Four Cavaliers Advance to Quarters at Southern Scuffle

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Four Virginia wrestlers remain in the winners’ bracket and the 25th-ranked Cavaliers are tied for ninth place in the team competition after the first day of action at the UNCG Southern Scuffle, hosted by UNC Greensboro at Greensboro Coliseum’s Special Events Center.

The tournament continues at 9 a.m. Thursday with the quarterfinals as well as more wrestle-backs. The championship round will start at approximately 5:30 p.m.

Competing without a trio of starters because of injuries, the Cavaliers recorded 34.5 points and are tied with Air Force for ninth place. Top-ranked Cornell leads the field with 54 points, while No. 7 Penn State is close behind with 50.5 points.

UVa’s Matt Snyder (R-So., Lewistown, Pa.) advanced to the quarterfinals at 125 pounds, while second-ranked Chris Henrich (Sr., Lansdale, Pa.) and Stephen Doty (So., St. Louis, Mo.) each advanced to the 174-pound quarters. No. 17 Jon Fausey (R-Fr., Dalmatia, Pa.) also cruised into the 184-pound quarterfinals. Doty is competing unattached at 174 (his results do not count toward the Virginia team point total). Cavalier freshmen Gus Sako (Cleveland, Ohio) and Nick Sulzer (Cleveland, Ohio) remain alive in the consolation bracket at 141 and 165 pounds, respectively.

Seeded fifth in his weight class, Snyder stormed to a pair of wins with a pin against Michigan’s Sean Boyle and an 11-0 major decision over North Carolina’s Robert Gribschaw. He will wrestle fourth-seeded Jason Lara of Oregon State Thursday morning in the quarters. Lara is ranked 20th nationally this week by InterMat.

Henrich, ranked second nationally and also the No. 2 seed in the 174-pound field, ran his record to 12-0 this season with a 12-3 major decision over Utah Valley’s Brad Darrington and a technical fall against Cornell’s Michael Anderson. Henrich will wrestle seventh-seeded Byron Sigmon of UNCG in the quarterfinals.

With his two wins Henrich moved past Tim Foley (112, 1999-2004) and into second place in career victories at Virginia with 113. He needs three victories to tie Mike Krafchick (116, 1991-95) for the Virginia career wins record.

Doty advanced to the quarters with a pair of wins – a 3-1 decision over Navy’s Peter Huntley and a 4-2 victory over Army’s Collin Wittmeyer. He will wrestle Ohio University’s Nick Purdue, the sixth seed, in the quarters.

Fausey, ranked 17th nationally and the No. 5 seed in the 184-pound field, recorded a trio of wins – a fall over Cornell’s Colin McDonald, a 4-0 decision over Princeton’s Daniel Santoro and a 7-4 decision against Oregon State’s Brice Arand. He will take on 15th-ranked and fourth-seeded Luke Robertus of Navy in the quarterfinals.

A pair of Cavalier freshmen remain alive in the consolation bracket after the first day of action. Sako reached the round of 16 at 141 pounds before falling to ninth-ranked Andrew Alton of Penn State. He rebounded with a 12-9 decision over Appalachian State’s Mike Kessler to stay alive in the consolation bracket and will wrestle Old Dominion’s Brennan Brumley Thursday.

Competing unattached, Sulzer remains in the 165-pound consolation bracket. After falling 6-5 to Kent State’s Ross Tice in the round of 16, Sulzer bounced back to top Army’s Jacob Vetter in the wrestle-backs. He will face Utah Valley’s Jeb Clark Thursday morning.

Southern Scuffle Schedule
Thursday, December 30
9 a.m. – Quarterfinals & 4th Round of Wrestle-backs
10:30 a.m. – 5th Round of Wrestle-backs
11:30 a.m. – Semifinals & 6th Round of Wrestle-backs
1 p.m. – 7th Round of Wrestle-backs
2 p.m. – Medal Rounds (3rd-8th)
5:30 p.m. – Championship Finals