No. 11 Illinois Wrestling Travel to No. 23 Michigan State and No. 12 Penn State

Unbeaten Illini Hit the Road for Big Ten Duals; Flores and Poeta Look to stay Perfect

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. ? The 11th-ranked Fighting Illini wrestling squad continues Big Ten action this weekend when they travel to East Lansing, Mich., on Friday, Jan. 26, to face off against No. 23 Michigan State. On Sunday, the Illini tangle with No. 12 Penn State in University Park, Pa. Two top-ranked and undefeated grapplers will be fighting to keep their rankings and records intact. Illinois boasts No. 1-ranked Mike Poeta (157, 15-0) while the Spartans hold Nick Simmons (133, 25-0). No. 10 Gabe Flores (125) also holds an undefeated record for Illinois at 16-0.

Illinois heads into Friday's match after a successful 2-0 weekend at Huff Hall. The Illini, who improved their record to 6-0 and 2-0 in the conference, crushed both No. 8 Northwestern (21-13) and No. 13 Indiana (22-9) in dual action and jumped five spots in the polls to 11th. Several members in the top 20 round out the Illini lineup, including No. 9 Jimmy Kennedy (133), No. 12 Cassio Pero (141), No. 10 Troy Tirapelle (149), No. 13 Roger Smith-Bergsrud (165) and No. 15 John Dergo (184).

No. 11 Illinois (6-0, 2-0) @ No. 23 Michigan St. (1-4, 0-0)

Michigan State, who recorded their first dual win against Pittsburgh last weekend, open their Big Ten season at home against the Orange and Blue. Their strong lineup has four grapplers in the top 10 in No. 6 Franklin Gomez (125), No. 1 Nick Simmons (133), No. 5 Andy Simmons and No. 9 Joe Williams (184).

Last season, the Illini posted a 25-15 victory against the Spartans at Huff Hall. Illinois, who has won the last three meetings, lead the series 8-3 against Michigan St. in the Mark Johnson era. Fans can catch the action live starting at 6 p.m. at www.msuwrestling.com .

Matchup to Watch I ?125 pounds: No. 8 Gabe Flores vs. No. 6 Franklin Gomez: Flores will look to keep his perfect season intact against the Spartan redshirt-freshman.

Matchup to Watch II ? 141 pounds: No. 12 Cassio Pero vs. No. 5 Andy Simmons: The Illini senior All-American, who sat out last year's dual with an injury, will have his hands full against the Spartan two-time All-American. Simmons will be looking to get back on track after sitting out most of the season with an injury.