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No. 18 Wrestling Tops Penn, 28-9
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The 18th-ranked Virginia wrestling team pushed its record to 12-3 with a 28-9 triumph at Pennsylvania on Sunday afternoon at The Palestra in Philadelphia. Virginia won seven of the 10 weight classes to roll to the road win.
With 12 wins this season, Virginia already has topped its 2008-09 dual-match win total (11) and tied for the second-most dual wins in school history. The 1975 and 2003 teams also claimed 12 wins. The single-season school record for dual wins is 18, set in 2007-08.
UVa started strong when Ross Gitomer (Sr., Flemington, N.J.) pulled out a 6-5 decision over Penn’s Mark Rappo at 125 pounds. After the Quakers’ Bryan Ortenzio won by decision over UVa’s Matt Cubillos (Fr., Schenectady, N.Y.) at 133, Derek Valenti (So., Newton, N.J.) got UVa back on the scoreboard with an 8-2 win over Zack Kemmerer at 141 pounds.
The Cavaliers got their first bonus points of the day at 149 when Kellon Balum (Sr., Herndon, Pa.) pinned Troy Hernandez in 4:43. Balum pushed his record to 17-7 and recorded his fifth fall of the season.
UVa picked up six more points at 157 when No. 17 Danny Gonsor (R-So., Cleveland, Ohio) won by forfeit, giving the Cavaliers a 18-3. Gonsor is now 14-5 this season.
Penn (4-3) picked up its second win of the day at 165, where Tim Timothy won 5-4 over Beau Fisher (Sr., Grove City, Pa.). The Cavaliers got those points back at 174 pounds when fourth-ranked Chris Henrich (Jr., Lansdale, Pa.) notched an 8-6 sudden-victory decision over Scott Giffin, a two-time NCAA qualifier. Henrich upped his record to 21-2 this year.
Mike Salopek (R-Fr., North Huntingdon, Pa.) ran his record to 21-7 with an 11-3 major decision over Harrison Cook at 184 pounds, pushing the UVa lead to 25-6. Penn’s Micah Burak earned a 7-1 decision over No. 17 Brent Jones (Sr., Burke, Va.) for the Quakers’ final win of the day.
The Cavaliers scored a win at heavyweight when Jack Danilkowicz (Sr., Green Oaks, Ill.) scored a takedown as time expired in the third period for a 4-3 win over Tyler Blakely. The victory was Danilkowicz’s sixth in his last seven bouts.
Virginia starts its ACC schedule this weekend at Memorial Gymnasium. The Cavaliers play host to North Carolina at 5 p.m. Friday, then welcome No. 15 Virginia Tech at 1 p.m. Saturday. It marks the Hokies’ first trip to Charlottesville since 2006.
No. 18 Virginia 28, Penn 9
125: Ross Gitomer (UVa) dec. Mark Rappo (Penn), 6-5; UVa 3-0
133: Bryan Ortenzio (Penn) dec. Matt Cubillos (UVa), 7-1; Tied, 3-3
141: Derek Valenti (UVa) dec. Zack Kemmerer (Penn), 8-2; UVa, 6-3
149: Kellon Balum (UVa) pinned Troy Hernandez (Penn), 4:43; UVa, 12-3
157: No. 16 Dan Gonsor (UVa) won by forfeit; UVa, 18-3
165: Tim Timothy (Penn) dec. Beau Fisher (UVa), 5-4; UVa, 18-6
174: No. 4 Chris Henrich (UVa) dec. Scott Giffin (Penn), 8-6 (SV); UVa, 21-6
184: Mike Salopek (UVa) major dec. Harrison Cook (Penn), 11-3; UVa, 25-6
197: Micah Burak (Penn) dec. No. 17 Brent Jones (UVa), 7-1; UVa, 25-9
285: Jack Danilkowicz (UVa) dec. Tyler Blakely (Penn), 4-3; UVa, 28-9