Less than a week after falling to No. 3 Minnesota, things aren't getting any easier for the 11th-ranked Michigan wrestling team. Tonight they battle No. 4 Illinois and are hoping for better results.
"Once again, we expect a tough match, and once again we aren't going to be the favorite going in," Michigan coach Dale Bahr said. "(Illinois is) stacked up and down the lineup."
He's got that right. Eight of Illinois' 10 starters are ranked in the top 12 in their weight class.
"They have got a complete lineup," Bahr said. "Just looking on paper, I can certainly understand why the team is ranked fourth in the nation."
Last year, the Wolverines, then ranked seventeenth, upset then-No. 8 Illinois. An upset this year would give Bahr his 100th Big Ten dual meet victory.
The Wolverines will look to 118-pounder Chris Viola to open the match and set the tone. He will face sixth-ranked Lindsay Durlacher.
"It's my job every week to go out there and set the momentum for the team," Viola said. "(Durlacher) is tough, but I know I can hang with him. I'm going to make sure that we wrestle in my style and as long as I don't conform to anything he does, I can get the win."
Michigan will also look at the 134-pound match as a key to victory. At 134, Corey Grant faces redshirt freshman Tony Siebert, one of Illinois' two unranked starters.
"Corey has the opportunity to get a big win for us at 134," Bahr said. "If we get a win with Viola, and Grant pulls one out too, then we still have our three All-Americans yet to go, and we could be in position to get a win."
Illinois' other unranked starter, freshman Bill Zeman, is at 167 pounds, where he will face Michigan's All-American, Jeff Catrabone. Catrabone will try to get back on track after suffering only his third loss of the season last week to Minnesota.
The toughest match of the meet for the Wolverines will be at 158 pounds. Michigan will send a true freshman, Otto Olson, against second-ranked All-American Ernest Benion.
"Benion is good," Bahr said. "But he can't beat us himself."
With all eyes on the 118-, 134- and 158-pound matches, Bahr revealed the real key to the match for the Wolverines.
"It's the close matches," he said. "That's the key. If we can win the close matches, then we'll have a chance to win the match. If not, then we're in trouble. If want to be in position to win the meet, we can't afford to lose any of the close ones."
Winning the close matches has been a problem for Michigan all season. Against Minnesota, the Wolverines lost two sudden-death overtime matches as well as two matches by two points each.
Michigan's All-American heavyweight, Airron Richardson, also stressed the importance of close matches. Richardson was one of Michigan's overtime losers against Minnesota.
"The Big Ten is so competitive this year, the close matches can always have a big impact of the meet," Richardson said. "We know Illinois is going to be tough, and whoever comes to wrestle will leave with a win. We just have to make sure we're the ones who are ready."