Rutgers @ Illinois

Rutgers defeated Illinois 16-16 in Champaign on January 24, 2026, with the Scarlet Knights taking the dual on the tiebreak after a tightly contested evening at the University of Illinois. The match was decided by a handful of close decisions and two bonus-point majors that offset each other and left the teams deadlocked on team points.

One of Illinois’ biggest moments came at 157 pounds, where #10 Kannon Webster dominated Tony White, scoring a 13-4 major decision that delivered four team points and pushed the Illini into contention. Illinois also picked up a crucial narrow victory at 184, when #18 Chris Moore edged #15 Shane Cartagena-Walsh 2-1. Moore’s upset decision was a low-scoring, high-impact outcome that supplied three important points for Illinois.

Rutgers answered with a major of its own at 174, when Ryan Ford rolled to a 15-5 major decision over #26 Colin Kelly, also worth four team points. Ford’s bonus win neutralized Webster’s major and proved to be the swing result Rutgers needed. Those two majors, combined with Moore’s upset, produced the critical scoring window that determined how the tie would be resolved.

In the end the meet came down to bonus points and a couple of razor-thin decisions. With the teams tied at 16, Rutgers was awarded the dual victory, while Illinois earned significant wins in the ranked matchups that underscore how close the Big Ten evening was in Champaign.