Second-seeded University of Illinois got a 19-16 win over No. 1 seed Cornell University in the finals of the Cornell Regional Qualifying Tournament for the 2012 Mat Mayhem National Duals at Newman Arena at Ithaca, N.Y. Sunday.
The Fighting Illini become the second team to advance to the Championship Round to be held the weekend of Feb. 20-21 at a location to be determined. The University of Minnesota won the Rutgers Regional Saturday; other Regional Qualifying Tournaments taking place Sunday are being hosted by Iowa State and Oklahoma State.
As the No. 2 seed, Illinois drew a bye in the first round... then, in the semifinals, defeated third-seeded University of Oklahoma, 21-18 to go up against the Big Red at the Cornell Regional finals.
Cornell also drew a bye in Round 1. In the semifinals, the home team easily handled sixth-seeded Purdue University, 29-6, to advance to the finals.
Illinois won six of ten matches, getting bonus points with B.J. Futrell's technical fall at 133 pounds. The Illini were penalized one point when Marty Smith threw his headgear after being pinned at 197. The team's usual 197-pounder, Mario Gonzalez, moved up to heavyweight, where he earned an 8-2 victory over Cornell big man Maciej Jochym.
The Big Red put up bonus points with Mike Nevinger's major decision victory at 141, and Cam Simaz getting the fall at 197.
The outcome of the Cornell Regional finals could be considered an upset. In the most recent team rankings released Feb. 6, the Big Red had been ranked as high as No. 3 in the nation, while Illinois was no higher than seventh.
Finals Results -- Illinois 19, Cornell 16:
- 125: Jesse Delgado (Illinois) dec. Frank Perrelli (Cornell), 8-3
- 133: B.J. Futrell (Illinois) tech fall Nick Arujau (Cornell), 18-3, 6:15
- 141: Mike Nevinger (Cornell) maj. dec. Daryl Thomas (Illinois), 9-0
- 149: Eric Terrazas (Illinois) dec. Chris Villalonga (Cornell), 3-1
- 157: Kyle Dake (Cornell) dec. Jackson Moore (Illinois), 6-4
- 165: Conrad Polz (Illinois) dec. Marshall Peppelman (Cornell), 8-3
- 174: Jordan Blanton (Illinois) dec. Billy George (Cornell), 7-6
- 184: Steve Bosak (Cornell) dec. Tony Dallago (Illinois), 4-0
- 197: Cam Simaz (Cornell) pinned Marty Smith (Illinois), 3:29 (Illinois was penalized 1 team point)
- Hwt: Mario Gonzalez (Illinois) dec. Maciej Jochym (Cornell), 8-2
First-Round Outcomes:
- No. 5 Purdue dec. No. 4 Central Michigan, 27-9
- No. 3 Oklahoma dec. No. 6 American, 35-12
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