Virginia Wrestling Downs Old Dominion, 32-7

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Jan. 15, 2000

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The University of Virginia wrestling teamwas looking to snap a four-match losing streak in dual match action whenthe Cavaliers hosted the Old Dominion Monarchs in a dual competition atMemorial Gymnasium on Saturday evening. Coming off 27-12 loss to Navyearlier in the afternoon, UVa ran away with a 32-7 decision over ODU.Virginia’s Steve Garland (Middletown, N.Y./Middletown) and John Pozniak(State College, Pa./State College) recorded falls for the ‘Hoos, whileUVa’s Jason Bernd (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial) and Josh Etu(Queensbury, N.Y./Queensbury) earned major decision victories for Virginiain the 32-7 win.

The Cavaliers claimed eight of the ten matches on the nightincluding the first four bouts. UVa’s Dave Takseraas (Seaford,N.Y./Seaford) started the Cavaliers off on the right foot when he posted a5-4 decision over Old Dominion’s Joel Jimenez at 133 lbs. to give UVa a 3-0lead. Virginia’s Bernd gave the Cavaliers a 7-0 edge after recording an11-0 major decision victory over the Monarch’s Charlie Busch at 141. TheCavaliers’ Pozniak kept UVa’s momentum moving forward when he recorded thematch’s first fall at the 2:56 mark in the 149 lbs. class over ODU’s DennisWhitby. Pozniak’s fall extended Virginia’s lead to 13-0. UVa’s DonCarlo-Clauss (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Olympia) gave the Cavaliers a 16-0lead when he earned an 8-5 decision over the Monarch’s Jake Cairns at 157.

Old Dominion recorded its first points of the match in the 165 lbs.class when Jeff Rusak, ranked 15th in the country, edged out Virginia’sBrian Muir (Toms River, N.J./Toms River North) by the score of 3-1 to closeOld Dominion’s deficit to 16-3. However, UVa would post back-to-back winsin the next two bouts at 174 and 184. Virginia’s Steve Mazzola (Cleveland,Ohio/St. Edwards) gathered a 7-5 decision at 174 over the Monarch’s GeorgeStable and the Cavaliers’ Ryan McGrath (Blairstown, N.J./Blair Academy)topped ODU’s Brad Krepps by the score of 8-3 at 184 to make it a 22-3Virginia lead.

Old Dominion came right back to record its second and final win ofthe evening when Chris Harrington posted ODU’s lone major decision victoryof the night with a 12-2 decision over Virginia’s Andy DeMartino (No.Va./Jefferson High School) at 197 to make the score 22-7 in favor of theCavaliers. UVa went on to win the final two matches of the dual. Etuposted a 14-1 major decision victory over Old Dominion’s Leevi MacDonald inthe heavyweight class. Garland, ranked fourth in the country at 125 lbs.,improved his overall record to 14-2 when he recorded a fall over ODU’s ChipReyes with one second remaining in the match at 6:59 in the 125 lbs. classto push Virginia’s final score to 32-7.

With the win, UVa improves its overall record to 2-4 in dualaction, while the loss drops ODU’s mark to 1-3 on the year. Virginia willreturn to action on Friday, January 21st when the Cavaliers travel toBlacksburg, Va. to compete in the Virginia Intercollegiates. Competitionat the meet will continue through Saturday, January 22nd.

Team Results:Old Dominion      7Virginia         32

Individual Results: Team Score Wgt. Results Score (UVa/ODU)133 Dave Takseraas (UVa) def. Joel Jimenez (ODU) 5-4 3-0141 Jason Bernd (UVa) def. Charlie Busch (ODU) MD 11-0 7-0 149 John Pozniak (UVa) def. Dennis Whitby (ODU) Fall @ 2:56 13-0157 Don Carlo-Clauss (UVa) def. Jake Cairns (ODU) 8-5 16-0165 Jeff Rusak (ODU) def. Brian Muir (UVa) 3-1 16-3174 Steve Mazzola (UVa) def. George Sable (ODU) 7-5 19-3 184 Ryan McGrath (UVa) def. Brad Krepps (ODU) 8-3 22-3197 Chris Harrington (ODU) def. Andy DeMartino (UVa) MD 12-2 22-7Hwt Josh Etu (UVa) def. Leevi MacDonald (ODU) MD14-1 26-7125 Steve Garland (UVa) def. Chip Reyes (ODU) Fall @ 6:59 32-7