Wrestling Takes Two of Three at Northeast Duals

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. The Virginia wrestling team continued its successful month of November by winning two of its three dual meets Saturday at the Journeyman/Brute Northeast Duals in Troy, N.Y. The Cavaliers opened with a 23-12 win over Lehigh before thumping Clarion, 30-10, in their second dual. In the finale, Virginia (7-1) dropped a 25-10 decision to fifth-ranked Michigan.

With their seven dual-meet wins this year, the Cavaliers already have matched their dual-meet win total of 2006-07 when the team went 7-10.

“We had another solid step in the right direction for the program,” Virginia head coach Steve Garland said. “Any time you can beat a team like Lehigh with a legendary coach like Greg Strobel and over 100 All-Americans in their history, it is huge. We are really starting to make a name for ourselves and there were a lot of people in the gym talking about the University of Virginia. I was really happy with the way our guys wrestled. The amazing thing was 50 percent of our lineup was freshmen. I’m excited to think about the possibilities that lie ahead in the future.”

Rocco Caponi (Jr., Uniontown, Ohio) earned three wins on the day to up his record to 11-0 this year. Ranked ninth in the nation, Caponi downed No. 12 David Craig of Lehigh, pinned Clarion’s Scott Joseph and earned a major decision over Michigan’s Jordan Sherrod.

Eric Albright (Jr., York, Pa.), also ranked ninth nationally, also had a great day with three wins. He earned decisions over Lehigh’s Kevin Vinh (3-2) and Michigan’s Chris Diehl (8-3) and pinned Clarion’s Tony Lascari.

Ross Gitomer (So., Flemington, N.J.) also won each of his two matches at 125 pounds.

In the opener against Lehigh, Virginia captured six of 10 matches as the Wahoos posted their first-ever win over the Mountain Hawks. Each of Virginia’s four losses in the dual was decided by two points or fewer.

The Cavaliers followed up the Lehigh dual with a strong showing against Clarion, earning wins in seven of the 10 weight classes and highlighted by falls from Albright, Caponi and Brent Jones (Burke, Va.), who pinned Nick Sipes at 197.

In the finale, Virginia ran into a tough Wolverine team which boasted three ranked wrestlers in its lineup. Gitomer, Albright and Caponi all notched wins for the Cavaliers.

Virginia moves to open competition Dec. 2, traveling to Penn State’s Nittany Lion Open in State College, Pa.

Virginia 23, Lehigh 12
Wt. Result Score/Time
125 Ross Gitomer (Virginia) wins via tech fall Mitch Berger (Lehigh) 22-7
133 No. 9 Eric Albright (Virginia) dec. Kevin Vinh (Lehigh) 3-2
141 Nick Nelson (Virginia) dec. Jeff Santo (Lehigh) 6-2
149 Trevor Chinn (Lehigh) dec. Shawn Harris (Virginia) 3-1 (OT)
157 David Nakasone (Lehigh) dec. Dan Gonsor (Virginia) 2-0
165 Michael Chaires (Virginia) dec. Mike Galante (Lehigh) 2-0
174 Alex Caruso (Lehigh) dec. Chris Henrich (Virginia) 2-1
184 No. 9 Rocco Caponi (Virginia) dec. No. 12 David Craig (Lehigh) 2-1
197 Brent Jones (Virginia) wins via fall Alex Iacocca (Lehigh) 2:16
HWT Justin Allen (Lehigh) dec. Jack Danilkowicz (Virginia) 2-1

Virginia 30, Clarion 10
Wt. Result Score/Time
125 Jay Ivanco (Clarion) dec. Anthony Burke (Virginia) 6-2
133 No. 9 Eric Albright (Virginia) wins via fall Tony Lascari (Clarion) 4:27
141 Kellon Balum (Virginia) dec. Sal Lascari (Clarion) 10-3
149 Hadley Harrison (Clarion) dec. Shawn Harris (Virginia) 4-3
157 Travis Uncapher (Clarion) major dec. Drew DiPasquale (Virginia) 14-3
165 Mike Sewell (Virginia) dec. David Cox (Clarion) 7-6
174 Chris Henrich (Virginia) dec. Mario Morelli (Clarion) 11-4
184 No. 9 Rocco Caponi (Virginia) wins via fall Scott Joseph (Clarion) 1:24
197 Brent Jones (Virginia) wins via fall Nick Sipes (Clarion) 1:41
HWT Calvin Cardillo (Virginia) dec. Roman Husam (Clarion) 4-2

No. 5 Michigan 25, Virginia 10
Wt. Result Score/Time
125 Ross Gitomer (Virginia) dec. Mike Watts (Michigan) 3-2
133 No. 9 Eric Albright (Virginia) dec. Chris Diehl (Michigan) 8-3
141 Kellen Russell (Michigan) dec. Nick Nelson (Virginia) 3-2 (OT)
149 No. 2 Josh Churella (Michigan) major dec. Pat Riley (Virginia) 13-4
157 No. 17 Jeff Marsh (Michigan) dec. Dan Gonsor (Virginia) 6-0
165 No. 2 Eric Tannenbaum (Michigan) dec. Michael Chaires (Virginia) 4-0
174 No. 4 Steve Luke (Michigan) dec. Chris Henrich (Virginia) 8-4
184 No. 9 Rocco Caponi (Virginia) major dec. Jordan Sherrod (Michigan) 9-1
197 Anthony Biondo (Michigan) wins via fall Brent Jones (Virginia) 4:14
HWT Edward Phillips (Michigan) dec. Calvin Cardillo (Virginia) 4-0