Virginia Wins Eight of 10 Bouts, Tops North Carolina 28-6
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia wrestling team took eight of 10 matches in picking up a 28-6 victory at North Carolina Friday night at Carmichael Auditorium. Virginia improved to 14-5 overall and 2-0 in ACC play with the decisive victory – its first in Chapel Hill since Jan. 24, 2003 (20-17).
“I am very proud of our guys,” Virginia head coach Steve Garland said. “They wrestled great tonight. Whenever this team gets down, they always come back strong and after such a close loss last weekend they once again showed their heart.”
Matt Snyder (R-So., Lewistown, Pa.) and Chris Henrich (Sr., Lansdale, Pa.) each recorded bonus-point wins for the Cavaliers. Snyder pinned Jacob Corrill at 125 pounds, while Henrich notched a major decision over Thomas Ferguson at 174. It marked Henrich’s eighth straight win that resulted in bonus points. North Carolina (6-6, 1-2) won at 141 and 157 pounds.
Virginia got off to a fast start at 125 pounds as Snyder scored a takedown midway through the first period, then pulled Jacob Corrill into a cradle in picking up a fall at the 2:35 mark. Snyder upped his record to 17-6 this year.
UVa pushed its lead to 9-0 with a 3-2 win by Joe Spisak (Fr., Boiling Springs, Pa.) over Pat Owens at 133. After a scoreless first period, Spisak got Owens on his back for a three-point near fall. Over a minute later, Owens reversed Spisak and cut into the riding time. In the third, after moving the riding time back under a minute, Owens allowed Spisak to escape, but neither scored the rest of the way.
At 141 pounds, Gus Sako (Fr., Cleveland, Ohio) was taken down 34 seconds into the first period and never was able to recover in dropping a 7-3 decision to UNC senior Mike Rappo.
Derek Valenti (Jr., Newton, N.J.) picked up his third straight victory at 149 pounds, scoring a 2-0 win over Nick Stabile. Neither wrestler scored a takedown in the match. After a scoreless first period, Valenti broke through with an escape point early in the second. Stabile chose the bottom position to begin the third, but Valenti rode him for the entire period to finish with 1:24 in riding time and pick up the riding time point.
At 157 pounds, reigning ACC Wrestler of the Week Corey Mock picked up a 9-2 decision over UVa’s Shawn Harris (R-Jr., Cleveland, Ohio).
In just his third match of the season, Jedd Moore (R-So., Mount Vernon, Ohio) notched a 7-2 victory over Kyle Kiss at 165 pounds. Moore scored his first takedown with 30 seconds remaining in the first period and controlled things much of the remainder of the match.
Henrich dominated with a 14-3 major decision at174 pounds in improving to 23-1 this season. The UVa career wins leader, Henrich now boasts a 124-17 record at Virginia. Henrich racked up 3:43 in riding time as he coasted to the win.
At 184 pounds, Jon Fausey (R-Fr., Dalmatia, Pa.) scored a 9-6 win over Antonio Giorgio. Fausey fell behind, 5-4, early in the third on a two-point near fall but quickly reversed Giorgio and then recorded a two-point near fall of his own to take control of the match. He posted 1:28 in riding time to garner his 20th victory of the season.
At 197, Mike Salopek (R-So., North Huntingdon, Pa.) nabbed a 5-2 win over Zach Bennett. Salopek was taken down late in the first period, but promptly reversed Bennett. After riding Bennett for all of the second period, Salopek scored a takedown in the third and added a point with 3:01 of riding time.
Jack Danilkowicz (R-Sr., Green Oaks, Ill.) capped the Cavaliers’ win with an 8-3 triumph over Ben Brooks in the heavyweight bout. The match was tied at two entering the third period. Danilkowicz, after starting in the bottom position, reversed Brooks midway through the period. After Brooks escaped, Danilkowicz recorded a takedown and added a riding time point for the win as he improved to 18-10 this year.
Virginia returns home to Memorial Gymnasium next weekend for a pair of non-conference duals. UVa will face No. 8 Rutgers at 6 p.m. Friday (Jan. 28), and the Cavaliers come back at 1 p.m. Saturday to face Princeton. The Scarlet Knights recorded a 24-7 win over No. 3 Virginia Tech Friday evening.
Virginia 28, North Carolina 6
125: Matt Snyder (UVa) pinned Jacob Corrill (UNC), 2:35; UVa 6, UNC 0
133: Joe Spisak (UVa) dec. Pat Owens (UNC), 4-2; UVa 9, UNC 0
141: Mike Rappo (UNC) dec. Gus Sako (UVa), 7-3; UVa 9, UNC 3
149: Derek Valenti (UVa) dec. Nick Stabile (UNC), 2-0; UVa 12, UNC 3
157: Corey Mock (UNC) dec. Shawn Harris (UVa), 9-3; UVa 12, UNC 6
165: Jedd Moore (UVa) dec. Kyle Kiss (UNC), 7-2; UVa 15, UNC 6
174: No. 4 Chris Henrich (UVa) major dec. Thomas Ferguson (UNC), 14-3; UVa 19, UNC 6
184: Jon Fausey (UVa) dec. Antonio Giorgio (UNC), 9-6; UVa 22, UNC 6
197: No. 20 Mike Salopek (UVa) dec. Zach Bennett (UNC), 5-2; UVa 25, UNC 6
HWT: Jack Danilkowicz (UVa) dec. Ben Brooks, 8-3; UVa 28, UNC 6
Rankings according to InterMat