MINNEAPOLIS – No. 7 Minnesota (7-2, 1-0 B1G) opened up its Big Ten schedule with a dominant 27-9 victory at No. 11 Illinois (7-3, 0-1) Saturday inside Huff Hall in Champaign, Ill.
The Golden Gophers took seven of the matches in total, including all five ranked contests. It marked their seventh straight win over the Illini and fourth in a row in Champaign. Overall, Minnesota has won 12 of the last 13 in the series. In addition, head coach Brandon Eggum improved to a perfect 7-0 against Illinois.
The 18-point margin of victory was Minnesota’s largest in the series since a 27-6 home win in 2002 and its biggest in Champaign since a 27-6 triumph in 1968.
Saturday’s dual started at 184 pounds between No. 3 Max McEnelly and No. 33 Chris Moore. McEnelly jumped out to a 6-2 lead after the first period thanks to a pair of takedowns. An escape in the second period plus two stall points in the third gave him the 9-3 decision. McEnelly’s record improves to 10-1 on the year, including six wins in seven matches against ranked opponents.
Illinois tied the match at 3-3 when Dylan Connell topped No. 20 Gavin Nelson in overtime, 4-1. Both wrestlers recorded escapes in regulation, and Connell got the winning takedown with 14 seconds left in sudden victory.
The first bonus-point victory of the dual came at heavyweight with No. 10 Koy Hopke majoring Ryan Boersma, 9-1. The reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week, Hopke dominated throughout. He got a takedown in the first period and escaped in the second to lead 4-0 going to the third. In the final period, Hopke earned a point for stalling then cut Boersma loose late to go for the major. A short-time takedown plus riding time earned Hopke his seventh straight victory and sixth major decision of the season.
Senior Jore Volk made it two bonus-point wins in a row for the Gophers thanks to a 22-6 (6:26) tech fall of CJ Campbell at 125 pounds in what ended up being the deciding matchup. Volk, ranked ninth in the country, led 4-1 through two periods but blew things wide open with six takedowns in the third period. A consistent pattern of Volk taking down Campbell, cutting him loose and taking him down again resulted in Volk’s fourth tech fall win of the year.
Brandon Morvari wrestled next for Minnesota at 133 and used a strong defensive gameplan against top-ranked Lucas Byrd, limiting the result to a 7-1 loss. With only three team points for the Illini, the Gophers led 12-6 at intermission.
The second ranked matchup of the day came at 141 as No. 11 Vance VomBaur took on No. 13 Danny Pucino. Tied at 1-1 lifetime in their meetings, VomBaur won the rubber match with a 6-3 decision. Pucino scored the first takedown but VomBaur escaped and got one of his own to lead 4-3 after one period. A quick escape in the second pushed the lead to 5-3 before VomBaur rode out Pucino for the entire third period, racking up over 3:00 of riding time to go to 12-3 on the season.
The momentum stayed on Minnesota’s side at 149 with No. 26 Drew Roberts knocking off No. 20 Michael Gioffre, 7-6. After a scoreless first period, Gioffre led 4-1 going to the third. Roberts cut the lead to 4-3 off a reversal and pulled ahead 6-5 off a takedown with 1:20 remaining. Gioffre eventually escaped but not before Roberts earned the riding time point. It marked Roberts’ second ranked win of the season, both of which have come over top-20 opponents.
The ranked matchup at 157 pounds came to an end early due to injury default. No. 21 Charlie Millard was leading 4-1 over No. 8 Kannon Webster in the second period when the two saw their heads collide. Webster was unable to continue and the match was called in Millard’s favor at the 3:23 mark, sealing the dual win for Minnesota.
Illinois claimed its final victory when No. 9 Braeden Scoles topped Blaine Brenner at 165, 9-3.
In the final matchup of the dual, No. 22 Ethan Riddle provided the exclamation point for the Gophers with an 11-8, comeback win in overtime over No. 19 Colin Kelly. The match was scoreless through the first period, but Kelly turned Riddle for a reversal and four nearfall points to lead 6-0 going to the third. Riddle fought back, however, with two takedowns, an escape and the riding time point to send the match to overtime at 8-8. With 50 seconds left in sudden victory, Riddle cradled Kelly for the winning takedown. Now 11-4 on the season, the win was Riddle’s sixth over a ranked opponent this year, tying Hopke, McEnelly and Volk for the most on the team.
Minnesota is back in action next week for its Big Ten home opener against No. 6 Nebraska. Match time at Maturi Pavilion is set for 8 p.m. on Big Ten Network.
Match Results
#7 Minnesota 27, #11 Illinois 9
Jan. 10, 2026 | Champaign, Ill. | Huff Hall | Attendance: 464
184: #3 Max McEnelly dec. #33 Chris Moore (ILL), 9-3 | MINN 3, ILL 0
197: Dylan Connell (ILL) dec. #20 Gavin Nelson, 4-1 SV1 | MINN 3, ILL 3
285: #10 Koy Hopke MD Ryan Boersma (ILL), 9-1 | MINN 7, ILL 3
125: #9 Jore Volk TF CJ Campbell (ILL), 22-6 (6:26) | MINN 12, ILL 3
133: #1 Lucas Byrd (ILL) dec. Brandon Morvari, 7-1 | MINN 12, ILL 6
141: #11 Vance VomBaur dec. #13 Danny Pucino (ILL), 6-3 | MINN 15, ILL 6
149: #26 Drew Roberts dec. #20 Michael Gioffre (ILL), 7-6 | MINN 18, ILL 6
157: #21 Charlie Millard inj. def. #8 Kannon Webster (ILL), 3:23 | MINN 24, ILL 6
165: #9 Braeden Scoles (ILL) dec. Blaine Brenner, 9-3 | MINN 24, ILL 9
174: #22 Ethan Riddle dec. #19 Colin Kelly (ILL), 11-8 SV1 | MINN 27, ILL 9
