There is no reason we can't break through the door of the upper echelon this year," Johnson said.

The Illini have an intersquad meet at Huff Hall on Nov. 8. The season officially begins with a dual meet Nov. 23 at Missouri.

According to Friedl, the goal for the season seems to be pretty clear.

"You go out there with the intention of beating them as badly and as quickly as possible," Friedl said.