TDR LIVE Fri 84th Meeting of Illinois and Purdue, Sat Show stars Hinkel & More

Purdue Wrestling Hosts Illinois Friday For Military Appreciation Night

Takedown Wrestling Media will join the Boilermakers for their featured dual of the week LIVE on TheMat.com

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue wrestling team looks to open 2012 with a bang, hosting the University of Illinois this Friday in Holloway Gymnasium in Big Ten Dual action. Scheduled to start at 7 p.m. (ET), Friday will be the Boilermakers’ Military Appreciation Night and will be joined on the bench by honorary captain U.S. Marine Lance Corporal Matt Bowman.

Bowman is a former McCutcheon High School wrestling standout and member of the Boiler Elite Wrestling Club, and the Boilermakers will honor him and the U.S. Armed Forces by wearing camouflage singlets, which will be auctioned off after the dual. All proceeds will be donated to the national Semper Fi Fund, a nonprofit set up to provide immediate financial support for injured and critically ill members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families.

“We’re excited to have one of our local heroes joining us on Friday,” said Purdue head coach Scott Hinkel. “Matt (Bowman) is an inspiration to all of us, and to have him by our side as we compete this weekend is a huge honor. We hope the community comes out to support us and Matt, and to be a part of this special event.”

Takedown Wrestling Media will be on hand as well to support the cause, highlighting Friday’s match with the Fighting Illini as its featured dual of the week. Takedown has covered wrestling for more than 15 years, promoting its athletes and coaches. Coverage of Friday’s meet will be the feature story on episode 144 of the nationally broadcast Takedown Wrestling Television.  Next week fans without cable will be able to watch it at Takedowradio.com or Intermatwrestle.com. Takedown will also air its weekly radio show live from West Lafayette on Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon, speaking with several members of the Purdue wrestling family, including Hinkel and assistant athletics director Calvin Williams.

Friday’s meeting between the Boilermakers and Fighting Illini is the 84^th in series history, dating to the first ever matchup on March 11, 1916. Illinois has had the upper hand in the border battle, leading 52-29-2 all-time, but the Boilermakers have split the last two contests. Purdue ended an 11-match drought in Feb., 2010, winning 25-11 in Champaign, but the Illini avenged the loss last winter, scoring a 26-15 victory on their home turf.

Purdue comes into the match fresh off a solid performance at the 49^th-Annual Midlands Championships, where the Boilermakers were 10^th despite the absence of sixth-ranked 133-pound sophomore Cashé Quiroga, seventh-ranked 149-pound junior Ivan Lopouchanski and unranked starters Kyle Mosier and A.J. Kissel. Freshman Braden Atwood, junior Tommy Churchard and senior Roger Vukobratovich carried the load as Atwood was fourth at 184 pounds, Churchard was sixth at 157 pounds and Vukobratovich was eighth at 285 pounds.

The Fighting Illini were impressive as well at Midlands, taking seventh place on the strength of three third-place finishers. Fifth-ranked freshman Jesse Delgado was third at 125 pounds, No. 5 junior B.J. Futrell was third at 133 pounds and 10^th-ranked junior Jordan Blanton grabbed the bronze at 174 pounds to account for the bulk of the Illinois scoring.

While Friday’s dual should have several outstanding matchups, look for heated bouts at 133 and 149 pounds. Quiroga and Futrell account for two of the country’s best at 133 pounds as Quiroga heads into the new year at 7-1, while Futrell sits 14-3 and rests one spot above Quiroga in the national rankings. Expect fireworks at 149 pounds as well as Lopouchanski looks to avenge a pair of 2011 losses against 14^th-ranked Illini senior Eric Terrazas. Lopouchanski is 7-1 this season, while Terrazas comes to West Lafayette at 14-3.

“Illinois has a tough lineup top to bottom,” said Hinkel. “Every Big Ten Dual is a war, and we don’t expect Friday to be an exception.”

Doors open Friday at 6 p.m., with tickets available at $5 for adults and $2 for students in the Purdue Athletics Ticket Office. Takedown Wrestling is scheduled to start its live show at 6:30 p.m., and can be found athttp://www.takedownradio.com/ or http://themat.com/. Live results will be available via TrackWrestling.com (http://www.trackwrestling.com/dualmeets/DualMeetDetail.jsp?dualMeetId=16473009), and through the @PurdueWrestling Twitter Page (http://www.twitter.com/PurdueWrestling).

Scott Casber
Founder/Host
Takedown Wrestling Radio and TV
USA Wrestling Weekly
515-707-8657