Illini feels at home on mat

   CHAMPAIGN  The matches usually started in the hallway.

   Lindsey Durlacher and his older brothers would crash into the walls before their parents came up with the solution: Basement.

   Mom and dad set up a wrestling mat away from the lamps and vases. The Battling Durlachers had a home field.

   "There was just constant wrestling in my household," said Durlacher, a University of Illinois senior.

   And what got broken?

   "A bunch of things," Durlacher said. "My head mostly."

   Durlacher''s older brother, Dave, dominated him in those family matches. So Lindsey did the smart thing: he found other people to fight.

   Durlacher isn''t sure about the name of his first wrestling victim, but thinks it might have been Jamie. He remembers the other details vividly.

   "My first match I ever wrestled, I pinned the guy," Durlacher said.

   It was at the Little Reaper Invitational in Plano. Durlacher, a third-grader at the time, wrestled in the 45-and-under weight class.

   "I was pretty much a natural in this sport," Durlacher said.

   Once he discovered wrestling, Durlacher couldn''t get enough of it. Each Sunday, Durlacher and his dad would go to youth meets.

   Durlacher found a way to enjoy a sport that looks more grueling than fun. It helped that many early opponents went the way of Jamie.

   "Wrestling''s a rough sport," Durlacher said. "You don''t have a teammate to help you. But winning''s got its rewards. When you go out there and you get physical with your opponent, and you''re able to beat a person in a sport like this, it really makes you happy."

   Durlacher wore a constant smile during his high school career. He finished 77-0-1, winning state titles in both Illinois and Wisconsin. He spent his junior year at Wayland Academy in Wisconsin before returning to Buffalo Grove High School for his senior season.

   "When there''s competition,when there''s people watching, he''s a lot better," UI coach Mark Johnson said.

   That''s why Johnson wanted him in his program.

   And Durlacher wanted to be an Illini. First, he had to convince his brother, Dave, that it would be OK.

   Dave Durlacher wrestled at Illinois, earning letters in 1988 and ''89. But the team, then coached by Ron Clinton, wasn''t close to the national power that it is now. The Illini finished last in the Big Ten three consecutive seasons during Clinton''s term.

   "My brother was here on a terrible team," Lindsey Durlacher said. "He would tell me not to come to school here, not to wrestle here, because of the (former) coaching staff. He saw how the coach was. He said ''The coach doesn''t show up for practice sometimes.'' "

   Johnson''s hiring in ''92 gave Durlacher clearance from his brother.

   "When these new coaches came here, I was like ''Oh great, I am going here. Yes!'' " Durlacher said.

   But it wasn''t great early in Durlacher''s UI career. The 118-pounder was actually too small for his weight class. It showed during meets.

   "I was getting beat up by pretty much everyone in the Big Ten," Durlacher said.

   Durlacher''s freshman record of 8-22 didn''t inspire much confidence.

   "We recruited another kid from Iowa at the time to come in the following year," Johnson said. "I kind of half expected the kid as a true freshman would beat out Lindsey, even though Lindsey was a returning NCAA qualifier. Lindsey just kept getting better and better. I just think he''s got an oversized heart."

   In an undersized body. The 5-foot-3 Durlacher is the LBMOC  Little Big Man On Campus. His teammates don''t let Durlacher forget his size.

   "They like to joke around with me," Durlacher said.

   Durlacher''s also reminded of his size while on dates. Members of the women''s basketball team, all taller than Durlacher, are pretty much out of his reach.

   "I have rarely dated a girl that''s taller than me," Durlacher said. "And when I do, I''m real happy. It''s kind of like a moral victory for me."

   Dating taller women isn''t high on Durlacher''s list of goals. He''s got more important thoughts on his mind, like a national championship.

   "I feel like if I can just work hard and push myself for a couple more months, it is realistic," he said.

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